ROMANTIC couple Sheila Birt and Alan Huxley lit up Las Vegas by surprising a group of family and friends with the news: "We're getting married in the morning."

The couple spent six months planning the marriage after deciding to join a party of 11 people on a trip to the gambling capital of the world.

And they broke the news to the unsuspecting wedding guests the night before they got hitched, at the Little Chapel of the Flowers on the Las Vegas Strip. Sheila, 44, and Alan, 48, whose parents live in Blackburn, recruited travel agent boss Peter Churnside, of CBT International, Waterfoot, to help them mastermind the surprise.

And that included Peter travelling with the group as minibus driver and sneaking Sheila's dress through customs without any of the party seeing. Sheila, a partner at the Scout Rest Home, Waterfoot, and former Blackburn and Darwen policeman Alan, now stationed at Bacup, are holding a full-scale reception for those who did not make the trip at Coal Clough House, Burnley, tonight.

Sheila said: "It means everyone gets a chance to celebrate with us and I get to wear my dress twice!"

The couple announced their wedding on the second Monday of a ten-day stay at the Imperial Hotel Casino.

But family and friends back home knew about the marriage the week before after the couple sent out invitations to the Burnley reception the day before they left the country.

Sheila had her brother, Fred, in Las Vegas to give her away and her other brother Tom as best man.

She added: "When we told everyone the night before there were a lot of tears and a few people couldn't speak but everyone was thrilled to bits."

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