STRIVING to help soon-to-be-married couples and debutants in looking for talented and reliable event suppliers, Kevin Abdala, a Kagay-anon fashion stylist, organized the third She Said Yes: Wedding and Debut Expo held at the event center of Centrio Ayala Mall, Cagayan de Oro City.
Established in 2017, the bridal and debut expo features around 50 highly recommended and dependable event suppliers from different parts of Mindanao for photography, videography, hair and makeup, event planner, food and beverage, venue, jewelry, designers, event stylist, print and invitations, among others.
“It started with a dream na I wanted to have an expo wherein daghan kaayo suppliers not just in Cagayan de Oro. My vision is I wanted it to become the biggest wedding expo in Mindanao,” Abdala said.
“My dream is really house or bring talented, masaligan nga event suppliers under one roof and that is ‘She Said Yes,’” he added.
The expo, which ran from March 8 until 10, aims to establish professional wedding and debut suppliers in Mindanao as well as provide venue for promising event suppliers to be introduced and promoted.
It is also to encourage couples and debutants to choose them rather than going as far as Manila to employ someone to organize their big day.
“I wanted to create a way for soon-to-be-getting-married couples and debutants to really choose suppliers for the event wherein they could assure na their services is highly recommended, kanang legit, masaligan gyud, and then can really compete from the metro,” Abdala said.
“Another goal of the expo is we wanted na other couples will not get suppliers from other towns or dili na kailangan mag hire og somebody from Manila kay Cagayan has a lot of very talented suppliers. Just not in CDO but I mean like in Mindanao,” he added.
Apart from showcasing products and services to the visiting soon-to-be brides, grooms and debutants, the event also prepared activities such as a makeup show by makeup artists who participated in the expo; designers show that features the gowns, suits and wedding collection of the three local designers; and a closing activity that involves raffle draws and awarding of Best Booth and Top Bookers.
“Anything that you need for all sorts of event, we have here. Most everything we have here,” Abdala said.
She Said Yes is annually conducted in Cagayan de Oro City every first weekend of March.