Inside Jacinda Ardern’s heartwarming wedding
As New Zealand's former prime minister Jacinda Ardern finally tied the knot with her longtime lover, the former leader appeared unable to contain her excitement — with a huge grin spreading across her face.
Cheers rang out across the intimate private wedding at Craggy Range Winery on Saturday as Ardern and Clarke Gayford said “I do”.
The wedding comes after almost five years of engagement, with the former first couple originally planning to hold the ceremony in 2022 before Covid forced the plans into disarray.
Their five-year-old daughter, Neve, accompanied her father down the aisle, wearing a dress made from her grandmother’s wedding dress.
Official images released show the smiling couple strolling through the vineyard hand in hand.
The pair met at the Metro Restaurant Awards in 2012, just four years after Ardern had been elected to the New Zealand Parliament.
Shortly after she became the prime minister in 2017, Ardern announced she was pregnant, and gave birth the following year.
But the nuptials did not come without their own drama as anti-vaccination protesters gathered outside the venue in a bid to make a scene.
A lone male protester was the first to arrive and was seen holding a sign reading: “Lest we forget jab mandates”.
The man was seen walking up and down the road in front of the extensive property on New Zealand’s north island earlier on Saturday.
A group of four women were also seen in the area ahead of the wedding, one carrying a sign that read “This s--- is bananas” while another carried a boombox spouting anti-vaccination material.
One of the women was carrying another “lest we forget” banner next to the country road, showing drivers passing by.
The group then set up outside the gates with dozens of corflute signs containing anti-vaccination material.
They raised their signs as attendees began to stream through the gates, video posted on social media by one protester shows.
“All the Jacinda lovers, madness,” she is heard saying.
The video also shows a police officer speaking to two men who were standing outside the gates.
Security vehicles and a marked police car were seen patrolling the country roads around Craggy Range, hoping to stave off any potential threat to the couple’s special day.
The venue has been described as the “most Instagrammable vineyard in the world”, and sits in the shadow of Mata Peak.
Aside from the picturesque vineyard, a two hatted restaurant also sits on the property as well as several garden cottages and luxury lodges.
The happy couple have booked out the entire venue from Friday, which includes exclusive use of the accommodation and award-winning restaurant.
