Tauranga is home to the best of the wedding industry, with numerous local businesses taking out top prizes in the national Wedding Industry Awards.
Dee Harlen of Icefire, the winners of the Outstanding Wedding Entertainment award, said it was stiff competition. She is a singer and plays keys in the band. Her husband Bryce is a singer and guitarist, James Boss is the drummer and Brian Franks is the bassist. "For us personally, we were happy to have got through as a finalist. We weren't expecting to win the award - it was such fierce competition it could have been anyone."
Mrs Harlen said she enjoyed being able to network and catch up with others in the wedding industry whom she often worked with in the wedding season. She was pleased at the recognition for the band's hard work. "There was a panel of judges, it was quite a process. We had to answer a lot of questions about our business and had to provide referees as well."
Christine Grant, who was named Outstanding Wedding Celebrant, said she was of four celebrants from Tauranga who had made it through to the awards as finalists and she had been hoping one of the locals would get the top place. "It was wonderful - such a surprise, but exciting. Tauranga did so well, we've got a great group of such professional and dedicated people in our wedding industry."
Mrs Grant said she was passionate about her job and was happy to have the recognition. "Fifteen years I've been a wedding celebrant. It's a long time and I'm so passionate about it. It's the icing on the cake to have the recognition."
