FOR 18 months Ruth and Andrew Bickell had planned their dream wedding at a country pub in a village outside Andover.

But just 21daysbefore their summer nuptials, Ruth received the news that every bride dreads.

Her reception venue at the Red Lion, in Clanville, for which her parents Adrian and Deborah Allen say they had already put down a deposit, had closed and the family could not contact the owners.

She only discovered this after her DJ Chris Burford called her parents.

Mother-of-two Ruth, aged 24, said: “I burst into tears as we had been planning this for 18 months. This is not what should be happening before your wedding and then my mum burst into tears and my dad was saying ‘don’t panic’. It was not very nice.”

The couple, of Gallaghers Mead, Andover, had invited up to 40 people for a daytime reception at theRed Lion, followed by an evening celebration for 130 guests.

However, while Ruth and her mum went on her hen weekend, dad and Andrew, aged 24, picked up the reins and contacted the White Hart Hotel, in Andover, which agreed to host the party instead.

And on Friday, 19 July, the happy couple – who have been together for three years – married at St Thomas’ Church, in Charlton, with five-year-old Kirsten and Layla, aged one, as bridesmaids.

Ruth toldtheAdvertiser: “A couple of days beforehand I was still a bit disappointed because I had chosen the Red Lion because it was just really gorgeous and I thought it was going to be beautiful.

“I was still a bit apprehensive but the day came and it was absolutely beautiful and once we got to the White Hart I walked in and it was amazing. Gail and her team did a fantastic job.

“The day went so smoothly, they didn’t rush us and let us do what we wanted to do.

“Even if the Red Lion hadn’t closed I don’t think it would have been what we had in the White Hart.”

She added: “I just want people to know how brilliant the White Hart was – they did so much more than we expected.

“A girl spends however many years planning her big wedding day, since you are a little girl, to then have it pulled out from under your feet 21 days before your big day. But in the endit wasbrilliant.”

Deborah said: “I would very much like to thank the White Hart of Andover for putting on such a splendid reception at such short notice and thank you for making my daughter and her new husband’s day a day to remember.”

Despite making every effort, the Red Lion could not be contacted at the time of going to press.