Seven words. Those were all that Kanika Subbiah needed to convey her concept to the elite attendees of Bridal Asia at Mumbai last month. They were ‘3 steps to wedding gifts you want’, prominently pasted on top of her modest kiosk at the expo. It intrigued guests, a majority of whom had come to shop for clothes and jewellery.
Many of them stepped in thinking it was a gift shop, but soon discovered that Chennai-based Kanika’s ‘weddingwishlist.com’ was a ‘registry’. They’d heard the word, but were unsure about what exactly it was. “There was a strong connect with people, as many of them had no idea what to give to a couple,” says Kanika, fully charged after her three-day Mumbai experience, “They wanted to know how a registry worked, and for that, we helped in creating about 30 wishlists.”
Her concept seeks to bridge the gap between gifts received and gifts desired. It’s a fresh concept for the big fat Indian wedding market, but at Bridal Asia, she had to compete with many other stalls offering bling, which, naturally, attracted a lot of attention. Kanika is gearing up for Bridal Asia at Delhi soon, in which she’s looking at on-boarding brands. “The concept of Bridal Asia has been around in Delhi for a while – so we hope to get a captive audience. We’re looking at making our stall edgy, and forging tie-ups with leading brands like Fabindia and Ahalya.”
Being a true-blue Chennaiite, Kanika has an exciting offering in store for brides-to-be here. Titled ‘The Good Bride’, the first instalment of which is slated to take place next Saturday, it seeks to discuss topics that would pop up in the minds of every girl looking to tie the knot soon. “We lack a good wedding show here,” she says, “Brides here lag behind a bit to their Mumbai and Delhi counterparts in terms of knowing what they want for the big day.”
With ‘The Good Bride’, which also has on board some big names in the wedding industry, she hopes to fill that space. “We’ll cover topics like fitness, wedding photography and planning, and also deal with how to convey your style in the best possible manner,” she reveals.
Register for ‘The Good Bride’, happening on September 17, 1 p.m. onwards, at the Radio Room (Somerset Greenways, MRC Nagar), at https://www.weddingwishlist.com/TheGoodBride/ for a fee of Rs 1,000 (for bride plus a guest, including lunch)
