Powerhouse All Black lock Brodie Retallick showed his softer side when he wed sweetheart Niki Thompson in the province he once plied his rugby trade in this month.
The two said their vows and tied the knot on January 9 at Junction Wines, the Waipukurau vineyard owned by his uncle and another big name in rugby circles, former All Black John Ashworth.
They wed under blue skies and within the vines and picturesque trees of the vineyard.
Mr Retallick, who grew up in Canterbury but who spent two years in the Bay where he turned out for the Magpies, met his wife-to-be while he was living here.
Ms Thompson, a Hastings nurse, wore a lace-trimmed sleeveless gown in traditional white and she said they had worked hard to focus on the big picture amid the excitement of their special day.