A LOST suitcase almost spelled the end of Lee and Laura Berry's dream wedding.

But there was a "happy ever after" ending for the couple in the sun.

The couple, of Shelley Park, Shelley, had spent a year planning a wedding on a cruise liner in the Mediterranean.

Laura, 20, and Lee, 29, happily flew from Manchester airport to Venice, where they met the P&O Star Princess ship on September 1.

But once they set sail, disaster struck - the case containing Laura's clothes and all their wedding gear had gone missing.

They had to cancel the wedding ceremony, which was due to take place on the ship just two days later.

Lee, a barber in Shelley, said: "The crew kept saying it would turn up, but it was a nightmare."

As day eight of the 10-day cruise arrived, Laura and Lee had given up hope.

Laura, a secretary at Huddersfield University, said: "I was in tears most of the time."

But their luck changed when the case was found.

Lee said: "We were called to the purser's desk and they said the bag had turned up. We don't know where it had been. We were so pleased, we didn't care.

"But we then faced a race against time, as the marriage licence only allowed us to wed at sea - and the ship was due to spend the last two days of the cruise in port at Barcelona."

The captain made sure the ceremony took place while the ship was 14 miles offshore, just far enough to count as being at sea.

Laura said: "We got married at the last possible hour. It was really stressful and not much of a honeymoon, but it turned out well in the end."

The chaos also had a hidden benefit for Laura - it meant her mum, Pam Holmes, and stepdad, Doug Gormley, made it to the wedding.

Laura said:

"When we thought we'd have to cancel it, P&O offered to give them free accommodation so they could be at the wedding."

Pam and Doug joined Lee's parents, Olwyn and Nigel Berry, his sister Rachel Berry, best man Tristan Thurlow and his partner Amanda Riley to watch the couple tie the knot.

Lee said: "After all the hassle it was better than we had planned. It was perfect."

The newly-weds celebrate with family and friends at the Rock Cafe, Ramsden Street, Huddersfield, tomorrow.