KEY POINTS:
More Kiwi couples are ditching summer ceremonies in favour of winter weddings - even on weeknights after work.
Latest figures from Statistics New Zealand show February is still the most popular month for nuptials - 610 couples were married on February 24, 2007 alone - but winter months
are growing in popularity. Wedding industry players say a lack of top-notch venues and two-year waiting lists for a Saturday booking could make this winter the busiest yet.
Johnny Mantell, director of Mt Eden function venue Mantell's, said prospective brides and grooms who wanted a Saturday wedding were constantly turned away.
"People just can't believe we haven't got anything [on a Saturday] until next May."
While the wedding season typically ran from September to March, Mantell said couples with their hearts set on a particular venue would take whatever booking was available - even after work in winter.
"It's become quite standard. People want to secure a Friday or a Saturday, but when those days aren't available, they go from there," said Mantell.
"There seem to be lots of people getting married at the moment."
Justine Hoggard, wedding manager at the Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant on Waiheke Island, said winter weddings were becoming very fashionable.
Couples wanting to say "I do" on a summer Saturday could wait up to two years, she said.
Mudbrick had already taken bookings for weddings next winter. "That never used to happen," said Hoggard.
Auckland photographer Angela Scott told the Herald on Sunday this winter would be her busiest yet.
Couples loved the "style factor" a winter wedding could provide - candlelit evening ceremonies and dinner party-style receptions.
A winter wedding also allowed a bride to match her dress with a chic and flattering wrap, as well as wearing deeper colours.
A spokeswoman for bridal designer Jane Yeh said business had become busier over winter. Most commissions were for couples getting married overseas, but New Zealand ceremonies were also on the increase.
Dresses were usually still strapless but with a wrap, fur or jacket over the top.
Murray Crane, of Crane Brothers tailored menswear, said winter weddings had become more popular in the past two seasons, especially in Queenstown and Otago.
Weather patterns that had seen New Zealand's summer stretched out had also contributed to the longer wedding season.
Men choosing a winter wedding often wore a warm coat over their suit, or a tuxedo instead of a light, smart-casual summer outfit.
Queenstown-based wedding celebrant Phillipa Cook said the number of winter weddings booked for 2008 was double that of last year. Some took their vows in the snow while others chose romantic fireside settings inside luxury lodges with spectacular mountain views.
Cook had performed ceremonies on the access road to Coronet Peak with couples wearing full snowboarding gear, while others wore luxurious fur coats.
However, some brides were determined to have the complete white wedding: snow and a white dress with "ridiculous" shoes.
"I had to dig a hole in the snow one day, looking for one of the bride's strappy shoes," said Cook.
MIDWEEK PERFECT FOR NUPTIALS
Getting hitched on a week night wasn't part of Christina Desbonnets' original plan.
Yet the special "night" couldn't have been more perfect when Desbonnets, 44, and Paul Watson married at classy Auckland venue Mantell's.
He popped the question on New Year's Eve and the couple - both of whom had been married - wanted to get married as soon as possible.
"We had wanted a Saturday but ringing around it became very obvious very quickly we wouldn't be able to get a good venue at such short notice. We would have had to wait a year or so," said Desbonnets. "In the end we thought what's actually stopping us from getting married during the week? Everyone can just finish work and then come to a wedding afterwards."
With two raging fireplaces and outdoor heaters to warm the 37 guests, and delicious food served in a dinner party-like setting, Desbonnets said the evening nuptials were more "romantic" than a daytime ceremony.
Avoiding the weekend meant all but two guests could make the ceremony. "Everyone was available on a Wednesday night. It was like a big dinner party.