Documentary series highlights South Asian wedding industry in Toronto

A documentary series highlighting the South Asian wedding industry here in Toronto is back to share more of their story.

The show follows a bridal shop called Chandan Fashion run by the Singh family in Toronto’s Little India for almost 40 years. “Bollywed” focuses on the lives on Chandan, Roop, Sarab, Chandni and Kuki, as well as their customers.

“It’s a family show about my dad, my mom, my wife and my sister and we all work in the family business together and kind of what that dynamic is to have our generation run our business our way and then my dad and mom’s generation that run it a very different way,” Chandan Singh, who runs the marketing department.

Bollywed’s second season chronicles the Singh family as they open a new store in Brampton.

“The two co-creators Gurjeet and Carolyn … they’re the ones that came up with the concept of the show,” explained Singh.

“They approached me at a wedding show and said, ‘We would love to shoot a show about a family, a reality show,’ and I said, ‘I would love to shoot the South Asian version of ‘Say Yes to the Dress’.’ and the two ideas kind of came together.

“Seven years later, 22 rejections later we finally have our own show and I was proud to have season 2 coming out next week,” Singh added.

The new store is their first expansion and will be called Chandan Heritage.

“We really wanted to continue the heritage and the lineage of this business which Chandan’s grand father actually started, so it goes way beyond 39 years,”says Savroop Mann – who takes after bridal Sales at Chandan Fashion.

“Imagine for 39 years, you’re in one spot and everyone works together and now all of a sudden it’s like ok, you know what, we’re going to expand into a new location and what that can do to a family business and to the family,” says Singh.

The second season will premiere on Jan. 14.