FORGET the traditional horse and carriage. Newlyweds Darren and Susannah Mulliner wanted something a bit more in the fast lane. So the Hampshire couple ensured their marriage got off to a roaring start - with a fleet of gleaming Harley Davidsons to escort them from the church.

Darren, 34, is senior salesman at Southampton Harley Davidson specialists Dockgate 20 and is well known among motorbike enthusiasts.

Word quickly got around about his wedding to 25-year-old Susannah Roast, a team leader at IBM in Portsmouth and, before they knew it, the couple had dozens of bikers joining their happy day.

Thirty of the legendary motorcycles and their riders from the New Forest owners' club gathered at Dockgate 20 in Second Avenue, Millbrook, at the weekend before heading to St Edmund's Church, Stubbington, for the wedding.

The special ride-out, pictured above, featuring an impressive array of old and new Harleys, then accompanied the couple's Model T Ford to their reception at Lee-on-the-Solent Conservative Club.

The bikers, dressed from head to toe in black leather, turned heads as they led a convoy of the couple and guests in the sunshine along Lee-on-the-Solent seafront.

Darren, who has worked at Dockgate 20 for three years, said: "The Harley Davidsons are mainly my interest but Susannah loves them too. She is happiest sat on the back though!"