Society Insider: Ex-Black Cap Adam Parore’s Hokianga wedding; the Rich List heiress launching a music career

“Despite pretty treacherous weather in the lead-up, we were very lucky for our pre-function, and on the wedding day, the clouds literally parted, and we had gorgeous sun.”

Adam Parore and Libby Price with their twins Heidi and Elliott. Photo / Ana Galloway

Parore, 55, met Price through friends of friends nearly five years ago, but it was six months before they started dating.

In their time together since, they have become a multi-property-owning, multimillionaire power couple, and parents to twins Elliott and Heidi in January last year.

The wedding was Parore’s third; he wed model Miller Rose Macleod-McGhie in 2014, before they split two years later. Society Insider understands he married second wife, interior designer Danielle Francis, around 2019, with the couple splitting a few years later.

Newlyweds Libby Price and Adam Parore, with Sally Ridge and John Darby to the left in background. Photo / Ana Galloway

Parore’s former partner Sally Ridge, their children Astin, and Mclane, and Ridge’s partner, multimillionaire property developer John Darby, were all in attendance for his wedding to Price.

The couple split in 2010 after a seven-year relationship. Their separation dragged on for several years due to legal disputes over assets.

One wedding guest told Society Insider it was a testament to how well Parore and Ridge support each other in the latest phases of each other’s lives.

Parore and Price even served wines from Amisfield – Darby’s Central Otago winery – among the “numerous bottles of champagne and cocktails served throughout the weekend”, the wedding guest says.

Astin Parore carries little brother Elliott. Photo / Ana GallowayMclane Parore delivers her sister Heidi to their father, Adam. Photo / Ana Galloway

Astin, 22, and Mclane, 20, walked with their younger siblings down the aisle ahead of the bride – Astin with his 1-year-old brother Elliot and Mclane with Elliot’s twin, Heidi – and later made speeches during the reception.

“With the twins being so cute, they nearly stole the show at the ceremony. Libby and Adam’s lives are complete; they are truly on a journey together forever,” another guest of their wedding told Society Insider.

Mclane and Astin Parore speak at their father’s wedding. Photo / Ana Galloway

Price says having Parore’s children speak at their wedding was super special, as was having all their friends and family come together at their Hokianga property in Koutu for the three-day celebrations.

More than 130 guests made their way to Koutu, either driving or arriving in helicopters on Friday, January 23, staying at accommodation options at the couple’s property, surrounding Airbnbs and the Sands Hotel Hokianga.

The couple’s compound sits on the point looking out over the harbour. It features three baches and a teepee, set among beautiful grounds, which include a spa, pool and tennis court as well as a helipad to house Parore’s Bell Long Ranger helicopter.

Parore’s fellow former Black Cap teammates Chris Cairns and Dion Nash were there, with Nash’s wife, former Black Fern Bernice Mene.

Former Black Caps Chris Cairns, Adam Parore and Dion Nash.

Also in attendance were multimillionaires including Voyager founder Seeby Woodhouse; Lighthouse Financial’s managing director Matthew Harris and his fiancée, physiotherapist Emma Louise Loftus; Silicon Valley-based Kiwi tech entrepreneurs Erika and William Palmer; and Fiji-based former star of The Apprentice New Zealand, tourism guru Olivia Rogers.

Matthew Harris and his fiancée Emma Louise Loftus at the wedding.

After a casual drinks and dinner reception on the Friday evening, the next day Price and Parore exchanged vows on the helicopter pad, surrounded by a circle of white chairs and white rose stems rising from the ground.

Price looked radiant in an off-the-shoulder white Nova Grace dress by Vivienne Westwood, featuring a train and classic Gucci horsebit shoes. Her hair was styled by the Rich List’s go-to hairstylist, Robyn Munro, and her makeup was by Blair Gamblin, whose work has appeared in glossy magazines.

Parore looked dapper in a white dinner jacket and black tie and black Hermès loafers.

The couple were married by their good friend, wedding celebrant Niki Osborne, in front of pink and white flower towers created by luxury wedding florists, Little Leaf Florals.

Libby Price and Adam Parore are married by their friend, wedding celebrant Niki Osborne. Photo / Ana Galloway

Guests then mingled across the expansive grounds, dotted with umbrellas and drink stations, while the newlyweds had photos on the beach, before gathering in a large, beautifully decorated marquee for the reception.

The couple had two masters of ceremony, Will Palmer, and Price’s brother, Thomas, who made quite the entrance in a purple and pink sequinned jacket, spraying bottles of champagne.

Libby Price’s brother Thomas was one of the MCs at her wedding reception. Photo / Ana Galloway

The newlyweds’ and Astin and Mclane’s speeches are said to have come straight from the heart.

At the reception, guests enjoyed a seasonal menu created by Northland Private Dining caterers Salt and Seed and curated by Parore and Price, followed by dancing the night away to Auckland wedding singer Lee Gray. A champagne brunch followed the next day.

