The Sixth Wedding Fair 2010 in Cairo was of benefit to the exhibitors and also to young Egyptian couples, wanting to get everything they need for the big day in one place. Now is the ideal time for such a fair, as a lot of couples like to get married in the summer. "The culture of preparing for weddings has changed. The bride wants the very best for the biggest moment of her life," Hala Mahmoud, a beauty expert who works in the Salah Selim beauty centre and participated in this year's fair, told the Egyptian Mail. As for what's up in fashion 2010, Hala said that it was karatine, a Brazilian product that was one of the best natural treatments for hair, ideal for newlywed women. (It might not be ideal for the bridegroom's wallet, as the starting price is LE1,800). When it comes to body care, Hala recommended a group of natural herbs from different Asian countries that are very safe for the skin. They help treat dark areas under the eyes and other areas and are highly recommended for both the bride and groom before marriage. "If the bride leaves it too late, she is under great stress when she chooses her wedding dress. We try to make things easier for her," said Hala Shalabi, the owner of an agency, which organises weddings and who also participated in the event. The three-day event drew wedding party consultants, florists, honeymoon-organising travel companies, beauty centres and spas, trendy wedding photographers, famous chocolate manufacturers, furniture designers and accessory makers. "The fair caters for the happy couple's basic requirements and I hope more companies will take part in future," said Heba Abdel-Nabi, a visitor to the fair, which has given her new ideas about vital preparations that can easily be overlooked. "In Egypt, weddings are big events. We need bigger fairs for brides and bridegrooms, as organising weddings takes so much effort," said Mariam Hamdi, an Egyptian who has lived abroad and works in a shop that arranges flowers for weddings. Mariam said that her shop offered ordinary flower arrangements and Japanese arrangements too, as well as creative invitation cards for wedding parties. Katherine, a co-ordinator for Memories Maker, an event-planning company, said that they could teach people how to plan their own events, so that, later on, they could work with wedding consultant companies, earning them a lot of money as event co-ordinators. The company also organises open-air wedding parties on the Cairo-Ismailia Road, 20 minutes away from Heliopolis, costing between LE15,000 and LE18,000 per 100 persons, including an open buffet, with desserts. "The cost also includes arranging the banquet, decoration and entertainment," Katherine added. As for wealthy, upper-middle class couples, they like hotels or luxurious wedding halls for their parties. "A wedding party costs about LE350 per person; we also do another package costing about LE450 per person, which includes a 25 per cent discount on a spa for the bride's family and friends and other benefits, plus a surprise at the end of the wedding party," Claire Caron, an ‘inspired meeting director', told this newspaper. Big name wedding designers such as Eve and Anapage, which imports wedding dresses from the US, Germany, Paris, London and Milan, participated in the fair. Meanwhile, a number of wedding dress designers, such as Eman Mahrous (Eve Haute Couture), La Douba, Sasha and Ema, put on a wedding show, which wrapped up with a display by make-up expert Mahmoud Morshed and hair stylists La Coupe.
