THUNDER BAY — Plan Your Day kicked off another year of extravagant wedding-themed events for its Wedding Show 2025 on Sunday.
The event saw nearly 400 residents flock to watch fashion shows, speak with vendors and listen to live music with the Back Forty.
Shalini Misir, the planner for Plan Your Day, took part in many of the show’s festivities. She said the turnout was absolutely incredible.
“We had about 75 people waiting outside before we even started, about a half an hour before the show started and they waited in the cold, which is incredible,” said Misir.
“And then we’ve had, I would say, we’ve had about 300 to 400 people already through our doors and this is only the first hour and a half of the show, so there’s more to come.”
She said the show was the biggest wedding show in Northwestern Ontario.
“We have over 50 vendors today. We have wedding vendors, everything from cars to DJs to fashion, wedding planners like myself, decorators, just everything you can need to plan your best day,” said Misir.
Of these vendors, she added that pretty much everyone was absolutely local to Thunder Bay, with only one vendor from Duluth because the brides tend to love going to Duluth, Toronto and Winnipeg to shop a little bit outside of town for their dresses.
When asked what her favourite part of the show was, she explained it had been the fashion shows.
“There’s so much high energy,” said Misir.
She added that the Q&As, where they answered people’s questions, with Maid for the Bride was also a highlight.
“Everyone’s got a question. They want to know how to plan their best perfect day and that’s what we’re here for. So that’s been a lot of fun so far,” said Misir.
For her, she said what she wants for anyone coming to the wedding show to realize is just how large the local wedding industry is.
“It’s incredible and this is only a part of it. This is only as many as we can fit in this venue, but there are so many vendors,” said Misir.
“There are so many opportunities to have and to build your perfect day, so I know a lot of people think that Thunder Bay, we may not have those options, but we do, and they’re bold and they’re brilliant, so I want everyone to go away knowing that they can have the day that they want.”
However, she said she wanted everyone to know that at the end of the day, this is community over competition.
“We love all of our vendors. We have, I think, five DJs here today. We have three or four dress boutiques. We have people who are doing the same thing, but that doesn’t mean that we are competition,” said Misir.
“We all love working together and we’re here to just make sure we get you the best fit for your day, so come on out, enjoy it. It’s going to be fun.”
