With a stunning Wānaka location and all their loved ones there to celebrate, including their gorgeous seven-month-old daughter Maya, Warriors star Luke Metcalf and his longtime love Brodie Boyle were looking forward to a picture-perfect day as they finally became Mr and Mrs.
But there was just one thing out of their control – the weather. The beautiful, fine days leading up to their nuptials suddenly turned wild, with the couple waking to rain and overcast skies on the morning of the wedding.
“When I got to the venue before the ceremony, I could see they were setting up inside as well as outside,” recalls Luke, 26.
“I thought, ‘Oh, no, Brodie will have a meltdown!’”
Weather woes & wedding wishes
Smiling, Brodie, 25, adds, “During the week of the wedding, I was constantly messaging our wedding planner about the forecast. She told me I needed to calm down, but I was determined to fix it and even hired a weather witch off Etsy to cast a spell!”
Luckily, the weather cleared enough for the couple to have their dream outdoor ceremony at high-end Rippon Hall. Guests soaked up breathtaking views across vineyards to Lake Wānaka and the Southern Alps as Luke and Brodie said “I do.”
Nerves before the nupitals
As a professional sportsman, Luke is used to extreme pressure. But nerves got the better of him while he was getting ready on the morning of the wedding.
The league star confesses, “I was way more nervous and anxious about getting married than before a football game!”
Fortunately, among his groomsmen was his childhood friend and fellow league player James Roumanos, who was there when Luke met Brodie a decade ago, when they were both 16, at Sydney’s Cronulla Beach. The boys had gone for a swim after training and spotted a group of girls James knew from school.
The first meeting
“I asked James who Brodie was, but he said I should probably hold off because she was fiery and the life of the party, while I was calm and relaxed,” laughs Luke, adding that he wasn’t put off.
“I was pretty confident and remember counting down, like, ‘Three, two, one,’ then putting my hand out to Brodie and saying, ‘Hi, I’m Luke.’ She didn’t really want a bar of me at the start, but I wore her down!”
A romantic proposal
The young couple got engaged in 2023, around the time former Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks player Luke signed with the Warriors. Brodie had half-jokingly said she didn’t know if she could move to New Zealand without a ring on her finger. But even she was shocked when Luke popped the question in Italy during a romantic European holiday just before they crossed the ditch.
A sneaky surprise
Brodie smiles, “Luke is the most disorganised person and is always losing everything, so I didn’t expect him to get a ring and take it overseas. He hid it in a sock in his backpack all the way to Europe. It was the biggest surprise!”
The couple initially looked at wedding venues in Australia, but nothing wowed them, until a trip to Wānaka in January 2024, which saw them book Rippon Hall on the spot. On the day of the wedding, Luke remembers feeling allbthe emotions as he waited in the magical location for his beautiful bride.
A stunning bridal party
He was blown away the moment he saw Brodie walking towards him in a stunning gown from The Ivory Room in Sydney, accompanied by her four bridesmaids, striking in black dresses.
A show-stopping gown
“She was perfect,” the sports star says simply.
Brodie’s off-white, off-the-shoulder dress with a corseted bodice, flared princess-style skirt and long train was quite heavy. She admits it was “a mission” to bring it back to New Zealand on her own, with a small baby in tow.
“I was in the early stages of my pregnancy when I first tried the dress on in Sydney and it was 10 times too big by the time I got it back here,” she recalls.
“I took it to Toni at I Sew 4 U alterations and she said, ‘Do you want to be able to breathe or do you want to be snatched?’ I said, ‘Snatched!’”
Vows from the heart
Brodie was equally captivated by her handsome groom, who wore a custom-made, double-breasted black suit he had spent months designing with Paul Dean from Hugo Boss Sergios in Christchurch.
The couple shared heartfelt vows they had written themselves, guided by their celebrant, Clifford Thompson, a pastor who is also the Warriors’ wellbeing officer.
Luke reveals, “Clifford has done so much for Brodie and I since we arrived in New Zealand, so we knew we wanted him to be involved in our special day.”
Cocktail hour with friends
After the ceremony, the bridal party and their guests – including league legend Shaun Johnson and his wife, pregnant netball star Kayla – moved inside for cocktail hour. Nearly a dozen of Luke’s mates from the Warriors and Sharks also joined them.
Luke and Brodie managed to grab a quiet moment with Maya before the bridal party snuck off for a fun photo session. Then the newlyweds came into the reception with trays of shots.
“We were ready to get the party started!” grins Brodie, adding that the delicious food and packed dancefloor made for “the best day ever”.
Settling into Kiwi life
Both she and Luke love the Kiwi lifestyle. They say they can see themselves in New Zealand for the long haul. The league star recently signed a two-year extension to his Warriors contract, securing their future here for the next three years.
Brodie shares, “We’d love to buy a house and put some roots down – somewhere we can make our first memories as a family and enjoy the ride of parenthood.” Becoming a father has changed Luke, she adds.
“Before Maya was born, Luke was 100% about footy, but being a dad has helped him to relax and slow down a lot more. The first thing he does when he comes home is sit down and play with Maya.”
After years of heartbreak for Kiwi fans, Luke is driving the home team toward their first NRL premiership.
“The Warriors have shown faith in my potential and what I can offer, which is something I definitely want to repay,” he explains.
“From the start, the club has been so welcoming to Brodie and I, and as a nation, New Zealand has adopted me as one of their own. I feel the love every time I walk down the street and have never had a negative interaction with a fan.”
A beach encounter to marriage
As the flying halfback recalls that chance meeting with Brodie on the beach a decade ago, he can’t believe it. He marvels at how far they have come.
“It’s crazy to think we’re married now, with a baby and living in another country,” he enthuses.
“I love how we’ve grown together, and I appreciate everything Brodie does and has sacrificed so I can chase my dreams.”
