Sunshine Coast Hinterland Times

The Australian wedding industry now generates more than $2 billion every year, with many weddings costing about $30,000. An estimated 116,000 weddings take place in Australia each year, many overseas couples also now choosing to be married in Australia.

• Local businesses estimate the wedding industry is worth about $12 million a year in Maleny alone, with a conservative $30,000 spent on each wedding including flowers, catering and accommodation.

• The Sunshine Coast is now the eighth most popular place in Australia to be married and the Hinterland destinations are now so sought after that some venues are receiving bookings for 2012.

• The average age for marriage has increased, both for men and women. It is now 29.6 for men and 27.6 for women.

• The trend is for couples to live together before marriage, and in 2007, 76.8% of couples that married were already cohabiting.

• Because of good weather March is still the busiest month for the Australian wedding industry. November and October are increasingly popular as couples choose to avoid the very busy wedding season and make the most of the daylight hours.

• There are now more civil marriage ceremonies compared with religious services. In 2007 63% of couples were married in a civil ceremony by a wedding celebrant rather than a religious minister. Of the 37% who chose a religious marriage ceremony, one third had Catholic services and two thirds had Anglican services.

• Remarriage is a crucial part of the Australian wedding industry, with only around 50% of 2007 weddings involving first-time marriages for both partners. Divorced people have a fairly high chance of remarrying.