As the number of civil wedding ceremonies in New South Wales continues to rise, so does the popularity of the Hunter Valley vineyards as a wedding destination.
Figures from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages show that civil weddings in the state this year outnumber religious weddings at a rate of almost two to one.
Local marriage celebrant Maree Callaghan, who has been conducting weddings in the Hunter Valley for more than 15 years, said she has noticed a significant increase in civil ceremonies in the past five years.
Mrs. Callaghan attributes this to the growing popularity of the vineyards, particularly venues such as the Hunter Valley Gardens and Peppers Creek chapels.
“Times have changed; people are not as religious as their parents were,” Mrs. Callaghan said.
“Wine Country, not including Cessnock, hosted 897 weddings in 2008, whereas we might have had 200 ten years ago.”
Mrs. Callaghan said the number of celebrants servicing the area has risen to 120, coming from as far as Sydney, to accommodate for the growing number of civil ceremonies.
She said Sydney couples are choosing to marry in the Hunter Valley because venues in the city are booked out up to two years in advance.
“We’ve also had an enormous increase in elopements, mainly from people out of the area, but a few locals too,” she added.
However, many out-of-towners wishing to wed in the Hunter Valley are still taking up the option of religious ceremonies.
Canon Sonia Roulston, of the Anglican Parish of Cessnock/Wollombi said three-quarters of its weddings in 2009 were non-local couples.
And, of these 40 weddings, 21 were held off-site at vineyard venues or chapels, with the remainder at the Cessnock, Wollombi and Ellalong churches.
With the number of weddings conducted annually by the parish doubling in the past decade, Canon Roulston said they are holding steady in the wedding business.
“We’re as busy as we’d want to be with weddings,” she said, adding that they already have 22 ceremonies booked in for 2010.
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Of the 16 District Weddings featured in The Advertiser in 2009, five were in religious churches, four were in non-denominational churches or chapels and seven were at the reception venue.
WEDDINGS PROVIDE HUGE BOOST TO TOURISM
Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism figures show that wedding bookings over the last three years have been on a steady increase, and are starting to spread more evenly throughout the year, not just in the most popular wedding spring/summer seasons.
Latest survey results show that for the month of October wedding guests increased from 2750 in 2008 to 4365 this year.
The appeal of getting out of the city and making a weekend of their celebration, along with stunning venues, top quality wine and restaurants, and a relaxed setting are among the reasons Sydney brides are attracted to the region.
And, the Hunter Valley has established itself as not only a premium wedding destination, but a highly popular place for couple to spend their wedding night.
Tonic Hotel at Lovedale, and Pokolbin’s Tower Lodge scored second and third place in Australian Bride To Be’s “Top 10 places to spend your first night as husband and wife”, beating top resorts in Sydney, Brisbane, Bali and even the Maldives.
Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism marketing manager Hiedi Duckworth claims that this is not the first time the Hunter Valley has stood out against other top world-wide destinations.
“The Hunter Valley really is such a romantic destination in Australia with so much to offer from beautiful reception venues and gorgeous accommodation options set in the most picturesque destination,” Ms. Duckworth said.
Wedding venues across the Hunter Valley are increasingly filling their vacant spots as the season progresses, but Ms. Duckworth claims that some of the best venues do still have availability.
“Many venues are already taking bookings for the next two wedding seasons, but unlike some of the major Sydney venues there are still availabilities at some amazing locations for 2010 and 2011.”
Some venues already have weddings booked in for 2012, and the yet-to-be-completed Chateau Elan at The Vintage (due to open in February) has already secured a strong number of bookings.
NSW WEDDINGS: FACTS AND FIGURES
- More than 17,000 civil weddings were held in NSW from January to October this year compared to some 9000 religious weddings.
- The number of civil marriages first overtook religious weddings in 2002 and has steadily increased since then.
- Last year more than 24,000 civil ceremonies were held in NSW, compared to 20,000 in 2005 and 19,000 in the year 2000.
- As far as religious weddings went, 15,000 were held last year while some 16,000 were conducted in 2005 and 20,000 in the year 2000.
Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
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