WEYMOUTH Carnival was even more special for one couple when a bride-to-be surprised her fiancé with an early wedding.

Dressed as a Mad Hatter, Dave Foster was whisked to the town’s Guildhall on the back of an Alice in Boogie Wonderland themed carnival float – two days ahead of the ceremony he was expecting.

Once he had recovered from his shock, Dave – known as Aussie – married his White Queen at the register office in front of a close group of costumed-clad family and friends.

Bride Marina Knight, of Chickerell, said: “I’d been planning it for four months.

“Aussie’s always wanted to get married on Carnival Day but I’ve always said no and then I decided: ‘Let’s do it for him.’

“Everyone kept it a secret from him. We like to do fun things and this was something out of the normal.

"We just jumped off the float and went into the register office.”

Marina, a barmaid and waitress at The Lugger Inn, was given away by her two sons Adam and Lewis Knight.

She was accompanied by three bridesmaids dressed as Red Alice from the latest Tim Burton Alice Through the Looking Glass film: her daughter Hayley Davies, sister Karen Weaver and granddaughter Lily Davies.

She said: “There’s a group of us do the float every year, including a few have been doing it for 33 years.”

She added: “John Bennett, the registrar, is a friend of ours and he gave the ceremony the personal touch.

“There was a lot of cheering, it was very emotional but fun.”

Health care trainer Aussie found out about his big day when two-year-old Lily slipped him a little bag with a rose and a note at the pub yesterday morning.

Aussie, 43, who was a youth leader at Chickerell youth club for several years, said: “Marina surprised me. I was really shocked.

“I thought it was a wind-up at first because I thought we were getting married on Friday.

“She changed the date and didn’t tell me until we were coming down on the carnival float.

“It’s been a superb day, Marina’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

“I love her to bits. It’s a day I’m never going to forget.”

Aussie’s brother Ben, 35, who came down from Huddersfield to be part of the celebrations along with their dad David, said: “It was brilliant.

“It’s always a worry when it’s a big secret but it couldn’t have gone better.”

Marina’s cousin Elaine Shroder, 50, said: “We kept this secret for so long, he really didn’t know.

"This was planned months in advance, you can imagine how excited we’ve been.

"We’ve been doing Weymouth Carnival for years as a group and for them it’s the perfect wedding, nothing could’ve been better.”

The happy couple are now looking forward to a wedding party for 200 people tomorrow night at The Lugger Inn.