Emotional wedding haka brings New Zealand bride to tears

An emotional video of a Maori haka performed at a New Zealand wedding has gone viral, getting more than 20 million views on Facebook.

An Auckland bride and groom have joined in a fiercely proud haka performed by guests at the couple’s wedding reception.

The haka is well known by the rugby team All Blacks who try to intimidate their opponents before the match begins.

“I wasn’t planning on jumping in until one bridesmaid did”, the bride told the BBC.

“They are quite strong, the men in their family”, she said. “That’s why we jumped in at the end to show our love and respect back”.

After the haka is finished, Benjamin can be seen thanking the dancers by touching his forehead to theirs, a traditional Maori greeting.

The Armstrongs were sealed in the Hamilton New Zealand Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on January 15.

Awesome HAKA at a wedding reception. “It’s just been choice”.

Westone Productions posted a video on Vimeo featuring other highlights from the wedding.

“We didn’t think it would shoot off, but yesterday afternoon I left my phone alone for about five minutes and I had so many notifications”, Ms Armstrong said. “We’re humbled by it”. “They love the culture and diversity here”.