‘Race to the altar’ couple selected

Ryan Fletchman and Maria Prince were Friday night announced the winners of Roraima Wedding Expo’s 2nd annual ‘Race to the Altar’ at Roraima Duke Lodge.  The couple will now have their wedding held on March 29, the second night of the Wedding Expo.

Fletchman and Prince were among ten other couples who were vying for the top prize of having all of their wedding expenses paid, including their honeymoon package, compliments of Fly Jamaica.

After several rounds of competition, the couples were then narrowed down to five finalists. “…We look at the genuineness and how we felt about them and we got the five couples,” the Roraima’s Chief Executive Officer Captain Gerry Gouveia told the gathering.

The finalists were judged based on votes they garnered from the public through several social media networks, including Facebook.

Ryan Fletchman and Maria Prince
Ryan Fletchman and Maria Prince

Gouviea said the Wedding Expo is being used as a catalyst to promote wedding tourism in Guyana. “There are many people who go all over the place to get married…but they can’t come to Guyana because our laws dictate that they spend two weeks in Guyana before they get married.  So the Minister of Tourism is actually on board to help change those laws so that Guyanese who are living all over the world and they are thinking about getting married, they can actually come back to Guyana and get married…”

Last year the expo hosted its first real wedding, which saw Lee Davis and Oshani White becoming tourism ambassadors for Guyana, Gouviea said.

The Annual Wedding Expo, which started in 2007, sees a number of large and small local businesses marketing themselves to their intended audience.

It is designed to assist persons in not only planning a wedding, but also the engagement, honeymoon and even acquiring a home. It provides a platform for couples to plan their special day and to create a one of a kind celebration. The expo commences on March 28 and culminates on March 30.