The smart money's on a Bay wedding for Richie McCaw and Gemma Flynn

Richie McCaw and Gemma Flynn are looking forward to a great year ahead, so does that mean the wedding will be in 2016? Photo / Supplied

Town or country? Sunny beach or snow-fed lake? High country or low?

This week former All Black captain Richie McCaw popped the question to longtime sweetheart, Black Sticks midfielder Gemma Flynn. He got his answer - yes.

Now for our questions: who is getting an invite? When's it going down and where? Not to mention, wear? That is, what will the blushing bride wear on the big day?

The couple aren't saying much, and family and friends were equally tight-lipped yesterday.

McCaw's sister Jo Spencer-Bower said yesterday the happy couple, who have been celebrating their engagement with friends and family in central Otago, hadn't revealed any details. "They're keeping it close to their chest, for obvious reasons, and I'm just very happy for them."

McCaw, 35, last year indicated he planned to focus on his passion for flying by getting his commercial helicopter pilot's licence and Flynn also has a big year ahead. The 25-year-old, who has earned more than 200 caps for the Black Sticks, is expected to again be selected for the women's national hockey team when they compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. That rules out a midwinter wedding - the Olympics run from August 5 to 21.

Spencer-Bower acknowledged the couple's full calendar: "I don't think any decision has been made yet [when and where the wedding will occur]. They've both got a big year ahead of them."

The most-capped All Black of all time, McCaw was raised in the Hakataramea Valley, near Kurow, 66km from Oamaru.

McCaw's parents, Donald and Margaret, have since sold the family farm and moved to Christchurch, but their connections remain to the area, and to Omarama, where the family have a bach.

Kurow - with a permanent population of just over 300, according to the 2013 census - could struggle to cater for the couple's nuptials. But further afield, the Central Otago region is on the wedding bandwagon, with dozens of vineyards and other retreats. Options are also vast in Flynn's hometown of Tauranga.

McCaw's former All Black coach, Sir Graham Henry, was picking a Bay of Plenty union. "If I was a betting man, I'd think it would be there."

Wherever they chose, he wished them well. "It's fabulous, isn't it? They're a lovely young couple. She played a bit of hockey and she looks pretty nice, he played a bit of rugby and he looks okay."