Prized wedding venues

TWO of Noosa’s premier restaurants have taken out top honours at the Australian Bridal Industry Academy awards on Tuesday (21 July).
The 17th annual awards were held at Cloudland in Brisbane and saw Noosa Boathouse and River Deck Restaurant feature in the top three Restaurant Reception venues in Queensland.
The River Deck Restaurant, Noosa Marina, was awarded second place with an impressive score of 99.50 per cent, followed by Noosa Boathouse, Noosaville, with 98.96 per cent in third place.
River Deck Restaurant owner Sue Baxby said she and her husband, Geoff, who just returned from the Melbourne Bridal Expo, were very excited to win the award.
“Weddings are such a large part of what we do,” she said.
“We did 81 weddings last year, so they’re a big part of our business and it’s exciting to be recognised for that.”
Noosa Boathouse event manager Tahlia Gittel said the team was proud of the results.
“In a very competitive market, our team is thrilled with this result, and we’re so proud to be consistently delivering fantastic wedding experiences to our couples every year,” she said.
Noosa Springs Golf and Spa Resort also entered the awards and walked away with three honours including the number one Queensland venue for the first night honeymoon with a score of 96.30 per cent, second place for the best motel or resort reception venue with a score of 97.32 per cent, and finalists in the best ceremony venue category with a score of 97.04 per cent.
This year more than 35,000 newlyweds participated in the ABIA poll to determine the nation’s best wedding suppliers.
Newlyweds were asked to rate and review their chosen wedding supplier according to set criteria: quality of product, quality of service, value for money and attitude of staff.
The bridal ratings were collated to determine, according to the voting newlyweds, the best suppliers across more than 30 categories for each state.
Noosa Springs’ executive general manager Mark Brady said it was a terrific result for Noosa Springs made possible by its staff’s professionalism and dedicated teamwork.“Every wedding requirement is catered for onsite from accommodation for honeymooners and wedding guests to stunning ceremony sites, romantic reception rooms; spectacular golf course wedding photographic sites and a dedicated wedding co-ordinator to ensure everything runs smoothly in the lead-up to and actual wedding day,” he said.
Noosa Springs’ wedding co-ordinator Anabelle Gervais said she was thrilled with the win and the finalist nominations.
“It’s testament to our niche offering as one of Noosa’s, and indeed Queensland’s, top destination wedding venues,” Ms Gervais said.