After years of delays, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ties the knot

After almost five years of engagement and a postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has married longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- After almost five years of engagement and a postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern married longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony Saturday.

Details of the event were closely held by the pair, but the ceremony is reported to have been staged at a luxury vineyard in the scenic Hawke's Bay region, 325 kilometers (200 miles) from New Zealand's capital, Wellington.

It is believed only family, close friends and a few of the 43-year-old Ardern's former lawmaker colleagues were invited, including Ardern’s successor and former prime minister Chris Hipkins.

Earlier, police met with a small group of protesters who had plastered a wall with dozens of anti-vaccination posters outside the venue. One protester was also seen holding a sign that read, "Lest we forget jab mandates," on the outskirts of the property.

Ardern and Gayford, 47, reportedly began dating in 2014 and were engaged five years later, but due to Ardern's government's COVID-19 restrictions that reduced gatherings to 100 people, the wedding planned for the southern hemisphere summer of 2022 was postponed.