Your big, fat week of wedding preparations

The weeks leading up to a wedding can be nerve-racking, with betrothed couples making one trip after another to boutiques, studios, wedding halls and appliance stores. An alternative to all that running around can be found at the Korea Wedding Fair, which runs this week in southern Seoul. At the event, couples can minimize their hassles by doing all of their wedding-related preparations in one spot.

The fair, which kicked off yesterday, is organized and sponsored by My Wedding magazine, published by Woongjin.com. The venue has booths where goods and services for soon-to-be-wed couples are offered by more than 100 companies, including dress shops, studios, travel agencies and furniture stores.

"The Wedding Fair is held early in the year because weddings are usually held in the spring, so this is the optimal time for couples to start preparing," said Jo Jae-yeol, a public relations officer at the publishing company.

At the show, brides-to-be can try out wedding dresses on the spot. Vendors will also be offering discounts on certain products and services.

Fashion shows will be held Saturday and Sunday afternoons, featuring models in the latest in wedding dress vogue, at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Each show will display more than 50 dresses, including hanbok (traditional Korean) styles. Special gifts and prizes, such as televisions and certificates for dress rentals and makeup, will be given away.

Woongjin.com has been sponsoring the event since 1995. It puts together one show for the spring and another for the autumn. The last show -- an autumn show -- was held last July, and more than 35,000 visitors attended.

The Wedding Fair runs until Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Seoul Trade Exhibition Hall in Gangnam. Admission is free.

For more information, call (02) 3670-1056 or visit www.e-myweddding.co.kr.

by Choi Jie-ho