Natalie and Lee Banyard had a New Year's Day to remember - they were among the first people in Britain to marry in church on the first day of the new millennium.

The Colchester couple have been together for seven years and tied the knot at St Andrew's Church in Greenstead on Saturday.

The couple, both 27, had been planning their 21st century wedding for two years and it was Lee's suggestion to get married in 2000.

As Natalie emerged from the church holding her husband's hand, she said: "It was worth the wait."

She took her husband's surname five years ago after the birth of their son Jake, who was a page boy on his parents' big day.

The bridesmaids were the grandchildren of Natalie's mother Sylvia Perfect and stepfather David Perfect, who said: "Natalie really wanted something special.

"I was proud to give her away. He's a good lad. It went off perfectly like the millennium. It was absolutely brilliant."

As revellers made their way home from millennium parties Wivenhoe couple Graham Light and Julie Harris also celebrated the dawn of the new millennium by tying the knot at a register office.

The couple from Vine Drive were the first in Essex and among the first in Britain to marry in 2000 and earned their place in the history books.

The couple, both 33, were planning to set a date later this year but were offered a late cancellation at Epping registry office.

They picked up witnesses Deborah and Duncan Potter from London Road, Colchester, and arrived in good time for the 8am ceremony.

They then returned to Wivenhoe for a party with friends and family.

And Ron Straalen of Mersea Island's Blackwater Hotel wed Jacqueline Gosling in one of the last weddings of 1999.

They booked into Brentwood Register Office for midday on New Year's Eve before officials realised it was a bank holiday but the wedding went ahead as planned.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.