Keryn Sweeney.
Kia ora, welcome to 1News,” is not the greeting you’d expect at a wedding reception, but it’s how reporter Jordyn Rudd’s began. Recorded by newsreader Melissa Stokes and played over the marquee speakers, the bulletin set the scene for the journalist’s fun-filled celebration.
“Jordyn Rudd – excuse me, Jordyn Craigie – has sealed the deal with her husband Harry,” it continued. “Security is tight for this glitzy affair, but we do have a man on the ground. We cross now to Matty McLean.”
It was all the handiwork of Jordyn’s wedding MC and former 1News colleague Matty, who surprised the bride and groom with his efforts.
“I didn’t know that was going to happen,” laughs Jordyn, 31. “He put so much effort in. I was super-conscious of not wanting my job to become part of the theme,
but it worked.”
The big day
Following that announcement, the event unfolded exactly as she’d hoped, with family from Scotland, London, Canada, the US and Australia all gathering at her
parents’ property in Ramarama, South Auckland, where she grew up.
“It was just magic,” she says. “Everyone was able to come and that was so special.”
Although she and her groom Harrison Craigie met at high school in Auckland, they never moved beyond being acquaintances. It wasn’t until five years later, at a friend’s engagement party, that things changed. Harry, 32, had just returned from studying in Germany and Jordyn was driving home when she spotted him.
She laughs, “I was like, ‘Harry’s gotten real hot!’” Sober and determined, she slid into his DMs, inviting him to a party she was throwing. “He was like, ‘Ah, I’ll see. I’m pretty busy.’”
Harry, it turns out, was finishing his thesis.
“I was in the final throes of writing it and pulling all-nighters,” he admits. “I didn’t mean for it to come across as dismissive!”
The proposal
Whatever the reason, it worked and the pair has been together for eight years. After nearly three years in London, they moved to Tauranga in late 2024, when Jordyn landed her 1News role. By the time they came home, the couple was already engaged, following a surprise proposal on a trip with Harry’s family in Türkiye.
Harry’s parents, Rob and Susan, had met there decades ago, working on boats, so the couple went sailing with them. Harry arranged for Rob to smuggle the engagement ring over from Aotearoa.
“To keep it a secret from a journalist was a phenomenal task,” Harry laughs. “I had to use my junk email address to organise it.”
Moored in a bay for lunch, Harry tried to convince Jordyn to take a dinghy to a nearby island, but she wanted to read her book instead. After she eventually relented, Harry got down on one knee on the island while his family watched from the boat.
“It was the first and only time I’ve ever been surprised in my life,” Jordyn laughs.
The next morning, when she called to tell her parents, Lisa and Brett, the reaction was instant. “Mum just yelled, ‘Brett, I need to get a frock!’”
Setting the scene
Marrying at her folks’ spacious property proved perfect, tells Jordyn.
“It’s where I’ve grown up. I saw the house and thought, ‘I had breakfast there every morning – and now I’m here!’”
To honour Harry’s mum’s heritage, the couple wove in some Scottish family traditions, including sharing a drink from a quaich – a traditional two- handled cup. “It symbolises the start of your relationship,” Jordyn explains.
Beyond that, the pair kept things simple. The bridesmaids wore non-matching dresses in earthy green, blue and brick, while Jordyn’s gown was designed by Tauranga dressmaker Lulu Jackson, sketched after Jordyn described elements she loved from dresses she’d tried on in London. Harry, meanwhile, opted for a charcoal grey Working Style suit.
If there’s one memory that sums up the day, it’s the dance floor. “There was probably about four hours of consistent dancing, with more than 30 people on it at all times,”Harry grins.
“My nana was in the middle of it,” laughs Jordyn. “Even my dog wore a dress and joined in.”
The honeymoon period
Two days after the wedding, the newlyweds flew out for a honeymoon in Sri Lanka – a trip they’d originally booked for 2020, before Covid cancelled it.
“It was beach, sleep, eat, repeat,” Jordyn smiles, adding the pair later headed inland to see elephants in a national park, then went on to the scenic mountain town of Ella.
Someone told them not to skip the honeymoon, even if it meant cutting the wedding budget.
“We’re so glad we took that advice,” Harry enthuses. “It was nice to decompress after an epic few months.”
While the couple is now enjoying a quieter period, with nothing major planned, Jordyn hints at the possibility of growing their household soon.
“I want to keep representing the Bay of Plenty through my reporting and just plan a family along the way,” she says. “But right now, we’re relishing living here and taking life as it comes.”
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