GLORIOUS sunshine, 70 degree temperatures...it was the perfect day for a white wedding.

But bride Fiona Titterington defied convention and arrived at Blackburn Register Office in a black dress!

She also turned tradition upside down by whisking the bridegroom off his feet.

Relatives and onlookers looked bemused as Fiona arrived to marry Jason Collinge wearing a black veil and train.

It was more like Hollywood Boulevard than Blackburn Boulevard as the happy couple tied the knot, watched by family and friends.

The couple met after Jason responded to a lonely-hearts advert Fiona placed in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

Fiona said: "I wanted today to be different. I have been married before and that turned into a disaster. I got married in white the first time, so we are both hoping that this dress will bring me more luck."

"We didn't tell anyone about the dress. My sister knew that I was up to something but she didn't know what."

The bridegroom's mother, Linda Thoms, of Cambridge Drive, Padiham, said: "It would have been a good idea for Jason to turn up in white.

"We didn't know that the dress was going to be black. We were warned that it would be different. I don't know what they're going to think in Padiham when they see it. It's only a bit of fun though."

Fiona's new husband remained unfazed by the dress and the reaction of the guests. He said: "I love it. I knew she was making the dress and I knew that she wanted today to be a bit different. I think that most people here like the dress."

Fiona's brother, Lawrence, of Norbreck Drive, Blackburn, had a wry smile on his face as he said: "It's definitely different. You never know it could bring them good luck, I hope that it does."

Watching his daughter hold her new husband aloft for the cameras, Jack Titterington, of Emily Street, Blackburn, laughed as he said: "I've been waiting for the hearse to come all morning. I can't believe it. It may be lucky, it's certainly unusual. People will be calling her the 'Black Widow'"

The couple are planning a honeymoon for later in the year and will live at their home in Lytham Road, Blackburn.