Exotic, exuberant…the National African Caribbean Wedding Show
I was so excited when the National African Caribbean Wedding Show organisers contacted me and asked if I would like to showcase my bridal and mother of the bride collections on the catwalk at their 2017 event. But I hadn’t anticipated the sheer exuberance, colour and creativity that makes this a really stand out event.
When we arrived early in the morning with a rail of 20 outfits and accessories to fit the throng of excited models, it was organised chaos.
A huge construction that would eventually become the raised catwalk was being built while models huddled behind a screen to change for rehearsals; vendors selling an array of gowns, accessories and everything else you could possibly need for a dream wedding were setting up their stands; and Maxwell Chartey, the show’s creative director, was trying to bring some order!
A magical takeover of the beautiful Grade 11 listed Central Hall, opposite Westminster Abbey, provided the backdrop for the show. And when it finally opened to the waiting brides, it was like carnival with a digital light wall at the back of the catwalk flashing images in all colours of the rainbow – with exotic cocktails to match and silk flowers in abundance. Our stand was positioned next to Teal & Roses cakes and confections whose pink and gold wedding cakes were six tiers high and looked like fairy castles. And what a good position to be in as they regularly fed us samples of their delicious cake!
Everything about this show was so different and colourful and I loved the unusual favour gifts by Katherine Adaobi especially the compacts and fridge magnet bottle openers decorated with traditional African prints.
The catwalk show went on most of the day starting with Traditional African Wedding outfits for the bride and groom.
The models were all dancers and the show choreographed by Maxwell was action packed as more and more models poured onto the catwalk to join in the dance.
My scene – The Great Gatsby – closed the event with a complicated fast Gatsby-inspired dance with more and more models appearing through the backlit wall until all 20 were on the stage. It simulated the last hour of a wedding when everyone has taken to the dance floor – although we did have 8 brides!
If you are planning an African Caribbean style wedding or are looking for inspiration from another culture put the next event on your calendar for 2018.
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