May the force be with them...

10:57am Tuesday 13th May 2008

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A short time ago, in a galaxy not so far away a Star Wars mad couple tied the knot at a film-themed wedding.

The force was with Bramwell Brightey, who dressed up as Han Solo from the George Lucas series, to wed his intergalactic sweetheart.

Tamsyn Lofts, 29, said "I do" while dressed as Princess Leia and the service was watched by a Chewbacca, stormtroopers and an Obi Wan Kenobi.

Bramwell, 33, came up with the idea last year because they did not want to conform to tradition.

He said: "We didn't really want a traditional church wedding, we're not atheist but we're not great believers in God so I think it would have been hypocritical to have had it in a church. I also get bored sitting in churches and having to listen to the hymns and readings.

"So we decided we'd do something different. We both like the Star Wars films but we're not fanatics or geeks. We figured that a lot of our friends liked the films as well and Star Wars is massive everywhere all around the world."

The pair originally wanted to hold the day on May 4 as a tribute to the film's famous tagline "May the force be with you" but instead waited until the following week which was the eighth anniversary of their relationship.

Together with the help of his mother-in-law, Bramwell set about locating and ordering costumes for people, receiving some from as far as America.

With 50 guests at the registry office in Leatherhead and another 50 at the reception afterwards, Bramwell admitted that the sight of so many costumes was "amazing".

"We were so lucky with the weather although a lot of people were very hot," he added.

Instead of a traditional first dance at their reception in Esher, the Ewell couple instead opted for a lightsaber duel.

"We turned all the lights off and turned our lightsabers on and had a duel," Bramwell revealed. "It also induced people to take more photos throughout the day.

"The whole day was amazing, everyone looked amazing. I said to everyone there, this is the greatest day of my life. Everyone made an extra special effort and without them, it wouldn't have been as good."

• To see more pictures from the wedding click here