Knot to Be

The Indian wedding market in Canada might be huge now,but Gautam Sharma will tell you that 13 years back it was very different. The 35-year-old was one of the first Indian immigrants to Canada to explore the wedding industry,including launching a full-fledged bridal show called Suhaag in Toronto. “It was 1997,a year before Bridal Asia started,” he states,pointing out that the annual business generated by Asian weddings in Canada stands at a whopping 600 million dollars. “That is the kind of business the market generates,” adds Sharma,who was in Chandigarh to visit family and conduct photo shoots for his magazine Suhaag.

From being an annual affair,Suhaag,his bridal show cum exhibition,has now graduated to being a bi-annual feature that takes place in Toronto and Ottawa; and from a handful of 20 exhibitors back in 1997,it now comprises over 800 exhibitors and registers a footfall of 10,000 each year. “We have anyone and everyone who has something to do with an Asian wedding on board,” says Sharma,pointing out that the participants in the past have included fashion designers from Canada and the US,and Delhi-based stores like Frontier Raas and CTC. “Although we have a completely Canadian born second generation of Indians,the emotions,frenzy and hype associated with a wedding is still the same. Being Indian and following Indian is cool. Even Katy Perry and Russell Brand flew down to India for their wedding. The grand Indian weddings have become popular across the world due to the Internet and with the increase in the number of Indian fashion shows and Bollywood movies of Karan Johar and Yash Chopra,” says Sharma. His exhibition includes wedding planners,fashion designers,caterers,photographers,entertainers,jewellery designers and agents booking honeymoon tours.

While he is still working on bringing the show to India,Sharma’s business was bought by Toronto Star — a huge media conglomerate in Canada — in 2009. Now,he works under their umbrella company and has even come out with a bi-annual magazine called Suhaag and a coffee table book with the same title. “I have arranged several shoots with designers and models in India,” says Sharma,flipping through the pages of his magazine. He adds,“Love or arranged,weddings are still a way to connect culturally.” His expansion plan includes reaching out to people in Calgary and Vancouver. “The South East Asian wedding bazaar and the Indian market is on the agenda,” he smiles. For more,log on to suhaag.com.