Major event organisers in Northland flat out during summer

Matt Randell and Molly Board are finally getting married in January after Covid put paid to their nuptial plans. Photo / Supplied Photo / Supplied

Planning on getting married in subtropical Northland this summer? Book in early as most of those taking orders for bridal costumes, wedding and special events have been run off their feet since Covid restrictions were lifted.

A Whangārei-based special event hire specialist is taking orders as far ahead as 2024 while similar businesses across Northland are struggling to keep up with demand.

"It's a good position to be in. Our bookings go all the way to April next year and we're even taking bookings for 2024," Kylie Springford of Cheers Wedding and Party Hire in Whangārei said.

She bought the business in January 2020— five weeks before Covid hit— so she hasn't quite done a full year but said winter was generally a downtime for businesses like hers.

"But this winter has been so busy for us, with corporate events which had been postponed due to Covid. There was a restriction on numbers but now events can have up to 750 people which is absolutely amazing.

"Although our summer season has been pretty much booked out, we still have gear for hire. We just can't do deliveries and set-ups. We are busy every weekend of summer," Springford said.

Cheers Wedding and Party Hire warehouse manager Andrew Gannaway will be busy right through the upcoming summer. Photo / Michael Cunningham

While party hire businesses suffered during the pandemic, Evelyn Laybourn of LovEve- Bride consultant in Whangārei experienced a 50 per cent increase in business in the last two years as Covid restrictions meant people had to buy wedding gowns locally.

"The wedding industry has been burnt in the last two years and so many have closed down. Brides couldn't drive anywhere else for their gowns but come to me for their actual wedding dresses.

"The actual booking for wedding planning and set-ups suffered and people were forced to do backyard weddings but they still needed to buy wedding dresses locally," she said.

However, Laybourn said people were still a little bit cautious and not putting down a deposit until closer to their big day.

Weddings in Northland, she said, traditionally began from August or September, unlike other places that started a bit earlier.

"Bookings have gone up in leaps and bounds and I've even had a few customers from Auckland who were stuck here during Covid," Laybourn said.

Evelyn Laybourn of LovEve- Bride consultant in Whangārei was one of the few business that was not affected during Covid. Photo / Supplied

One of her clients, Ōpua mother-of-two Molly Board, is getting married in January next year and her wedding dress is expected to arrive next month.

She and partner Matt Randell were supposed to tie the knot in January this year but Covid put paid to those plans.

"Everything is booked out this summer. I couldn't get specific makeup artists and specific caterers based in the Bay of Islands so I used social media platforms to get
recommendations from people instead."

The couple met in Auckland and have a 6-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son.

Randell's family and friends from Auckland and Queenstown have booked 15 rooms in the Mid North while 12 of her family members will attend their wedding.

"That's just one wedding up here. It's going to be so good for Northlanders to see people in their region again and for businesses to have bums on seats," she said.

Opua couple Molly Board and Matt Randell with their children Matilda, 6, and Jackson. Photo / Supplied

Wedding photographer Jess Burges of Kerikeri is fully booked for summer.

"With borders closed during Covid, people were unable to come here for weddings but the border reopening's been great.

"Bay of Islands is the ideal destination for weddings and people have started coming back which is great," she said.

Burges has had to find alternative work during the pandemic but is glad to be back doing wedding photography.

Chair of Business Paihia, Charles Parker, said events such as weddings were a great way to kickstart the economy after the Covid restrictions.

"One wedding can conceivably bring hundreds of guests to Northland and the economic benefits would be huge. We are open and enthusiatically welcome guests to what is a popular wedding destination in the Bay of Islands."

Dargaville Museum's lighthouse function centre has a wedding booked in for 2024.

"It's getting to a stage where bookings have started coming in. We've got all sorts happening here, from weddings to farmers' meetings and even funerals and a first aid course coming up this Friday," museum treasurer Dorothy Gorrie said.