Wedding stopped after best man lost ring

A wedding had to be held up in Surrey - when the best man lost the ring in the middle of the ceremony.

Elizabeth Gray and Lewis Aubrey were saying their vows when Lewis's brother, Matt, dropped the ring.

Flower displays were pulled apart, carpets lifted and floor grates removed, all to no avail, reports the Daily Telegraph.

After 10 minutes of fruitless searching, the bride's mother offered the use of her own ring so that the couple could be married.

Guests continued to scour St John's Church in Redhill, while the bride and groom posed for photographs.

The newlyweds then headed off to their reception, believing they would never see the ring again.

But the Rev Nicholas Calver returned to the church armed with a spade and, after two hours, found the missing band.

"I was determined to find it and went back to the church in the evening," he said.

"In the end, there was a crack between the step and the raised dais. I thought it must be down there so I levered them apart with a spade to make the gap bigger, shone a torch down and saw the ring.

"I took it down to the reception and the best man was standing outside. I poked him in the ribs and said 'you owe me a drink'. He was overjoyed."

Rev Calver accompanied Mr Aubrey into The Cambridge Hotel in Horley, Surrey where the bride was finally presented with her ring.

Kelly Love, one of the bridesmaids, said: "I have never heard a noise like it. The whole place erupted. The vicar was like a hero."