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Peter Matika, Showbiz Reporter
THE Homestead Conference Centre in Bulawayo will this weekend hold a Wedding Expo, as it drives to harness the industry and fully utilise the venue.

Running under the theme: Creating New Memories in a New Era, this would be the venue’s inaugural wedding expo, which has been billed for this Saturday.

The event will run for one day, where organisers also seek to educate people on day and evening weddings.

An organiser of the event, award winning video-photographer Nqobile Mpofu, who runs Nqo Video productions said so far 23 service providers had confirmed and booked stalls for the event.

“It’s promising to be the biggest wedding expo and we are expecting seven more exhibitors. Various stakeholders in the industry will be exhibiting at the event, which we foresee to be a success,” said Nqo.

Homestead Conference Centre manager Desirée Malaba-Zhou said the expo seeks to educate on the importance of weddings.

“This will not just be an expo that seeks to draw attention to service providers but also act as a platform to educate people on the importance of weddings.

Many couples take them for granted. The expo will open people’s minds on different types of weddings, such as traditional and white weddings.

‘‘We hope to see a number of exhibitors showcasing, such as those in decor, caterers, cake and confectionery, counsellors, transport and entertainment, to mention but a few,” she said.

Malaba-Zhou said that they had also engaged the Ministry of Home Affairs to also exhibit at the centre to educate couples on marriage laws and systems.

“We also hope to see the Ministry of Home Affairs exhibiting and engaging people on a one on one basis,” she said.

Homestead Conference Centre is housed at former Stuttafords building next to Rixi Taxis along George Silundika Street and 4th Avenue.

“We seek to restore and promote professionalism in the industry,” added Malaba-Zhou.

The venue has a holding capacity of 1 500 people , including a 200 seater indoor conference room.

It also has a luscious garden area with a fountain.