HE may have been hundreds of miles from Beaulieu, but the New Forest village was never far from his thoughts.

The Hon Ralph Montagu, eldest son of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, was surrounded by reminders of home when he married Ailsa Camm in Belgium at the weekend.

The bride was driven to the ceremony in a 1914 Rolls-Royce from the National Motor Museum, founded by Lord Montagu in the early 1950s.

Later the happy couple celebrated their union by cutting a cake baked in the village and drinking wine from the Beaulieu Estate.

Designed by Mr Montagu, the cake comprised two layers of fruit and one layer of chocolate sponge. It was made by Deborah Power and her sister Caroline, who run the Demoiselle Patisserie in Beaulieu High Street.

The wedding took place at St George's Memorial Church in Ypres, the Flemish market town destroyed during the First World War.

The future Lady Montagu, whose parents live in Belgium, had wanted to get married at St George's ever since she developed an interest in the war.

However, under Belgian law couples must take part in a civil ceremony prior to any church service.

Mr and Mrs Montagu officially tied the knot at Oxford Town Hall on April 8, but say they regard the blessing at St George's on Saturday as their "real" wedding.

Ralph, 44, said: "It all went very well thanks to my now wife, who planned everything so meticulously.

"The music was lovely and the service itself was followed by an amazing meal."

The bride wore a white and silver dress and the Montagu family tiara. Her bouquet contained something blue - a small piece of medieval glass plucked from the ruins of the Cloth Hall, Ypres, in 1917.

Lord Montagu, 78, said: "It was a beautiful service with lovely music and lots of great memories - and my new daughter-in-law is absolutely delightful."

The 80 guests included Belinda, Lady Montagu - Ralph's mother and Lord Montagu's first wife. Lord Montagu's second wife Fiona did not attend the ceremony.

Also there was Mr Montagu's sister Mary and his half-brother, Jonathan, 29, who flew in from San Francisco, where he is studying business administration.

After the reception the newlyweds left for a honeymoon in Northern France.

Beaulieu residents and estate staff who missed out on the couple's bid day will be able celebrate the couple's marriage at a tea party organised for Beaulieu Palace in June.

Mrs Montagu, 43, is archives officer for the London-based First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, the only all-women military unit in the UK.

She met her future husband three years ago at a reception held to honour the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a Second World War espionage organisation that ran a training school at Beaulieu.