Newlyweds Libby Price and Adam Parore have their wedding photos on the beach. Photo / Ana Galloway

The newlyweds headed to Marlborough a few days after the wedding for a five-day trip walking the Queen Charlotte Track.

Sources say they were keen not to be away from their twins for any longer and arrived home on the weekend to the new multimillion-dollar Remuera home they’ve just moved into.

Family honeymoons are planned this winter at the couple’s villa in Bali and their 17th-century, five-bedroom chateau in Bordeaux, France.

Greta van den Brink’s big music plans

Greta van den Brink is soon to launch her album This Wasn’t Planned. Photo / Nick White

Auckland-based Rich List heiress Greta van den Brink is staking a claim for herself as a quadruple threat: the 26-year-old champion polo player, stuntwoman and actor is getting ready to release her debut album, two years after starting out as a singer-songwriter.

A still from Greta van den Brink’s video for her song It Must Be Good To Be Loved By Me 2. Photo / Calum Dewsnap

She launched her latest track, Mr Ego, at a listening party at Ponsonby’s Nami record bar on Tuesday night, ahead of the release of her album, This Wasn’t Planned, in May.

Van den Brink is the youngest daughter of Tony and Christine, who are reportedly worth $450 million. Tony owns Van Den Brink Group, most famous for its Brink’s Chicken brand, and Christine was a talented fashion designer on the scene in the 80s and 90s.

Greta van den Brink with her mother Christine. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

Greta is very aware of the privilege of growing up at Willow Park in Karaka, a 136ha farm and estate worth more than $26m, but insists her parents always kept her grounded and grateful.

“I had an incredible upbringing swinging in willow trees, and I never wore shoes unless riding a horse,” van den Brink says.

“Mum and I would go shopping, and I would point out what I liked, and then she would make it for me herself, changed up and much better.

Tony van den Brink with his daughter Greta, aged 10, at the NZ Polo Open. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

“I know being born into wealth is the luck of the draw, but that luck is truly being the daughter of two parents who love each other deeply.”

She credits her singing voice to her dad, whom she remembers singing 50s and 60s love songs throughout the house when she was growing up.

Her parents met riding horses and are now hugely influential in New Zealand’s equestrian scene – dad Tony is president of the NZ Polo club, and next week two of her brothers, Matthew and Steve, are playing in the NZ Polo Open in Clevedon. She says she couldn’t be prouder of her family’s legacy.

A keen drama student during her time at Diocesan School for Girls, van den Brink then went on to graduate from prestigious drama school The Actors’ Program (TAP) in 2019, where she was mentored by actor and co-founder Sara Wiseman.

Since graduating, van den Brink has starred in Australian drama Territory, and worked as a stuntwoman on productions including Cowboy Bebop, Sweet Tooth, Evil Dead Rise, The Rings of Power and Taika Waititi’s Time Bandits, where she worked stunts for Lisa Kudrow. A video on van den Brink’s Instagram of her falling through a sand trap has more than six million views.

Her time on the Time Bandits set inspired her move to songwriting.

Greta van den Brink is soon to launch her album This Wasn’t Planned. Photo / Nick White

“Shane Rangi – a stunt performer, director and actor – would bring his guitar on a Saturday, and we would jam,” she says.

“Shane bought me a notebook and then said, ‘I think you’re writing songs – you should jot them down.’”

She learned to play guitar through YouTube videos and confesses that at first she was very afraid and insecure about writing.

The first song she wrote was called Road To Hell, written on two chords. While she was working with fellow Kiwi actor Michael Dorman on Territory, he successfully advocated to get it played on the show.

After releasing another two singles, van den Brink realised that music was also her “thing”.

She is independently producing her music, on what she says is “a shoestring budget”, utilising the network she has gained in the entertainment industry.

Van den Brink’s album is a collaboration with Silver Scroll-winning artist Noema Te Hau III. The pair wrote together at Parachute Studios in Kingsland and recorded at Joel Little’s Big Fan music studios in Morningside last year.

Te Hau tells Society Insider van den Brink is “one of those rare new artists who already knows who she is; she has exceptional creative instincts for world-building within her songs, and the album never once felt like work”.

Greta van den Brink is soon to launch her album This Wasn’t Planned. Photo / Nick White

The album moves between Americana, indie pop and soft rock, with influences including some of her favourite artists – The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Laci Kaye Booth, Lady Gaga, Florence & The Machine and Lana Del Ray.

One of her previously released singles, It Must Be Good To Be Loved By Me, is a nod to her roots, with the video filmed out on the country roads near Karaka in a Thelma and Louise-style narrative, with van den Brink playing both characters in a borrowed Galaxy Mustang.

“I am furiously filming five [other] music videos; the visuals are really, really important to me,” she says.

She is also piecing together a documentary on the whole creative process, and after the album drop in May, she plans to tour across New Zealand.

“After that, who knows,” she says. “I would love the momentum to take it internationally. One thing I have learned, nothing is planned.”

