CLAIRE & RICHIE'S SURPRISE ISLAND WEDDING

The longtime couple only decided to tie the knot two weeks before their big day!

-  Jo Bailey

An intimate ceremony on a sun-kissed Rarotongan beach with only their children present was the perfect way for Claire Robbie and Richie Hardcore to cement their love, starting a new chapter together as husband and wife.

Claire, 43 - a former TV3 and TVNZ reporter, and founder and director of a meditation centre - reveals the Auckland-based couple only made the decision to tie the knot two weeks before they left on a family getaway to the island paradise.

"We were both burnt out at the end of last year and talked about how much we needed a holiday," recalls Claire. "I surprised Richie at Christmas with tickets to Rarotonga. A couple of weeks before we left, I said, 'Shall we get married over there?"

The couple who have been together for seven years and engaged for four - always wanted a simple wedding, but various factors, including COVID lockdowns, their busy careers and having their son Rafael Robbie, now 20 months old, delayed their plans.

Richie, 44, who is an educator, public speaker and social change activist, was totally on board with Claire's idea. "We're casual, low-key people, so I loved the idea of a little ceremony with just the four of us."

They decided to keep their plans secret, only telling their eldest son Jack Sniewski, nine, who did a great job of keeping it all under wraps. Claire reveals, "We told our parents just before we left and I'd asked a friend for some advice about finding a celebrant in Rarotonga, but otherwise, we were the only ones who knew."

As the sun was setting on the second evening of their holiday, the family stopped for a twilight swim at a stunning beach. "It was one of the best swims of my life and we decided it was the perfect place to get married," says Claire.