ROSE HALL, St James - Fashion and flair was the order of the day at Montego Bay's first Jamaica Bridal Expo held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, Rose Hall, last weekend.

During the well-attended event, several wedding planning businesses came out to show what they had to offer from wedding dresses, honeymoons, lighting, decor, reception venues and more. Patrons, many of whom are soon-to-be brides, anxiously walked from one booth to the next to see if there was anything that would suit their wedding day needs.

Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Wykeham McNeill who officially opened the exposition, lauded the event for its quality and congratulated all the exhibitors.

"Walking in here today I was amazed at the quality of the exhibitions that are here, and it shows the calibre of what Jamaica has to offer. Jamaica is a perfect destination for weddings and it is a very strong market," he stressed.

Shanieka Moodie who hopes to get married in the near future, told the Observer West that she has learned a lot from the bridal expo.

"The Bridal Expo has been an eye-opening experience I have seen a lot of things that I may be interested in. Everything looks beautiful. The only thing that is missing for me is the food from the hotels that offer weddings and from caterers," she said.

"Food is a very important element to any wedding and I would have liked to have tried some samples of menus from caterers. Otherwise, all the other areas were covered".

And Merl Walker believes that the event was well put together.

"Its been a great day so far. I love the creativity behind each display. I definitely enjoyed the fashion show as well, that was a nice touch," she said.

During the fashion show, the scores of patrons in attendance could not contain themselves as their favourite dress made its way down the catwalk. Patrons were also able to sample wines and champagne courtesy of Wray and Nephew and Appleton Jamaica Rum, while chocolate lovers were able to indulge in sweet treats from the Mobay Chocolate Company.

The two -day event which was staged by private interests, with the backing of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), attracted approximately 80 exhibitors.