Royal romance effect grips Kiwis

The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton could inspire a flurry of weddings and influence everything from wedding dresses and marriages to baby names.
Indications are that the royal wedding inspired the romance in Kiwis, but experts caution against getting swept up by the romance of the day instead of focusing on a relationship and marriage.
Trade Me's dating site, FindSomeone.co.nz, had its busiest day in three years the Monday before the wedding.
The week before saw a 60 per cent increase in people messaging other singles on the site. It also saw a rush when the couple announced their engagement.
"Royal romance seems to have motivated a lot of lonely hearts," said Trade Me head of operations Mike O'Donnell.
And Bay of Plenty secretary of the Celebrants Association of New Zealand Faye Frelan said the royal wedding might have given the impression "there's a Prince Charming out there for everyone".
"I think it highlights weddings and commitment, and it did look like a lovely family wedding despite all the trappings.
"It certainly felt that it gave people a really good buzz and a really nice feeling about weddings."
Les Simmonds, clinical leader of Relationship Services Whakawhanaungatanga Bay of Plenty/Gisborne, said wedding celebrations were an important symbol of commitment but the emphasis should be on the relationship.
"There's a lot of reasons good relationships come about; it has little to do with the day.
"Having a special day for some people is really important. It gives them photographs they can show their children, gives them a time they can talk about.
"Symbolically it's significant in people's lives but it still doesn't make a good relationship. The important stuff comes later. [It's] whether you go out of your way to stick by that commitment."
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Debbie Maguigan, owner of Brides on Devonport, said long sleeves on a wedding dress had not been popular in New Zealand for some time but that could change thanks to Kate's dress. Celebrity wedding dresses influenced bridal trends.
"Lace sleeves may make a comeback ... but definitely the neckline was gorgeous, the bodice was beautiful.
"I think her accessories will have an impact, her earrings and tiara."
Although the shop does not currently stock any dresses with long sleeves, it does offer lace jackets which would give the Kate effect. Ms Maguigan expected maid of honour Pippa Middleton's dress to be widely copied and to increase the popularity of capped sleeves.
Papamoa wedding dress designer Corina Snow, of Corina Snow Bridal Couture, said royal protocol dictated that a wedding dress should have sleeves.
"When you look back in history, whether it's Grace Kelly or Mary of Denmark, they are strict on what a wedding dress has to have when you marry into the royal family."
But the designer did not believe Kate's wedding dress would see a revival of wedding dresses with sleeves for Tauranga brides.
"For Bay of Plenty weddings, you see possibly a capped sleeve, never a long sleeve.
"I think lace will have a come-back. Lace is quite vintage, and the vintage element is coming through very strongly. Anything from the 20s, 30s to the 50s, when ladies were ladies. It's sheer elegance."
The designer believed the dress worn by Pippa was more likely to inspire Tauranga brides.
"I feel that's what Kate would have worn had she had unlimited choices."
TIME will tell if we see a surge in popularity of the names William, Kate and Catherine - and perhaps even Pippa.
Last year William was the fifth most popular boys' name in New Zealand, while Kate was at No 53. Catherine or Katherine didn't feature on the top 100 at all, though Pippa scraped in at No 95 - possibly influenced by popular television presenter Pippa Wetzell.
Retired Tauranga schoolteacher Eleanor Burkin, who compiled a list of the most popular children's names based on newspaper birth notices for more than 20 years, said popular figures influenced baby names.
"William has been increasing in popularity for some years. It wasn't on the list at all for a number of years, then it crept on as [Prince] William grew up.
"Catherine has always been a very classical, popular name. I would expect that to definitely increase in popularity."