In this image supplied by Dame Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern embraces her husband Clarke Gayford at their wedding in Havelock North, New Zealand, Jan 13, 2024. (FELICITY JEAN PHOTOGRAPHY VIA AP)

WELLINGTON – New Zealand's former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern married her longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony on Saturday, finally tying the knot after canceling ceremonies during strict COVID-19 controls she imposed on the country.

Ardern, 43, and Gayford, 47, got engaged in May 2019 and were meant to be married in early 2022, but the ceremony was canceled due to her “go hard, go early” approach to the pandemic, which allowed New Zealand to keep deaths from the virus low.

READ MORE: NZ's Ardern says has plans for wedding, but no date yet

The wedding took place in Hawke's Bay at Craggy Range Winery on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island

She became a global icon for left-leaning politics and women in leadership as prime minister from 2017 to January last year. Ardern, one of just two women to have a baby as national leaders, took her daughter to a United Nations meeting.

The wedding took place in Hawke's Bay at Craggy Range Winery on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, about 310 km north of the capital Wellington, an Ardern spokesperson said by email.

Official photos showed a smiling Ardern wearing a white halter neck dress, while Gayford wore a black suit. They tied the knot in front of some 50 to 75 guests, news site Stuff reported.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern kisses her daughter Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford, as her partner Clarke Gayford (left) looks on during the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit September 24, 2018, one day before the start of the General Debate of the 73rd session of the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York. (PHOTO / AFP)

Among the guests was Ardern's successor as prime minister Chris Hipkins, the current opposition leader, the New Zealand Herald said.Hawke’s Bay is home to a number of internationally known wineries and is an important horticultural area.

ALSO READ: Jacinda Ardern bids farewell to NZ parliament in tearful address

Ardern for the past six month has been undertaking three fellowships at Harvard University.

While Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand, delivers a speech at the United Nations her partner Clarke Gayford holds their baby Neve during the United Nations General Assembly on Sept 27, 2018, in New York City. (PHOTO / AFP)

She is a trustee of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize and a special envoy for the Christchurch Call – a network seeking to "eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online". It was set up after a massacre targeting Muslims, for which Ardern's sympathetic response won applause.

ALSO READ: NZ PM vows accountability ahead of mosque massacre report

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, front right, mingles with guests at her wedding to Clarke Gayford at a vineyard in Havelock North, New Zealand, Jan 13, 2024. (NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP)

In her final speech in parliament, Ardern told Gayford, a New Zealand television presenter, "Let’s finally get married.” The couple's daughter Neve, is five years old.