Alicia Roache, Staff ReporterSINGER MAURICE Charles brought a spectacular end to the Wedding Extravaganza at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Sunday.
Charles, whose voice bears an uncanny sound to music legend Lou Rawls came on stage as the final act of an entertainment
programme that lasted two days, beginning on Saturday. Included in the programme were performances from Kevin Bonfield, Garfield Lawrence, Men of Valor and Nicole Crawford, Seymour Green and the Hatfield Cultural Group.
Charles came on after presentations by Shades of Africa and Francis Keane with their 2005 bridal collections. He opened the short performance with Lady Love, a song he was obviously at ease performing. He delivered it with smooth and practised vocal ability the lyrics of the classic love ballad while clapping and rocking and working the weary audience into a mellow mood.
RELUCTANT GOODBYE
After the performance, which captured the essence of the song and the emotions, it was meant to convey down to the last
strain, Charles bid the reluctant audience goodbye. He quickly returned, however, to deliver another Lou Rawls classic, again with uncanny familiarity.
"Everybody loosen up," Charles prompted, as he moved from from side to side, rocking
and clapping. The audience responded, clapping in return and nodding and humming along to You'll Never Find (You're Gonna Miss My Loving). It
was not quite an appropriate song given the celebratory atmosphere of new love and
long engagements, but it hit the spot. The rendition provided a welcomed moment of excitement at the end of a long evening
of fashion shows, speeches, giveaways and exhibitions.
But this was the point of the Wedding Extravaganza: an
expo into everything for the upcoming nuptials, the wedding invitations right down to a
for the honeymoon.
The extravaganza was the ninth annual one put on by the hotel and featured displays from jewellery manufacturers and dealers, resorts, right down to a web-based wedding planner.
And what would a wedding extravaganza be without lots of wedding gowns to choose from? Shades of Africa, Francis Keane and a special presentation from an Indian bride gave ample and varied examples of possible wedding gowns.
SHADES OF AFRICA
Shades of Africa opened the presentations with a collection that proved at once afrocentric, traditional and contemporary. A white kaftan trimmed with gold for the groom, and a long white dress, also with gold decorations across the bodice and running down the back, was worn by
a very blushing bride, who
consistent with African tradition, jumped the broom for the
audience to see.
Another bride, resplendent in her Egyptian head-dress and gown, both white and piped
with golden threads, walked the runway to appreciative applause. Tanya Cameron, the designer for the collection received a warm applause for her collection.
After a long break in the proceedings to announce some winners and giveaway jewellery and wines, courtesy of American Jewellery Company and Appellation respectively, the Indian bride, the most interesting of the lot with the various symbolism of her ensemble came next. She came dressed in deep red organza and silk sari, trimmed with gold threads. The red, they say, is symbolic of the institution of marriage, and gold, the beauty of the bride and her life after the wedding.
No creative juices were spared on the collection for Francis Keane, a very lengthy showing suggestive of the variety offered. Here again the traditional,
contemporary or culturally observant bride got a chance to look at options.
In one segment, all the dresses made from cotton voile were simple and beautiful, allowing a creative bride the will to do as she pleased with a very basic gown, or a simple bride to just be satisfied with her choice.
There were gowns for morning weddings, a beach wedding (with the option to go barefoot) and the very traditional church wedding, complete with long train, veil, sparkling tiara or wide brimmed hat, and lace gloves.
