NOMINATION
PROCESS
-
Nomination Period: Vendors can be nominated by industry peers, clients, or self-nomination. Nominees must meet specific criteria set out below (e.g., years of experience, client satisfaction, quality of service etc) to qualify.
-
Submission: Nominations are submitted through our online nomination page, where nominators can put forward their vendor nominee and provide supporting materials such as testimonials and service details.
-
Verification & Evaluation: A panel of industry experts reviews each nomination to ensure eligibility and assess quality, innovation, and service excellence guided by the criteria below.
-
Finalists Selection: After deliberation, a shortlist of top vendors in each category is determined based on scoring from the panel and nomination submissions. There will be up to 10 finalists who will be selected per category with a split of up to 5 finalists from the South Island and up to 5 finalists from the North Island. The physical location of the main/registered office will determine which Island the nominee will be representing. In any case where only one finalist is named in a category, a minimum of 50 votes is required for them to be eligible to receive the Top Vendor Award.
-
Couples & Public Voting: The announcement of finalists and commencement of award voting will take place on Wednesday May 14th. Voting closes on July 16th with a weighted voting system in place. Couples who have had their wedding between April 1st, 2024 & March 31st, 2025 (inclusive of dates), who vote for a vendor they've used on their wedding day will be allocated 5 votes per vote casted (i.e. potential of up to 10 votes per couple). General public votes (including but not limited to those from industry peers and wedding guests) will be valued at 1 vote per vote casted. A valid email address must be provided upon voting with each email address being able to vote only once per category.
-
Winners Announcement: After the voting period concludes, winners are determined 100% by couples and public voting. The finalist with the highest votes in each category will be announced as the winner at the NZWVA Gala Dinner on Saturday August 30, 2025.
CRITERIA
Minimum term of service: at least 12 months of providing products or services for the NZ wedding industry (in business since March 19th, 2024).
Client satisfaction: has at least a 4/5 reviews rating score or an equivalent customer reviews rating at time of nomination.
Quality of service: Measured though customer reviews, content across social media platforms and webpages, and nominations. Looking for consistency in delivering high quality products/services that exceed client expectations, and the demonstration of professionalism, attention to detail, and expertise.
Industry Reputation: Measured through nominations and links to other suppliers on webpages and social platforms.
Categories: Supply services or products belonging to the following categories
-
Attire for Her
-
Attire for Him
-
Cakes
-
Catering- Beverage (incl. Bar/Beverage Trucks)
-
Catering- Food (incl. Food Trucks)
-
Celebrant
-
Content/ Webpage Creation
-
Décor/Theming
-
Entertainment
-
Florist
-
Hair & Make up
-
MC
-
Photo Booth
-
Photography
-
Planning
-
Transport
-
Venue- Ceremony
-
Venue- Reception
-
Videography
The Finalist Panel will use the criteria outlined above to determine the minimum term of service and client satisfaction aspects are met by finalists. On the other hand, a points scale system will be used to rate the quality of service and industry reputation aspects of the criteria. This will feature a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 representing no evidence in support and 10 representing an outstanding and overwhelming show of evidence in support.
AWARDS
Award Divisions: North Island and South Island
Categories: Top North Island vendor, Top South Island vendor, and top overall vendor per category
-
Attire for Her
-
Attire for Him
-
Cakes
-
Catering- Beverage (incl. Bar/Beverage Trucks)
-
Catering- Food (incl. Food Trucks)
-
Celebrant
-
Content/ Webpage Creation
-
Décor/Theming
-
Entertainment
-
Florist
-
Hair & Make up
-
MC
-
Photo Booth
-
Photography
-
Planning
-
Transport
-
Venue- Ceremony
-
Venue- Reception
-
Videography
Community Awards: Top 3 NZ vendors for each Community determined by voter's designated community
-
Chinese
-
Filipino
-
Indian
-
Māori
-
Pasifika
NZWVA 2025 Overall Vendor Award: Awarded to NZ's top wedding vendor across all categories
Award Recipient Policy: There is no substitute for attending the event in person, but we also appreciate there are legitimate reasons why finalists may not be able to attend the Awards Gala in Auckland. In the interest of inclusivity and recognition of the very best wedding vendors across Aotearoa we will provide finalists with 3 options that will allow them to still qualify and be recognized as award winners. Upon acceptance of their Finalist nomination they will have the option of attending the awards gala in person, nominating someone or a group to attend on their behalf or attend virtually through livestream. Tickets for all options will be made available from Wednesday May 14th, 2025 at 12 noon.
INTEGRITY
Verification: Verification of the nomination process and voting by Justice of the Peace
Email addresses: Voters email addresses will be verified using Zerobounce software to eliminate invalid email addresses
Results: Final voting results for the award winners will be made public following the awards
Event Vendors: All event vendors who will be providing services at the NZWVA Gala will be excluded from the awards. This includes Limelight DJ & Entertainment (the agency)
Representation: Up to 10 finalists will be chosen per category with a split of up to 5 finalists from the South Island and up to 5 finalists from the North Island. The physical location of the main/registered office will determine which Island the nominee will be representing.