FAMILY and friends came together to celebrate the wedding of James Smithson, of Pickering, North Yorkshire, and Sarah Hall, of Blackwell.

The ceremony took place at St Catherine’s church, Blackwell.

Sarah, the daughter of Keith and Valerie Hall, is a sister at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. She was given away by her father and was attended by her sister Victoria, friend Sarah Allison and cousin Lauren Jones.

The groom, a Royal Naval officer, chose Gavin Hastings as his best man, while Martyn Smithson and Jonathan Osborne served as ushers. The bride’s cousin, William Hewston, was a page boy.

The reception was held in a marquee in the beautiful surroundings of the bride’s relatives Maureen and David Hewston’s family home in Bromsgrove.

The newly-wed couple jetted off to Meeru Island in the Maldives for their honeymoon.