If you are planning on having a memorable and wonderful wedding consult and hire the professionals. Otherwise your wedding will suffer.
Let me give you a simple example. The photographer is one of the most important people at the wedding. Hire the professional wedding photographers. Don’t give the job to someone who likes to play around with the camera. Even a photojournalist will not do. You need to hire someone who is an expert at wedding photography. Because if he or she gets late to come then you will end up with an empty album. Daily News attended the Hilton Wedding Expo 2017 Press Conference at Hilton last week and learnt firsthand about the Grand Wedding Exhibition.
“We believe that every bride and groom who wants to be married at Hilton, wants the best. That is the reason why we are organizing the exhibition- Hilton Expo 2017. This is a two day exhibition, showcasing many of Sri Lanka’s best and most respected wedding suppliers and wedding planners. This event will be held on March 31 and April 1, from 10am – 9pm at our Grand Ballroom. Tickets will be available at the entrance and is reasonably priced at Rs. 200. This is the second time Hilton is organizing this wedding exhibition. Our last exhibition held in 2015 was a great success,” said Director – Sales Conference & Events, Arosha Perera.
Positive comments
Perera pointed out that celebrating a wedding in Sri Lanka is not just a one day affair.
“It involves many people, over a period of time, leading up to the day of the event. Here we will have all professional wedding suppliers who will make your special day unforgettable. It is not just the venue that makes your event a success. You need to have a professional florist, you must have a photographer, you must have dress makers and you need to get your jeweler, you need to get wedding cakes, invitation cards done and also an event planner. All these suppliers have worked with Hilton very closely. We get plenty of positive comments about them from our guests repeatedly,” explained Perera.
The Grand Ballroom of Hilton Colombo is known as Colombo’s most popular venue and the only pillar-less ball room in the city of Colombo.
“Our menus are tailor made according to the couples’ requirements and according to their wedding theme. You name it, any kind of menu could be designed with our expertise. Our conference and events team, who possess more than 15 years of experience in conducting weddings, spend hours and hours discussing details to make the wedding truly memorable,” pointed out Perera.
Special offers
It is an ideal opportunity for the couples hoping to get married in 2017 and 2018, for them to visit and get the best and unique ideas for their wedding.
“Opportunities will be given to innovative, new service providers to take part with the aim of maintaining competitiveness in the industry. Almost all stall holders will be offering benefits, including discounts, gift vouchers and early bird offers for wedding couples patronizing the exhibition. Hilton Colombo will also be having a stall and invite couples to make reservations with special discounts and many surprises. These special offers are for couples who make the booking during the exhibition for their wedding in the year 2017 and 2018 and confirm the booking with the deposit on or before the April 30, 2017,” added Perera. General Manager Hilton Colombo, Manesh Fernando, shared some exciting news at the Press Conference. “This year we have made it a bit more special, where the couple who puts down a deposit and books early will have the chance to fly free and stay at one of our newest properties which is Hilton Hotel Bali. It will be fully paid for, including full board accommodation. That will be for those who decide to put the deposit down and sign up to have their wedding at the Hilton Colombo,” shared Fernando.
Quick decisions
Fernando stressed that having a wedding is one of the most important occasions in the family. “So we have brought all the specialists together to make that day very special. It will be a nice way for a family to come and look at what is available and make some quick decisions. It will be all under one roof which makes things easy rather than running around Colombo trying to put everything together,” explained Fernando.
Manager of Fashion Designing Gimhani Yatigammana of Namal Balachandra Pvt. Ltd said that since the event involves brides and grooms it is very much in the field that Namal Balachandra specializes in.
“I am so proud to be here as a Platinum Partner of this event. Our brand creator Dr. Namal Balachandra is always trying to make new fashions for the grooms and the brides as well now. We have started a new branch at Nugegoda. We are doing the bridal wear as well. That is why we wanted to participate in this event as platinum partners. This is our first participation at this event. In this event we are giving very special discounts as well. So I invite all the potential brides and grooms for 2017 and 2018 to come and make use of this opportunity,” said Yatigammana.
New trends
Director Poru, Umanga Chandrasiri, called her team - florists with a passion.
“We do not only do flower decorations, but we always try and create spaces that are dramatic and beautiful for an elegant wedding. So basically we go a little beyond the normal floral decorations. Our aim is to amuse the guest always and give something way more than what they would expect. What I would like to say today is, normally we don’t advertise or sponsor events. We depend on our prestigious clientele who have brought us to this stage. Then again we thought that this wedding expo by Hilton Colombo is a good opportunity for us to showcase some of the new trends in the field to our new clients. From the point of view of a wedding designer and a florist, I would say Hilton Colombo has the perfect ballroom for a classy wedding. Why I say this, is that it has the proper height and the size and there is magical wonder because whatever you do in that ballroom becomes so elegant. So I say this out of experience in this trade for 10 or 12 years now. Whatever we do, it comes out really wonderful. The professional service and its friendly manner, have made Hilton the topmost choice of our wedding clients,” said Chandrasiri animatedly.
Senior Sales Manager, Vogue Jewellers Indira Hettiarachchi, declared that Vogue Jewelers is known as the Bridal Jeweler for Sri Lankans.
Bridal fairs
“We do have other segments, not only 22 carat gold bridal jewelry but diamonds, white gold, colored stones and platinum. Basically you name it with regard to jewelry we have everything. Vogue Jewellers is the first jeweler in Sri Lanka, to launch a 22 carat branded jewelry item, that was two years ago, we launched ‘Tusker Collection’ and we are still the only Jeweler who has launched a branded jewelry in Sri Lanka. Vogue Jewellers is the only Jeweller in the world who has obtained the ISO 9001 and 2015 quality certification.
When it comes to the venue, in the past we have participated in bridal fairs at Hilton Hotel. At that time there were only a few venues in Colombo, but Hilton was one of the top. So we at Vogue Jewellers want to be associated with this top class hotel, which has the best brand name in Sri Lanka. That is the reason we decided on the venue. We have also been in association with the magazine – Bride and Groom Magazine for a long time.
Here I must make special mention of Pramith Mallawaratchie of Bride and Groom Magazine Almost all the brides who come to us, they have seen this magazine. That has inspired us to constantly advertise with the magazine. It is a privilege for us to be in this exhibition this time. The timing of this is important because we are just launching a new product exclusively for brides. CEO and Managing Editor of Bride and Groom Magazine, the official magazine for Hilton Wedding Expo 2017, Pramith Mallawaratchie said that the magazine is really happy to be a part of this event.
“The event in 2015 went really well, and had great feedback from it. Bride and Groom Magazine as the official magazine, what we are doing is making it easier for couples. We are giving off free entrance tickets from the magazine. So if anyone wants free tickets you can send an email to [email protected] or send a text message to 0777791681 with the couple’s name and the number of tickets you need. It is great to be working with Hilton and all the other partners.”
Add new comment