Tauranga couples are spending as much as $50,000 on a wedding but most couples are still trying to slash costs to save money on their big day.
Lavish weddings in the Bay include the bride arriving by helicopter, or the entire guest list being transported by boat to Matakana Island.
A $30,000 wedding is not considered "OTT" in Tauranga, while the average spend is about $10,000, wedding planners and celebrants told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
Tauranga wedding planner Amy McKeown, of Champagne Events, said she worked on a wedding on which $20,000 was spent on decorations alone. She estimated the cost of the entire wedding to be more than $50,000.
Decorations included 10 crystal chandeliers and candles that cost $50 each.
Spending that kind of money on a wedding was "not rare" in Tauranga, Mrs McKeown said, "if you have got rich parents who can afford it and pay for it".
Big budget weddings with no expenses spared went "upscale everything" - such as a designer Jane Yeh dress at $5000, French champagne and the best food.
"It wouldn't be spent on one particular thing. You would have the dress of your dreams and you would have waiters walking around with champagne for your guests - it would be a luxury experience for them."
Wedding celebrant Wendy Barton, of the Bay of Plenty Celebrants Association, said $30,000 was "not OTT" for a wedding in Tauranga for 80 to 100 guests at a venue.
But she had only been involved with one wedding which would have cost more than $40,000.
Up-scale weddings would be held at a top venue such as Bella Vista Lodge, Ataahua, Ridge Country Retreat or Mills Reef, and would include wedding cars, a top photographer and a plated meal.
Wedding and event planner Kate Lovell of As You Like It said most couples were planning low-cost weddings and the average cost would be about $10,000.
"People are cutting back on the guest list so they can have a better quality of food, but fewer people.
"People are cutting the guest list from 120 to 70 or 80."
There were fewer luxury weddings here than in Auckland or Wellington, but Tauranga's corporate brides were still wanting a lavish affair, she said.
"They are spending a bit more and going a bit more 'wow'.
"They are putting their money into something quite spectacular like arriving in a helicopter. For one wedding all the wedding party and guests were transported by boat to the venue on Matakana Island."