Prospective MP and new husband pause their wedding celebrations to vote

A prospective MP who decided that she would not let the General Election get in the way of her wedding day briefly broke off from the celebrations to cast her vote.

Sorcha Eastwood, who is standing for Alliance Party in West Belfast, paused on the way to her wedding party to take part in the ballot.

She and new husband Dale Shirlow stopped off at a polling station in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, after tying the knot at a nearby church.

The couple had already set the date for their big day when the snap election was announced by Theresa May.

They decided to go ahead with the wedding - despite it meaning that finalising their plans had to be combined with political campaigning.

"It's been a lot to do and a lot to take in but my family have been absolutely fantastic and my husband Dale has been absolutely fantastic," said Ms Eastwood.

"I hope it sends a strong signal to women out there that they can do it, they can get involved in politics."

Mr Shirlow also revealed he had a premonition that they might have to share the limelight.

"I actually predicted it," he said. "A few months ago I said 'I bet you any luck we'll have an election on the day of our wedding'."

While the newlyweds took time out to vote, they said attending the overnight election count in Belfast would be a step too far.

"We are going to give that a miss,"said Ms Eastwood, who instead made preparations to keep in touch with the results during the reception.

"We are going to get a big-screen TV and watch the results come in and hopefully it will be a long night."