A wedding is always a magical occasion and for one happy couple wedded bliss will certainly be no illusion.
Unconventional Mark Ayres, 44, and Lesley Marshall, 37, cast tradition aside when they tied the knot at Ilkley's King's Hall and Winter Gardens on Saturday by turning their wedding day into a marital magic show. After the ceremony the pair ditched the traditional speeches and treated their wedding guests to a breathtaking stage show featuring Knottingley-based illusionist Craig Kidd and assistant Caroline Dixon. More than 120 well-wishers took their seats in the stalls and balcony to witness tricks ranging from the sleight of hand to the spectacular.
Lesley, who lives in Ilkley and is a science teacher at Keighley's Bront Middle School, even got up on stage and watched in amazement as the live snake she was holding was turned into a rabbit.
She says: "I really enjoyed it, although waiting to take part in the trick was probably the most nervous I had been all day. We thought it would be a great way to start married life and everyone seemed to be having a good time."
Mr Ayres, a local government officer from Bradford, says: "We didn't set out to be different. Perhaps we just don't think all the traditional things are necessary. There was no best man, no speeches and no cake. We wanted to make it a real party atmosphere and as the Winter Gardens is a proper theatre with a stage it seemed a shame not to put on some entertainment."
The show was peppered with old fashioned illusions and even a spot of escapology as Mr Kidd freed himself from a pair of steel handcuffs. But he saved the best for last by literally putting his neck on the line for a guillotine finale.
And although there was no official photographer the drama was captured on film by children attending the wedding, who were all given disposable cameras to record the day for posterity.
One of the guests, Christine Netherwood, says: "I thought it was an excellent show. All the adults and kids were loving it, especially the trick at the end."
Father Andrew Nunn, a friend of the groom, adds: "I thought the magic show was a lovely touch - it was certainly a day to remember."
The couple were the first to wed at the Winter Gardens after they persuaded Bradford council to grant it a marriage licence last year.
Mr Ayres says: "We didn't want a church wedding and we didn't like the idea of a register office wedding so we were a bit stuck. But we had been to the Winter Gardens a few times and realised what a lovely place it would be to have the wedding. So we decided to lobby Bradford council to give it a wedding licence and they decided it was a good idea too."
Mark Davies, Winter Gardens duty manager, says although there are no other weddings booked for the hall there has been considerable interest since the building was granted a wedding licence.
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