Products, Services Are Showcased.
LAST WEEK’s Love Elevated Wedding Symposium here offered The St. Lucia Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA) an internationally high profile platform from which to launch an online catalogue showcasing Saint Lucian businesses servicing the domestic weddings market.
The catalogue dubbed “Simply Beautiful Weddings” was launched on the opening day of the three-day symposium which featured presentations from international leaders in the wedding industry as well as local expertise into planning the perfect Saint Lucian wedding.
The virtual catalogue can be found at http://simplybeautifulweddings.org/ allowing worldwide access to information on Saint Lucian products and services catering to an ever evolving and expanding wedding industry.
The catalogue’s collection represents a variety of the finest products and services available on island and is segmented into six categories, namely: Beauty (including make-up, hairstyling and spa services), Catering (cakes, sweets and other food and beverage needs), Event planners (those who provide specific services or others who arrange everything for an event), Fashion and Wear (namely custom made wedding dresses, suits, jewellery & accessories), Gifts (handmade ceramics, hand painted designs) and, venue and flowers (to include private locations, box wraps and bouquets).
The creation of the online platform speaks to TEPA’s mandate of facilitating support of local businesses and international buyers, by providing an avenue for local business owners to showcase their products and capabilities to a captive international audience.
Saint Lucia is listed as an emerging favourite location for destination weddings based on The Destination Weddings Trend Report 2015 on www.destinationweddings.com. As such, in light of TEPA’s mandate, ensuring that local businesses are able to tap into such a profitable revenue stream is an important undertaking.
Speaking during the presentation, TEPA’s Marketing, Advertising and Communications Officer, Andrena Simon, stressed the importance of such a catalogue, as a one stop shop for all things Saint Lucian wedding,
She said: “We aspire to enhance linkages between local exporters and the tourism industry. This is what drove us to fashion a Saint Lucian online wedding platform to create and execute an authentic customised wedding experience.”
The platform alleviates the anxiety usually associated with planning such a memorable occasion by ensuring that the best providers can be found all in one place.