Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her long-time partner Clarke Gayford finally tied the knot in a private ceremony on Saturday after canceling their wedding plans due to strict COVID-19 controls imposed by the government.
Ardern, 43, and Gayford, 47, had scheduled their wedding for early 2022 after getting engaged in May 2019, but had to postpone it due to the pandemic, according to Reuters.
Finally, after a five-year engagement, the couple's wedding took place in Hawke's Bay at Craggy Range Winery on the east coast of the North Island, approximately 310 km (190 mi) north of Wellington, according to a spokesperson for Ardern.
Ardern, who became a global icon of left-wing politics, was seen smiling in a white halter-neck dress in official photographs alongside Gayford, who was wearing a black suit.
Neve, the couple's five-year-old daughter, walked down the aisle with her father, wearing a dress made from the fabric of her grandmother Laurell Ardern's wedding dress, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The bride arrived surrounded by several people with umbrellas in the warm Hawke's Bay sun. At 4 p.m., she walked down a 30-meter-long hallway, while behind her music played from a secluded vineyard.
The ceremony ended shortly after 4:30 pm, with cheers from guests who enjoyed the ceremony and warm weather filled the air, making it a memorable event.
Ardern and Gayford, now husband and wife, could be seen mingling with guests before the reception.
According to the news site Stuff, between 50 and 75 guests attended the couple's special day. Guests included opposition leader Chris Hipkins, Ardern's successor as prime minister, the New Zealand Herald saying.
Ardern, who also became a global icon for women in leadership as prime minister since 2017, gave her final speech in January last year, where she told Gayford, a New Zealand TV presenter: “Let's finally get married.” .
