THE bride wore an ivory dress with a two-foot train edged with pearls and carried a bouquet of red and white silk roses.

She had also bought a pearl necklace and earrings for the occasion too - it was the perfect wedding and in many ways, probably Romsey's wedding of the year.

But there was one tell-tale part of her costume which was out of the ordinary, it was her footwear - she and her bridegroom were both wearing trainers!

Big-hearted fund-raisers Gordon Fryer and his bride Katie Austin decided to have their wedding service half-way through the London Marathon and then run on and complete the course.

Katie is the oldest daughter of Bob and Tina Austin, who run the popular Hunters Inn in Winchester Hill at Romsey.

She and Gordon, who is the son of Keith and Pat Fryer, from Romsey, met at The Hunters in 2002 and there has been wonderful sponsorship from customers at the pub in the shape of fund-raising from New Year's Day onwards for their chosen charity, Help the Hospices.

With Katie, who works as a business manager, also obtaining sponsorship support from friends in the world of commerce, the amount raised on the memorable marathon day looks set to land on an incredible £12,500.

They ran in the marathon last year and after they had decided to run in it again this year, Gordon came up with the idea of getting married on the way round.

Katie trawled the internet for a marriage venue anywhere around the marathon route and found Tower Bridge.

Tina and Bob, who also ran the marathon last year, decided to run for charity again this time - both in their wedding outfits, with Bob's gold waistcoat, wing-collared shirt and cravat matching that of bridegroom Gordon.

It meant they looked the part when they stopped off for the ceremony in one of the towers at Tower Bridge, where 14 family and friends were waiting.

"But," said Tina, "we didn't have to wait as long as we expected. They were half-an hour early. "And it was a wonderful ceremony. It was held in the old bridge keeper's flat, with a bathroom, bedroom, reception room and a room for the ceremony.

"The registrar, June Lewis, was due to have retired a month ago but she stayed on because she wanted to do this one on the marathon day. She has really fine-tuned the ceremony and she runs it so smoothly."

The witnesses were Jeff Watson and Maxine Blundell, representing the charity Help the Hospices. Help the Hospices is a national charity for the hospice movement, offering advocacy, support, information, awards, advice and training for hospices in the UK and overseas.

After the ceremony, the wedding party found themselves under siege from the press and television and Tina added: "They are both quite private people really and they wanted just a quiet event.

"But even with the rain and with 35,000 'guests', it was a perfect day. And the rain wasn't such a bad thing. The dress was that light kind of dress which dries out before you realise it's wet."

With the stop for the ceremony taking almost an hour-and-a-half and with countless people speaking to them on the way round, Gordon and Katie completed the course, in company with Katie's parents, in seven hours and 17 minutes.

The couple had started in the marathon's celebrity pen, along with the likes of controversial celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who added to the occasion by kissing the bride.

They spent this week getting their breath back and nursing Katie's painful blisters before heading off for a honeymoon in Malaysia.

To add to the charity sum for Help the Hospices log on to www.justgiving.com/marathon wedding