REVEALED: Northern Rivers’ top wedding spots

REGION’S coastal areas dominate the list of most popular places to get hitched.

DESTINATION WEDDINGS: Coastal areas of the Northern Rivers remain the most popular places to get married, according to NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages data. Photo: Supplied

THE love affair with beach weddings is still going strong across the Northern Rivers, with beautiful backdrops in Byron Bay and the Tweed Coast among the top spots to tie the knot.

The Tweed Valley local government area had the highest number of nuptials with 993 weddings last year, while locally the beach and hinterland area of Byron Shire was second most popular with 853 ceremonies.

The NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages records showed 2529 couples tied the knot on the Northern Rivers, including Tweed and Clarence Valley, in 2019.

The popularity of Byron Bay and Tweed as a wedding destination has soared during the previous ten years, with NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages showing the number of weddings held in the two LGAs had more than doubled from 2009.

Records show Tweed had the greatest surge from only 449 in 2009 to 993 last year.

While 487 couples got hitched in Byron Shire in 2009, there was an increase in 2019’s figure to 853.

Also following the coastal trend was Ballina LGA with 203 nuptials in 2019, followed by Lismore with 162 and Clarence Valley with 161.

Richmond Valley, which includes both the coastal Evans Heads region as well as rural countryside such near Casino, saw 53 ceremonies.

The suburban areas of Lismore City hosted 51 marriages out of the 162 marriages recorded across the entire LGA.

The more sparsely populated LGAs, Kyogle and Tenterfield, rounded out the list with only 31 and 22 respective nuptials in 2019.