Winery weddings sparkling success

BRIDES and grooms-to-be are looking to McLaren Vale’s vineyards as a perfect backdrop for their special day, with an estimated 700 weddings now held in the region each year.

Figures collected by the Southern Times Messenger show the number of weddings has grown by about 25 per cent - or close to 200 weddings - over the past 18 months, with some wineries having to hire a full-time event co-ordinator.

Each of McLaren Vale’s 20 wedding venues now hosts an average of 35 ceremonies and/or receptions a year.

Maxwell Wines’ Jo D’Araugo said the number of weddings held at the winery had increased by 25 per cent over the past three years.

“We have noticed the region has become very popular for couples in their 30s and 40s who have a more refined palate,” Ms D’Araugo said.

Tapestry Wines, which is used as a wedding venue from October to April, is looking to offer winter weddings from next year.

“Over the past few years, we have looked after some 25 weddings per season and business is growing well,” manager Jacqui Oglanby said.

Karina Spier, hired to manage weddings at Woodstock last year, said her position had been created because weddings had “increased so much” over the past 12 months.

“The duties were previously handled by the restaurant manager but the dramatic increase in weekday and weekend function bookings necessitated a person be appointed to a dedicated event co-ordination role,” Ms Spier said.

The McLaren Vale & Fleurieu Visitor Information Centre started hosting weddings this year and has bookings well into 2012.

“The visitor centre had never really entertained the idea of facilitating wedding ceremonies or receptions, but with the recent upgrades to the centre we have been overwhelmed by the requests,” centre manager David Mayne said.

Amie Smith, of Flagstaff Hill, married her husband Matt at Maxwell Wines in August 2008, while Mark Pinnock married his wife Charlene at Woodstock also in August 2008.

“We chose McLaren Vale because it’s really relaxed and it has great food and wine” Mrs Smith said.

Mr Pinnock, of Aldinga Beach: “We wanted a winter wedding and we thought there would be nothing better than a good red wine and steak at a winery.”

Showcase keeps bridal dollars local
ENCOURAGING brides and grooms to spend their wedding dollars in the Fleurieu Peninsula was the idea behind the McLaren Vale Wedding Expo, organiser Charlene Pinnock says.

The expo, in its second year, will be held at five McLaren Vale venues on Sunday, April 3, from 10am to 4pm.

“The idea was to create a sustainable economy by keeping the wedding dollars local,” said Mrs Pinnock, of Aldinga Beach.

“We knew wineries were doing a lot of weddings but I knew from organising my own wedding it was hard to find local suppliers.

“Brides were paying a fortune to bring cakes and make-up artists from as far away as Port Adelaide.”

Ms Pinnock said Fleurieu Peninsula-based wedding suppliers were being overlooked because they had not advertised themselves widely enough.

“Most of the business was word of mouth - there was no networking,” she said.

“Now we’ve created a wedding industry community and businesses refer customers between each other.”

Activities on offer during the expo include a fashion parade with plus-size models (Maxwell Wines); Queen of Hearts mobile casino (Chapel Hill); Taste of the Vale with six Fleurieu micro-breweries (McLaren Vale & Fleurieu Visitor Information Centre); wedding cars and belly-dancing (Rosemount Estate) and a groom seminar by buckshow.com.au (Tapestry).

Tickets: $5 (online), $10 (at the door). A free Splodge creche will be at Maxwell Wines.

Food and drink will also be available for sale, with wine tasting and live music at each participating venue.