Ardie Savea with Saskia Hartmann-Hechenberger and daughter Kobe in Fiji. Photo / Instagram
Ardie Savea with Saskia Hartmann-Hechenberger and daughter Kobe in Fiji. Photo / Instagram
All Blacks star Ardie Savea has wed his partner Saskia Hartmann-Hechenberger in Fiji three days before Christmas.
Friends and family, including their 12-month-old daughter Kobe, watched as the couple tied the knot at the Sheraton Resort in Denarau.
Savea's older brother and former All Black Julian Savea, 28, had travelledfrom France, where he plays for Toulon, for the island nuptials, with wife Fatima and their daughter Jude.
Friends sharing photos from Fiji were careful not to post any of the big day itself, with speculation the happy couple had secured a women's magazine deal.
But there was plenty shared of the entourage's celebrations on the island, including during Christmas dinner and while on Cloud 9, a floating bar off Malolo Island.
Savea chose a large pear-shaped diamond for his bride-to-be in South Africa and proposed just days after Kobe's birth in December 2017.
Last month, Hartmann-Hechenberger was treated to a fun-filled hen's party by her close girlfriends in the couple's hometown of Wellington.
Newly wed couple Ardie Savea and Saskia Hartmann-Hechenberger in Fiji. Photo / Instagram
In an earlier interview with Woman's Day, Ardie said when he and his fiancee got married, Kobe would have a starring role.
"You'll be with Daddy, watching Mummy come down the aisle, aye bubba?"
Weddings at the Sheraton can be as lavish as the budget allows.
Packages are offered such as "Celebrate Under The Stars", which includes a dinner on the lawn or the beach, pre-dinner canapes, drinks, fairy lights, hanging lanterns and Polynesian fire dancing.
Four hours of dancing and a dedicated event planner are also included. The cost is upward of $11,000 for 30 guests.
In a post on social media, Fatima Savea hit back at French fans who took aim at her husband for leaving during the rugby season.
"Let me set the record straight. Before Julian signed his contract he asked for time off in December to attend his ONLY brother's wedding. So this was agreed upon by both the club and Julian or else Julian would not have come to Toulon in September and instead in January."
