Couples say 'I do' to Rotorua

Sian and Andrew Francis sign their marriage certificate. Photo / Tracey Robinson

Having a Rotorua-esque wedding was very important for local couple Sian and Andrew Francis.

Their big day was just one of a rising number of marriages in the city.

According to new data from Statistics New Zealand, 264 couples married in Rotorua in 2014, an increase on marriages in 2013 though fewer than five years ago.

Aden and Zhenna Hare fell in love at first sight.

The number of marriages in 2014 was also up on 2013 in Taupo, although they dipped in Whakatane.

Sian, 26, and Andrew, 33, had their "amazing" wedding at Peppers on the Point on February 7 this year.

"We used as many local suppliers as we could," Mrs Francis said.

"I run my own clothing and jewellery business - Cobalt Heights - so all the bridesmaids were wearing things from me, and we had a Rotorua photographer, Rotorua cake maker, a photo booth from Rotorua and so on.

"We're both locals so it was really important to us to have that local element."

Fellow locals Aden and Zhenna Hare were married at the Novotel Rotorua on Anzac Day.

Mr Hare said getting married was a no brainer.

"It was love at first sight," he said.

"I knew she was the one for me and we wanted to get married in honour of each other and our families."

The couple have just returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii.

Nationally, there were 20,125 marriages last year - 888 more than in 2013.

There were 19,639 opposite-sex marriages and 486 same-sex unions.

A further 2507 opposite-sex marriages and 391 same-sex marriages were registered to overseas residents.

It was the first full year of same-sex marriage registrations since the Marriage Amendment Act came into effect in August 2013.

The number of same-sex civil unions dropped significantly in 2014, with couples opting to marry instead.

Only 19 same-sex civil unions were registered to New Zealanders in 2014, down from 121 in 2013, while there were 277 more same-sex marriages last year than in 2013.

Meanwhile, 8171 married and 63 civil union couples divorced in 2014. Just over one-third of couples who married in 1989 had divorced before their 25th wedding anniversary.