Bermuda Weddings and Setting Up Home, an 84-page glossy colour magazine, is billed as the definitive bridal guide. Retailing for $3.95, the publication is the shared vision of Amanda Temple and Shelly Hamill.

Ms Temple was editor, photographer and graphic designer of Bermuda Homes & Gardens magazine for three years until last March and is a wedding photographer and wedding event consultant.

Ms Hamill is the owner of Bermuda Wedding Associates and is a professional bridal consultant through the Association of Bridal Consultants.

A joint statement said there are about a thousand weddings a year in Bermuda, half of which involve local residents. Last year 51,000 US couples and 44,000 UK couples traveled away from home to get married.

They added: "Previously, the Department of Tourism advertised Bermuda primarily as a honeymoon destination. As of 1997, a bulk of the honeymoon advertising budget was shifted to wedding destination advertising.'' MAGAZINE NJ