49. Wedding Show

January is Bridal Show month but even though it costs $5 to enter, my money is on an Indian-Pakistan bridal show. Obviously I don’t have a daughter about to get married.

I would recommend the Dreams show for prospective wedding families. I would suggest it to anyone interested in Indian customs and clothing.

I went to one Indian bridal show a couple years ago and loved it. It opened my eyes to our Indian community which is big enough to support fancy trade shows like this. The booths not only had elegant sarees and salwar kameezes, they showed amazing wedding cakes, creative photographers, huge highway buses to transport guests from place to place, and caterers.

Bridal shows have wedding planners and make-up artists. Look for the very special, intricate henna designs for the hand and feet of brides.

The fashion show I saw was beautiful. Indian brides

have to have a dowry that includes dozens of outfits, the more elegant the better, to show off the status of the family. Clothes for the grooms are simpler but also silk and stunning. My own son was married in an Indian tunic. He’s not Indian, but he liked them so much, he chose to wear one and he looked great.

The fashion show is a great place to meet Indians and Pakistanis as you sit watching together. Many are there planning family weddings. You can ask them about dowries and arranged marriages in Toronto. You can ask about the cost of an average wedding. How different is a wedding in Toronto from that of the subcontinent? What are the favourite Indian and Pakistani restaurants in Toronto?

For a preview of the show, please consult its web-site:

http://dreamsshows.com/. It’s on Sunday, January 23 from 11am to 6pm. Fashion shows are at 1:30pm and 4:30pm. There’s free parking. It’s at the Red Rose Convention Centre at 1233 Derry Road East, Mississauga. Let me know if you’ve learned anything about Indian culture from this show.