THERE were tears of joy at All Saints Church in Westbury on Saturday as paralysed bridegroom Neil Martin was finally able to achieve his dream of standing up on his wedding day.

Mr Martin, of Oldfield Road, suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy - one of only seven people in the world with the condition - which was only diagnosed after he lost the use of his legs eight years ago.

However, the 47-year-old was determined to take his wedding vows and have his first dance upright and set up a fundraising page with his fiancé Ginny Marchmont to purchase a special wheelchair.

The couple needed to raise £15,000 and managed to raise enough to purchase the standing frame manual wheelchair in time for their big day, after the company that sells the product was able to give them a discount.

“It meant the world to me and I had tears in my eyes, as did many of our friends and family members, when I saw Ginny walking down the aisle,” said Mr Martin.

“The whole thing was quite surreal. When we went to the rehearsal the on the Thursday everyone was stood around me and I was sat down, which was strange, but then it was amazing to be at the same level for the wedding and look Ginny in the eyes.

“It really was magical and it is quite hard to comprehend. For me to be able to achieve my dream and be at the same level as Ginny as we said our vows was just incredible.”

Only a few of the people at the wedding knew that Mr Martin had managed to get the wheelchair for the wedding, with one of Mrs Martin’s bridesmaids and one of his best men in the know.

“When we walked down the aisle and my daughter saw he was standing with the help of the chair she just started blubbering,” said Mrs Martin. “Only a few of us knew about the chair and it was very emotional for everyone.

“For me to see Neil standing there at 6ft 2ins was incredible as I knew how much it meant to him and to be able to have our first dance at the reception was magical. We are still on a high about it.”

The couple, who have been together since 2001 and each have two children from, celebrated their marriage with friends and family at the Westbury Conservative Club following the ceremony.

“We had a great time at the Conservative Club and they were absolutely brilliant, doing everything they could to make our day extra special,” said Mrs Martin. “We really couldn’t fault them and nothing was too much trouble.”

Mr and Mrs Martin flew out to Benidorm in Spain on Monday (Aug 3) for their honeymoon and paid tribute to everyone who helped them raise money for the wheelchair.

Mr Martin said: “Without the support we received from people who donated this would have never happened. Every single contribution helped make my dream come true and we can’t express how much it means to us.”