Indian weddings are also big fat business. As a nation, our penchant for lavishly flamboyant matrimonial ceremonies is unparalleled. Therefore, the concept of a one stop bridal event was guaranteed to succeed.

Bridal Asia, the annual amalgamation of India’s most renowned names in the luxury wedding industry, has endeavoured to do this since 1999. This year, the brainchild of Delhi-based entrepreneur Divya Gurwara, completes a decade of its successful existence.

Gurwara recognised the growing trend of ‘designer’ weddings in the late 1990s and planned to offer a ‘360 degree solution’ to luxury-conscious brides, who would be willing to spend an extra buck to guarantee the ‘perfect’ wedding. A selected group of 40 designers set the ball rolling and the event received ‘phenomenal response’, after which it became a much anticipated annual affair. “The expanding wedding market in India is pegged at Rs 1,25,000 crore... and is growing annually by 20-25 per cent,” says Gurwara.?“People want their weddings to make a statement and be remembered.”

Over the years, Bridal Asia has offered high-quality trousseau, jewellery, accessories and home décor from acclaimed designers, through exhibitions and shows. Stalwarts like Sabyasachi, Ritu Beri and Kiran Uttam Ghosh have been veterans, and will now be accompanied by names like Gaurav Gupta, Falguni and Shane Peacock, Shyamal and Bhumika and many more. This year, Vasundhara Mantri, Notandas and Sons and Jewels by Queenie are among the host of names that will showcase exquisite designer jewellery. Bags and footwear by Malaga, Nillaya and Rinaldi, silverware by Siltouch, home accessories by Magpie and sleepwear by Suman Nathwani will also be available, adding to the variety of luxury merchandise. Wedding and honeymoon planners will be present to solve bridal dilemmas.

The event has brought designers like Honey Waqar from Pakistan and Maheen Khan from Bangladesh to India. Gurwara has always been an active promoter of South Asian design. In 2002, she organised a Pakistan leg of Bridal Asia, which showcased trousseau by Indian designers to a select audience in Karachi. This year, to celebrate its tenth anniversary, Bridal Asia extended nationally, with its first Kolkata event. “Though it has been a long journey, it never enervates me,” Gurwara speaks of the decade. “Rather, it excites me, as every time there is something avant-garde, that exudes novelty and enthuses me to work even harder.”

With every passing year, the exhibition becomes more comprehensive and aims to bring every aspect of weddings under one roof. For Gurwara, Bridal Asia is not merely an event anymore; it is her Zahir.

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