The per-capita marriage rate in the U.S. has decreased noticeably in the past 15 years, according to statistical records, but you would have a hard time convincing many area businesses of that fact. They are seeing sales spike as New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties continue to build their reputations as wedding destinations.

“Seventy-five percent of the weddings booked at St. Thomas Preservation Hall are destination weddings,” said Poppy Tugwell, general manager of that venue and of City Club at de Rosset. “Wedding websites are bringing them in.”

Area businesses are also experiencing a bridal boost, from hotels and restaurants to wedding-related vendors.

“The last two years we’ve seen a significant uptick in our wedding business,” said Rob Cooley, owner of Apple Annie’s bakery in Wilmington. “Some of it is local, but many people are coming from out of town: Charlotte, Raleigh, up and down the East Coast and even Ohio.”

The growth of The Wedding Dress Shoppe, founded three years ago by Alan Perry, is testament to the demand for wedding attire in this market.

“When we opened this shop, Alan Perry’s goal was to sell 250 wedding dresses in year one,” said general manager Roberta Danford. “We surpassed that goal, and we’re growing. Now we do mother-of-the-bride, bridesmaid, flower girl and special occasion dresses. We have shoes, veils and jewelry. We want to be a one-stop shop.”

Danford said the store is exploring the possibility of getting into rental of men’s formal wear, but that’s a complicated business. 

Meanwhile, The Wedding Dress Shoppe, with its 3,000-square-foot bridal dress showroom and in-house alteration service in Barclay Commons, is keeping many local brides from going to Raleigh or elsewhere to outfit their bridal party, and it’s attracting brides who live out of the area but are getting married here.

“It’s probably 50-50 local/out of town,” Danford said. “We have hit a large market: Raleigh, New Bern, Jacksonville, Greensboro. Brides are also coming out of South Carolina. The variety [of dresses] we have makes a big difference. We carry nine different designers, and the price points range from moderate to high.”

Danford, who has learned plenty about the demanding timetable brides must follow in planning anything but a simple wedding, says once a woman gets “the diamond,” she starts looking for the right dress. Unless she wants to buy off the rack, she must allow six to nine months for her chosen gown to be made and shipped.

Equally pressing is booking the wedding space, Tugwell said. 

 “All the venues downtown are busy,” Tugwell said. “In April, May, June, September and October you’re seeing Friday, Sunday weddings. We have three Friday weddings at St. Thomas in June. St. Thomas is pretty much full for the spring of 2017. For Saturday weddings in April and May of next year, the City Club is half full; St. Thomas is full.”

When Tugwell came to the City Club 15 years ago, there was a handful of companies locally that provided wedding goods and services. Now that vendor list has tripled, she said, and they provide anything from silver and china to special furnishings for the event.

Because of the predictable summer heat and the unpredictable summer thunderstorms, July and August are slower wedding seasons here, but the pace quickens again in the early fall, business owners say.

On any given weekend, observers say, you can see bridal parties walking along the streets in downtown Wilmington as part of celebratory photo shoots.

One of those photographers might be Will Page, who figures he will shoot 30 weddings this year. He has already received 20 requests for October weddings.

“The wedding industry is huge in Wilmington,” he said. “The population here is growing, plus it’s a destination. I’ve shot weddings in Southport and Topsail. It’s insane how many weddings are taking place here.”

While those brides may be coming from far away, there is usually some pre-existing connection to the area through family, school or vacation history, Page said. Tugwell said she recently hosted the nuptials of a couple from California who chose Wilmington for their big day because they are University of North Carolina Wilmington graduates.

Businesses catering to destination weddings must develop ways of working with the bridal party from afar. Electronic communication, websites and the telephone help, but a bride can’t sample cakes and try on dresses virtually. 

Cooley said that out-of-town brides usually come to the area a couple of months before the wedding to nail down specifics at their chosen location, to make sure the gown fits and to do cake and other food tastings. 

“They make crisp use of their time,” he said. “We handle cake tastings on a tight schedule.”

Sometimes, dealing with a known vendor makes distance decisions a bit easier. 

Wilmington’s Whole Foods Market is a popular purveyor of both floral arrangements and cakes for area weddings, according to store spokeswoman Erin McNally. 

On a recent Friday, floral designer Leah Schenck was preparing flowers for two Saturday weddings and putting together corsages and boutonnieres for six prom parties. Baker Yuli Coderre had finished the two wedding cakes. 

“At our peak season, which is now, we do four weddings a weekend,” McNally said. “That doesn’t slack off until November.”

In addition to local brides, brides from the Triangle and all over the East Coast and beyond place those orders, Schenck said. She recently did the flowers for one bridal couple from Japan. 

Brides may choose Whole Foods because it’s a known brand, but there are other reasons, Schenck said.

“We’re a more affordable option; since we make money on all aspects of the wedding – cake, flowers, catering – our overhead is spread out and shared by all our other departments. Our profit margin doesn’t have to be as big. And we do a higher volume.”

Higher volume is apparent at the Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau, where officials there have noted quite an increase in inquiries from brides wanting to get married on the beach, said CVB spokeswoman Connie Nelson.

“They are specifically interested in two newer locations,” she said, “Kure Beach Oceanfront Park and the renovated boardwalk in Carolina Beach, which now has features such as gazebos.”