MANILA - More than 300 of the Philippines' finest wedding suppliers will gather under one roof as WEDDING EXPO PHILIPPINES celebrates its 14th edition of being the biggest, most comprehensive, and most prestigious wedding fair in the country. Special discounts, exclusive giveaways, great deals, and loads of the newest, latest, and best wedding ideas are in store for brides & grooms visiting the 2-day grand event on 7 - 8 March at the PICC Forum, CCP Complex. Event highlights include the following sub-events:

Wedding Banquets Manila. With WEPM09 major sponsor Josiah?s Catering as lead caterer, soon-to-weds will be treated to the most elaborate of banquet set ups that approximate actual wedding day grandeur by more than 20 of the country?s well loved caterers. Josiah?s Catering will conduct a free grand food tasting session that will give brides & grooms-to- be a sampling of its very popular wedding menu. To reserve a seat, soon-to-weds are requested to email grandfoodtasting@josiahcatering.com with their names, wedding date, and venue. Furthermore, a complete wedding banquet package plus refunds on a couple?s down payments with participating fashion designers, videographers, photographers, cake suppliers, invitation makers, etc. are stake in the ?A Blissful Wedding Promo.? Worth more than P250,000.00, this comprehensive wedding showcase awaits the lucky soon-to-weds booking Josiah?s Catering plus at least two other wedding suppliers in Wedding Expo Philippines.

Floral Fete Philippines. As the country?s biggest and most fabulous floral and event styling showcase, Wedding Expo Philippines features the most talented and best event designers the local wedding industry has to offer. Flowers of all shapes, sizes, and color will compete with the sweet scents of the freshest blooms and foliage for the attention of even the most discriminating of soon-to-weds. Stylemeister of the rich and famous, Robert Blancaflor will weave his magic once again in Wedding Expo Philippines as one of its official event stylists. Henry Pascual, fast becoming the event stylist of choice of the jet set crowd, will introduce the latest trends in floral design and world-class event styling.

KasaLitrato. The Philippines cream of the crop photographers and videographers will exhibit their international award winning form in Wedding Expo Philippines. Lito Genilo of Smart Shot Studio, WEPM09 Major Sponsor, will exhibit his prize winning photographs from various award-giving bodies for excellence in wedding photography. Fresh from his top prize wins in the U.S. early this year, Mr. Genilo will personally entertain queries from soon-to-weds in Wedding Expo Philippines. There will be more than 40 world-class photographers and videographers who will try to outdo each other with state-of-the-art techniques presented in the most memorable of portfolios that can only be found in Wedding Expo Philippines. Also, free picture-taking sessions in the hip photo booths, a fast rising keepsake concept that debuted in Wedding Expo Philippines a couple of years ago and now rising fast in popularity, allow couples and their friends to pose for souvenir shots. As one of the most popular categories in Themes & Motifs? wedding fairs, the photo & video zone is jampacked with suppliers and soon-to-weds alike and becomes a venue for exciting exchange of ideas on anything and everything related to weddings. Some photographers join no other wedding fair but Wedding Expo Philippines.

I Do HMU. Wedding Expo Philippines has been instrumental for the debut and rapid ascent to fame of a lot of today?s hair and make up artists. For Wedding Expo Philippines, an entire zone of these bridal beauty experts will become a hair & make up festival and will offer free trials, product samples, and consultations for soon-to-weds. For the 2- day duration of the event, various makeup techniques may be sampled by brides to find out what suits their tastes before their big day.

Debuting this year in Wedding Expo Philippines is the chocolate buffet intended to be a part of the dessert bar or a stand alone option for couples with a sweet tooth. Pastry chef Amandes, a division of Josiah Catering, will present a mouth-watering assortment of truffles, pastries, glass desserts, petite fours, and a luscious Belgian chocolate fountain, buffet style. Also, the coffee lounge concept, for wedding guests that want to linger over a cup of coffee nibbling on some delicious macaroons and pastries will be introduced.

New companies including interesting concept venues and banquet stylists will get their initial public introduction in Wedding Expo Philippines ? March 2009. The biggest gathering of invitation suppliers will feature the latest custom made styles and trends in wedding stationery. Also, a big display of bridal limousines, product sampling of cakes and wines, a showcase of never-before-seen wedding gowns from the country?s well- loved wedding couturiers can be expected by soon-to-weds.

A trip for two to Bangkok, Thailand awaits the lucky soon-to-wed who will book their wedding suppliers in Wedding Expo Philippines. Every P1,000.00 booked onsite is entitled to a raffle coupon for the grand draw on March 8, 2009. Hourly raffle draws will also be conducted for all soon-to-weds who will visit the event. This is free of charge and will feature tokens and door prizes from participating exhibitors of Wedding Expo Philippines. Goldenhills Jewelry, WEPM09 Major sponsor will also raffle of a pair of elegant wedding bands worth P25,000.00 on top of big discounts that they will extend to their clients exclusively in the 2-day prestigious fair.

For free admission, guests are advised to pre-register online through www.themesnmotifs.com or get their free passes from Themes & Motifs Makati Shangri-la branch along Ayala Ave. in Makati City. Pre-registered soon-to-weds are entitled to additional giveaways to be included in their loot bags courtesy of the event organizers. One of these is the ?Everything I Need? cd with minus one, the Wedding Expo Philippines jingle-turned-single composed by international topnotch singer & songwriter, Ms. Trina Belamide.

As part of its advocacy to promote the Philippines as a wedding destination in Asia in support of efforts of the Department of Tourism and also to position the country as a prime source of world-class wedding suppliers, members of the international press and wedding planners from the region have been invited to attend the event. This augurs well for the local wedding industry, both soon-to-weds and suppliers alike, as it will further boost creativity and excellence and increase choices of wedding ideas.

Wedding Expo Philippines is produced & organized by Themes & Motifs ? The Special Events Co. with Goldenhills Jewelry, Josiah?s Catering, & Smart Shot Studio as Major Sponsors. International styelmeisters Henry Pascual and Robert Blancaflor will be the official event stylists. Event partners are Paper Elegance, T&M Gifts, Weddings & Lifestyle.com, and Allied Bank. Media Partners are Bizlinq.net, Manila Bulletin Lifestyle, 88.Db, Wedding Essentials Magazine, & Metro Weddings. This 2-day highly prestigious event is supported and promoted by the Department of Tourism. For more information, pls. call (632) 371.9783 / 409.2555.