WHEN Gandalf turns up to your wedding and the guests have a sword fight afterwards, you just know something is not quite right.

But this is exactly what happened when Charlene Crossley and Kieran Ellis got married - and they loved every minute of it.

Although the couple exchanged their vows in the rather traditional setting of Mere Hall, Bolton, it resembled more Middle Earth as the wedding took a Lord of the Rings theme.

Choosing the Hollywood blockbuster trilogy as the backdrop to the big day was Charlene"s idea.

Charlene, who was given away by her father Boyd dressed as the wizard Gandalf, said: "I love The Lord of the Rings.

"I've seen all the films, got the chess set, the lot. I didn't want to look back at my photos and think: "That was good". I wanted to looked back and think: "That was fun".

And fun it certainly was, with guests sword fighting in the wooded land around Mere Hall, and a bow and arrow competition taking place within minutes of the post-wedding photographs.

Charlene, aged 23, from Farnworth, dressed as the Lady Eowyn of Rohan, a character adept with sword and shield and quite capable of defending herself.

Husband Kieran took on the role of Aragorn, a descendant of the lost line of the ancient Kings of Men and a mighty warrior who wields his blade with great adeptness.

There were 45 guests, 35 of whom dressed up.

Caroline said: "It was Middle Earth right in the middle of Bolton and the woodland setting of Mere Hall really created a medieval feel."

But the honeymoon is on hold. Charlene works as assistant to Wanderers mascot Lofty the Lion and says she is too busy for a holiday.

The Lord of the Rings films starred Bolton-born actor Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Liv Tyler as the elf princess Arwen, and Elijah Wood as the heroic hobbit Frodo. It became one of Hollywood"s most lucrative franchises and all three films have been critically acclaimed.