Blushing Billericay bride Gaynor Brodie lured her gobsmacked groom into a secretly booked wedding service just minutes after she popped the question.

But far from fleeing in panic, her sweetheart, who had already asked for her hand on several occasions only to be told that she was not ready, couldn't wait to get to the altar.

Former Mayflower School pupil Gaynor, 28, married 33-year-old Matthew Cook last week at the Heybridge Hotel in Ingatestone, only an hour after she proposed in the back seat of a limousine.

She had begun to feel that the time was finally right back in January and secretly began arranging a day neither would ever forget.

So a day that a blissfully unaware Matthew expected to contain little more than a shopping trip to Romford suddenly saw him being whisked along the A12 in a limousine.

Gaynor fell on to one knee in the car and proposed. When he said yes, the driver whipped out the matrimonial ribbons, fixed them to the car and a shell-shocked Matthew was told he was actually being carried to his own wedding.

As if that was not enough, when they arrived at the Heybridge Hotel, Matthew found all of his friends and family - including his brother who had flown over from Australia - waiting for him dressed in 18th century costume.

Before he knew what was happening, he too had been whisked away, decked out in the stockings and high heels of a Regency dandy and placed next to his wife-to-be, ready for the marriage service.

The new Mrs Cook, who now lives with her husband in Romford, explained: "He had jokingly said once that he wanted a surprise wedding. I was just nodding off to sleep one night and it just came into my head, 'Why not? I can do this'.

"I have absolutely no regrets about it, but I wouldn't recommend it! It's such hard work keeping it quiet.

''The whole family didn't speak to us for about a month before hand in case they let the cat out of the bag.

"When I went to the hen night everybody was talking about the wedding, but when I came home I had to pretend that nothing was happening. We were planning to go away for a week and I had to pretend that I was getting excited about it."

Her new husband was thrilled with the surprise: "It was absolutely fabulous, a perfect day from start to finish.

"I had told Gaynor I wouldn't push her into marriage and that she should arrange it and I would just turn up, but I must admit I thought I would have some input!"

Two became one: The happy couple relax at the end of their special day.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.