Hawke's Bay Wedding Collective members Abby Schofield, Candice Dear, Suzanne Beaumont, with Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas and Kirsten Simcox and Eva Bradley. Photo / Supplied.
Hawke's Bay Wedding Collective members Abby Schofield, Candice Dear, Suzanne Beaumont, with Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas and Kirsten Simcox and Eva Bradley. Photo / Supplied.
A rise in the number of couples tying the knot in Hawke's Bay could be about to climb further, with Hawke's Bay businesses teaming up with Hawke's Bay Tourism to encourage couples across the nation to get married here.
Figures from Statistics New Zealand show 561 marriages took placein Hawke's Bay last year, 33 more than the previous year, and Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas said that was good news for the economy.
"We all know the pedigree of Hawke's Bay's wedding locations, whether it's a gorgeous vineyard or restaurant, architectural venue or iconic natural landmark but it's also the remarkable talents of our wedding vendors who add a tremendous amount of value in staging a memorable and treasured event."
There were almost 80 Hawke's Bay wedding vendors now represented on the organisation's newly redeveloped website, with expectations of more to come.
The weddings section of the www.hawkesbaynz.com website had been completely rebuilt to better represent the way in which the local weddings industry had positioning itself in the highly competitive market, she said.
Speaking on behalf of the newly formed Hawke's Bay Wedding Collective, photographer Eva Bradley said the industry was encouraged by the additional support from Hawke's Bay Tourism.
"The recognition by Hawke's Bay Tourism of the wedding industry's increasing value to the region's visitor economy is gratifying as it reflects positively on the collective efforts by all of us to develop something special here in Hawke's Bay.
"We're very much looking forward to seeing further growth on the back of our enhanced profile as a destination wedding region."
