MANY brides follow the wedding tradition of taking something old and something new down the aisle, but few can boast an item almost 100 years old.

Liz Williams, however, continued a family tradition when she carried the prayer book of her great grandmother, Ella Wingrave, with her on her special day.

Mrs Williams (nee Stanford), who grew up in Halstead, said her mother and aunt had also included the 1918 prayer book in their weddings, and she wanted to carry on the tradition.

It includes an inscription from her great grandfather Charlie Wingrave, who gave it to his bride on September 18, 1918.

Mrs Williams, 28, who now lives in Bromley with her husband Tim, said the groom’s family also played a key role in the wedding ceremony.

Mr Williams’s father, who is a Church in Wales vicar, served communion at the wedding, which took place at St Barnabas Church, Beckenham.

Mrs Williams said: “It was nice for me to have something old which actually meant something, especially as my mum also had it on her wedding day.”

The former pupil of Holy Trinity School, in Halstead, and Hedingham School is an identical twin.

But she said her ivory silk wedding gown was, on this occasion, enough to differentiate her from her sister, Georgina, who was a bridesmaid.