CHURCH weddings took a nosedive in the '90s when legal restrictions on the type of venue eligible for a marriage licence were swept away.

The change prompted thousands of couples to get married in exotic locations such as stately homes, hotels, castles and Caribbean beaches.

However the tide could be turning back to the traditional wedding and a Hampshire parish is leading the way in persuading couples to trip down the aisle of their local church.

Today, Swanmore's St Barnabas Church will be the setting for a wedding fair with the theme "putting the church back into weddings."

A parish spokesman said: "Locally, we have seen the number of church weddings increase in the past two years."

Swanmore's move to encourage more couples to follow the bridal path to church has been taken up as an initiative across Portsmouth's Church of England diocese.

At St Barnabas the prospective brides and grooms will see how a church ceremony with all the trimmings can make it such a memorable day.

Couples will even get to hear how the bells will ring out on their big day. The organist will even run through some popular hymns.

The aisle will become a catwalk as the latest wedding fashions will be showcased.

And there will be a display of how to get the bride to church on time with everything from a horse and carriage to a limousine.

Entrance to the wedding fair is £2. This includes an entry in the prize draw and the first 100 people to arrive will be given a complementary glass of bubbly.

A jazz band will be on hand to provide live entertainment.

So at Swanmore they really are pulling out all the stops to put the church back into weddings.

For more information, go online at thehampshireweddingfair.

co.uk