WHEN guests raised their glasses to toast Ian McGarry and Rachel Walton’s wedding on Friday, it didn’t contain the traditional champagne.

As featured in last week’s Advertiser, the couple decided to swap the traditional bubbly for beer — and persuaded a local micro-brewery to make a special brew for the reception.

So when their family and friends sat down at the reception, they found at their places a bottle of the beer — jokingly called ‘Ball and Chain’ and featuring a photograph of the happy couple on the label.

Ian, 36, came up with the idea because wife Rachel loves real ale. He secretly approached Glossop micro-brewers Howard Town with his special request.

And once they had agreed, he surprised Rachel with the good news.

"We’re big fans of real ale and Howard Town especially, who are doing a great job in this area. And we’re supporting local business at the same time," said Ian, who lives in Hadfield. Calling it Ball and Chain was tongue in cheek and it just really appealed to her sense of humour. We get to buy a round for our relatives and friends who thought they’d never see the day when either of us made it down the aisle."

The couple finally tied the knot at the White Hart in Lydgate, near Mossley on Friday.

Ian added: "Rachel’s a member of CAMRA and she’s passionate about her beer. I’m a bit of a lightweight in comparison when it comes to boozing, as those on my stag night will testify.I’m often asked if Rachel had drunk too much beer on the night she agreed to marry me."

Ian and Rachel, 32, who works as a research associate at Manchester University, headed off on honeymoon to Morocco, where the heat is guaranteed but real ale will be somewhat of a rarity.