The father of the groom connected to the Bluff wedding cluster who died of coronavirus has been described as a "beautiful soul".

Chrisanthos (Christo) Tzanoudakis, 87, died in Wellington Hospital on April 10, becoming New Zealand's third death connected with Covid-19. As of Tuesday, nine people have died of the virus in total.

Tzanoudakis was the father of the groom at the Bluff wedding on March 21.

Supplied Chrisanthos (Christo) Tzanoudakis, 87, died of coronavirus in Wellington Hospital on April 10 after attending his son's wedding in Bluff. The wedding has been linked to more than 80 Covid-19 cases.

Stan Nikitopoulos, president of the Cretans Association of New Zealand, told Stuff that Tzanoudakis was "one of a kind".

READ MORE:

* Coronavirus: Bluff restaurant was hesitant to hold wedding at centre of cluster

* Coronavirus: Lockdown 'greatly enhanced' ability to contain clusters

* Coronavirus: How 'beautiful' Bluff wedding became major Covid-19 cluster

* Bluff wedding bride 'overwhelmed' after dream day ruined by Covid-19

* Coronavirus: Full coverage

"He was very kind-hearted towards everyone, for whatever reason," Nikitopoulos said.

KEVIN STENT/Stuff A large tent in front of Wellington Hospital Emergency Department.

Tzanoudakis was well-known in the Greek community, and always had kind words to say about others.

He had lived in Wellington for 50 years after emigrating from Crete and had worked for many years on the docks, before buying a fish and chip shop.

Once a year Tzanoudakis would return to Crete to visit his family and friends.

John Hawkins/Stuff A sign at the entrance to Bluff.

"He was just a beautiful soul," Nikitopoulos said.

Tzanoudakis was a co-founder of the Cretans Association of New Zealand, and his name was well-known in Crete where he had "strong connections".

His funeral would be held on Tuesday.

Robyn Edie/Stuff Oyster Cove restaurant, at Stirling Point in Bluff, was the venue for a wedding held on March 21, before the nationwide lockdown came in.

Director of public health Dr Caroline McElnay confirmed on Sunday a man in his 80s had died in Wellington Regional Hospital on Friday.

Tzanoudakis, a widower and father of two, first became unwell on March 26 and was admitted to hospital two days later.

McElnay declined to identify the known cluster the man was linked to, but director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield confirmed the connection with the Bluff wedding cluster on Sunday.

Both the bride and the groom – and many of their 70 guests – became unwell in the days and weeks following.

The bride, who Stuff has agreed not to name, declined an interview request on Tuesday, but earlier denied anyone had come from overseas for the wedding.

"We feel lots of responsibility but everyone has been really reassuring," she said in an interview on Wednesday.

AIR NEW ZEALAND LINK

The wedding was held four days before the national lockdown was imposed, at a time when groups of under 100 were allowed to mix.

The wedding party included an Air New Zealand flight attendant – understood to be a relative of the groom – who was the first to become ill.

The man, who Stuff has approached for comment, flew into the country just days before the wedding. At the time, cabin crew were not required to self-isolate unless they were unwell.

The wedding ceremony was held in Invercargill before the guests were bused to Oyster Cove restaurant in Bluff, about 25 minutes away, for the reception.

The bride is originally from Waitomo in the Waikato, and the town has reported several coronavirus cases.

She earlier told Stuff her wedding was beautiful, with the "well behaved crowd" enjoying a Māori and Greek flavour to the reception, which wound up about 10.30pm.

A garden party was held at the couple's Invercargill home the following day.

A source said the flight attendant became ill that day, complaining of a sore throat. He tested positive for Covid-19 four days later.

The Bluff cluster, with 86 confirmed cases as of Tuesday, is the second largest in the country after Auckland's Marist College with 93, according to the Ministry of Health.