‘Brides Of Sri Lanka’ magazine goes global with launch of App

Sri Lanka’s premier bridal magazine ‘Brides Of Sri Lanka’ expanded its reach to readers across the world with the launch of its App for all Apple and Andriod mobile devices, in the presence of a large and distinguished gathering at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo.

‘Brides Of Sri Lanka’ thus goes on record as being the first fashion, bridal cum wedding magazine to launch its own App and is now available to any bridal couple, anywhere in the world, who may not have access to a hard copy of the magazine.

Joining Editor and Managing Director Nelum Haththella to launch the App were Ramani Fernando and Harris Wijayasinghe, two leading figures in Sri Lanka’s bridal and beauty industry. Incidentally the first ever copy of the magazine was handed over the Ramani Fernando when it was launched in May 2007. 

“Since our launch eight years ago, we’ve published 32 issues so far. We began with three issues a year for the first two years and then, following persistent requests from our readers, we increased it to four issues per year,” says Nelum Haththella.

“In these past eight years, apart from reaching out to hundreds of resident Sri Lankans, we’ve also successfully marketed Sri Lanka as a wedding destination through our website www.bridesofsrilanka.com, to large numbers of Sri Lankans living overseas and to several foreigners too. This has not only been a great revenue earner to all our advertisers but also helped bring in foreign exchange,” she added.

“We have had persistent requests from Sri Lankan readers living overseas and who didn’t have access to a hard copy of the magazine, hence this launch. The App can be downloaded on the Apple AppStore or GooglePlay for free where one can view a few pages of the magazines and then purchase the magazine. It can be downloaded on any iPad, iPhone, Android Phone or Android Tab. The Android versions will be available from 31 July 2015,” she said. 

“Sri Lanka has an amazing variety to offer in terms of bridal products, locations, experiences and services, and, at very cost effective prices too. Considering the large number of foreigners who come to wed in Sri Lanka, the App will showcase both the magazine and the numerous service providers in Sri Lanka thus taking advertising to the next level. Our numerous advertisers will greatly benefit since their products and services are now open to the entire world through the magazine,” Haththella concluded.

‘Brides Of Sri Lanka’ was the first magazine to come in a handy A5 size and was also the first to introduce the concept of ‘Discount Coupons’ to Sri Lanka, which many others have replicated. 

In celebration of its 25th issue in September 2013, ‘Brides Of Sri Lanka’ hosted one of Sri Lanka largest ever bridal gatherings with a bridal show comprising 120 brides and 20 grooms, and with nearly 50 Sri Lankan designers taking part.