The Wānaka wedding industry has wrapped up one of the busiest weeks of the year, showing the local industry is thriving.

The main wedding season runs from October through April, with January and February typically the most in-demand months. 

Those working across the sector say bookings have returned to, and in some cases surpassed, pre-Covid levels.

“It has certainly bounced back,” Tregold wedding planner Samantha Stout told the Wānaka App.

The Rippon wedding venue. PHOTO: Luisa Apanui

At Rippon, events manager Siena Hatton-Brown said the venue would host more than 60 weddings this season.

“It’s been a really successful season,” she said.

Celebrant Sophia Shortcliffe, of Married with Friends, said the company has officiated more than 350 weddings in the past 12 months, with almost 115 taking place this year alone.

“We’ve seen significant growth after… Covid,” Sophia said. 

“The long-term vendors who have been around five-plus years are really thriving.”

Destination weddings are contributing to the growth. 

Local make-up artist Emilie, of Emilie Plowman Makeup, said more than half of her clients this season have travelled from Australia, others have come from Canada, the United States and parts of Asia. Most of her New Zealand clients are also from outside Wānaka.

While Wānaka’s scenery is a drawcard, a strong network of planners, venues, caterers, photographers, celebrants and stylists means a couple’s wedding can be organised entirely within the region.

“One of the best things about Wānaka that stands out… is it really is a group effort, we all… band together to make sure everyone has the perfect day,” Siena said.

This collaboration has supported both larger traditional weddings and the growing niche market of elopements, which Alpine Florists owner Vera Yakzhik said is “booming”.

Samantha said elopements have always been popular with a certain market, but that market has grown.

“It was already there, but it’s a wider net than before… There seems to be a trend at the moment for either small micro-weddings or large, big-budget weddings.”