WHEN Robert Cattle planned his wedding, there was just one man to perform the ceremony - his older brother, the Revd David Cattle. And his best man was his other brother, Benjamin.

But before they could get to the altar, David had to ask permission to use Kirk Braddan, on the Isle of Man, for the service earlier this month, as his parish is almost 300 miles away at Christ the King, Welwyn Garden City.

Fortunately, he knew the Priest-in-Charge, the Revd Daniel Richards, from their time as curates in Manchester, five years ago. "We were priested together in 2009," David Cattle said on Monday. "As soon as I made contact, we remembered each other, and it made things much easier. Daniel was really flexible, and stepped back to let me get on with it."

Robert and his bride, Emily Davies, had wanted to marry in the church as she would be the fourth generation of her family to take their vows there.

David Cattle said: "We are all Manx, but I left ten years ago, and my brother Ben lives in Canada now, so it was quite an exercise to get all together for a family reunion. At least Robert is still here in Douglas. Emily really wanted this church because of her family connections."

Mr Richards said: "I had only just arrived here when I started arranging the wedding. Then Emily said: 'David knows you.' It's not a common name, but at first I didn't realise it was him.

"I sat in on the service to make sure nothing heretical happened, but everything was fine. David wanted me there to make sure he was familiar with the paperwork and the choreography of the day. He very much did his own style, but he adapted it to how this church works. It was a nicely intimate occasion, a traditional family wedding.

"Kirk Braddan is a very popular church for weddings, as it has lots of heritage. It is also on the TT course; so I get lots of requests from families of enthusiasts wanting their ashes scattered. I am trying to work out how we can do something while not breaking any rules."