Party People of the week

Māori Gothic film – Mārama has its NZ premiere

Mārama star Ariāna Osborne at the Mārama premiere at Event Cinemas in Newmarket. Photo / Robert Trathen

New Māori Gothic film Mārama had its New Zealand premiere on Tuesday night at Event Cinemas in Newmarket, with more than 400 guests in attendance.

Filmed in Auckland and Dunedin, Mārama had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025. Since then, the film has enjoyed a strong international festival run, with screenings at Fantastic Fest, the Zurich Film Festival, Sitges, the Hawai‘i International Film Festival and the American Film Institute’s AFI Fest.

The visually striking feature marks the debut of Māori film-maker Taratoa Stappard, who travelled back to New Zealand for the premiere with his wife, Louise, producer and chief executive of Sweetshop Entertainment Sharlene George, and fellow co-producer Rickylee Russell-Waipuka.

Set in North Yorkshire, England, Mārama follows a young Māori woman fighting to reclaim her identity and indigenous culture in Victorian-era Britain.

“Mārama is my Māori Gothic love letter to our whenua, our tīpuna, and the stories that dwell in the shadows. To now return the film to Aotearoa, to the very place where it was born, makes this journey all the more meaningful,” says Stappard.

Cast attending the New Zealand premiere included rising star Ariāna Osborne, who plays the titular role, and Erroll Shand, Mihi Te Rauhi Daniels, Turia Schmidt-Peke and Evelyn Towersey. They were joined by award-winning crew members Gin Loane (director of photography), Nick Williams (production designer) and Sarah Voon (costume designer), all recent winners at the New Zealand Screen Awards.

Guests sipped on a selection of wines from Tuku – the world’s first Māori winemakers collective, including Tiki Wine and Vineyards Pinot Noir, Steve Bird Sav and Waiata Pinot Gris.

Other guests included actors Frankie Adams, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Jayden Daniels, hair stylist Dany Pato, co-founder and director of Be Ryland Wood and TikTok sensation Louis Davis, among others.

The film opens nationwide next Thursday, February 12.

Sharlene George, Ariāna Osborne and Taratoa Stappard. Photo / Robert TrathenLouis Davis and RickyLee Waipuka-Russell. Photo / Robert TrathenJordan Mooney and Jaime McDermott. Photo / Robert TrathenTuria Schmidt-Peke and Mihi Te Rauhi Daniels. Photo / Robert TrathenLisa Reihana and James Pinker. Photo / Robert TrathenTania Waikato and Stacey Morrison. Photo / Robert TrathenAnna, Sarah and Rachel Voon with Amethyst Rose Parker. Photo / Robert TrathenJayden Danies, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Ariāna Osborne and Frankie Adams. Photo / Robert TrathenErroll Shand, Christina Asher and Jordan Mooney. Photo / Robert TrathenDirector Taratoa Stappard with his wife Louise. Photo / Robert Trathen

Artists rally behind Chelsea Winstanley film

Chelsea Winstanley and Rena Owen at the Auckland Art Gallery.

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki hosted a sold-out screening and art auction on Thursday night in honour of NZ film TOITŪ: Visual Sovereignty, directed by Chelsea Winstanley.

MC’d by Stacey Morrison, the evening featured a kōrero with Winstanley and the gallery’s former curator of Māori art Nigel Borell, followed by an auction of artworks donated by some of the artists who feature in the film.

Taika Waititi attended and signed his donated works live, which attracted fierce bidding. The auction, conducted by auctioneer Caolán McAleer from Webb’s, succeeded beyond expectations, with more than $100,000 raised to support presenting and pitching the film internationally.

Guests included Auckland Art Gallery’s acting director Tom Irvine, the documentary’s executive producer Kahungunu Barron-Afeaki, and artists who donated their works, including Star Gossage, and Brett and Charlotte Graham.

Also in attendance were artists Nikau Hindin and Jade Townsend, philanthropists Chris Swasbrook, Dame Theresa Gattung, Kent Gardner and Ngaere Duff; Hamish Edgar from the British Council NZ and the council’s Pacific director Natasha Beckman; The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi’s Jessica Palalagi; fashion designers Kiri Nathan, Jeanine Clarkin and WORLD Brand’s Benny Castles and Francis Hooper.

Ticket sales from the sold-out film screening are to be donated to charities supporting victims of the Mount Maunganui landslide.

The film screens at the 41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Waitangi Day.

Mark O’Brien, Kahungunu Barron-Afeaki, Stan Wolfgramm and Loukas Petrou. Photo / David St GeorgeLindsay Waugh, Jeanne Walters and Maggie Bryan. Photo / David St GeorgeChelsea Winstanley talks with her mum, Cherry Wilson. Photo / David St GeorgeTaika Waititi signing artwork. Photo / David St GeorgeJessica Palalagi, Ashley Mackenzie-White, Andrea Hammond and Dame Theresa Gattung. Photo / David St GeorgeTim and Beth Melville. Photo / David St GeorgeStar Gossage and Chelsea Winstanley.Stacey Morrison and auctioneer Caolán McAleer. Photo / David St George

Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.