Yahneake Sterling, Staff Reporter

Marsha is ready for her big day in a satin strapless gown with a pick-up skirt. -photo by Yahneake Sterling

The first wedding extravaganza and fashion show for 2007, staged by Sheer Elegance Bridal Centre, proved to be successful, despite the hiccups.

Held at Knutsford Court Hotel last week Sunday, the aim of the event was to showcase everything for weddings. This was the second such show for the one-stop bridal centre.

Prospective brides and grooms were first given lessons on proper wedding etiquette, pre-marital screening and the smart way to get married.

Additionally, they were presented with a wide range of options for gowns, tuxedos and fashion for the entire wedding party.

Fashion show disappointing

While the organisers were successful in bringing everything under one roof for the future Mr. and Mrs. - including caterers, photographers and videographers, it was the fashion show that was most disappointing.

Not only did guests at the show have to wait for over an hour past the scheduled time of 4:15 p.m. for the start of the fashion display, but when it finally got under way, organisers did not keep the show tight.

Master of ceremonies, Dervan Malcolm, informed the audience that the delay was due to only one make-up artist being present to glamorise the over 12 models present.

He attempted to distract the audience with many give aways, but this did not help much as some persons were overheard saying, "It's time they get this thing on the road, it's too drawn-out."

The wedding gowns were absolutely elegant, but there were too many distractions as the models who were obviously not professionals, displayed little signs of a previous rehearsal.

Many lacked the knowledge of how to show-off the fabulous gowns they wore and were either extremely shy or over-confident.

What was unique about the bridal display, and probably the best thing about it, was the fact that the organisers balanced the various wedding gowns by showcasing dresses for petite, regular, full-figured as well as pregnant women.

Cheers from the audience were mostly for the white and apple coloured wedding gowns that were one-of-a-kind in design.

Men were not left out, however, as a variety of suits, the most popular being white, was showcased.

Dresses for mini-brides as well as gowns for the bridal party were also shown.

In between changes, there were several musical tributes including those from Janielle Smith of St. Andrew High School for Girls, with her rendition of How Do I, and Trevor Morris, from St. Ann, with two of Celine Dion's greatest hits, A New Day, and Colour of Love.

Overall, the extravaganza was successful for its fashion but lost points for organisation.