The largest ever wedding day sky-dive has taken place at a hotel in the North East.
Former British army soldier Chris Parkes, 34, skydived into his wedding at Langley Castle in Northumberland on Sunday. He was joined by nine of his groomsmen, some of which are still serving in the military.
The skydive, which took place at around 8am, is the largest wedding party skydive ever undertaken, anywhere in the world.
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All 10 jumpers wore black tuxedos and carried out the skydive independently, rather than in tandem. They then swapped their tuxedos for kilts for the ceremony and Chis married his fiancée Pippa-Rosy, 31, in the woodland wedding area.
The spectacular wedding drop was witnessed by 200 guests, some of whom had travelled from as far away as the USA.
Chris, who lives in County Durham, proposed at a black-tie Christmas dinner at Langley Castle and the couple realised it was also the perfect wedding venue for them.
The idea of doing something different, and having something to laugh about in years to come, appealed to Chris. He recognised the possibility of the pre-wedding sky-dive when he was gazing across the castle's battlements - which is accessible to guests on a daily Battlements Tour.
Chris and his team reached out to the sport’s governing body, British Skydiving, and undertook months of preparation and training.
On the day, they departed from the group’s local drop zone, Sky-high Skydiving at Shotton, County Durham, and landed in the field by the castle entrance.
Chris learnt how to skydive while in the Army. Several years later, he completed an accelerate freefall course and acquired several licences in a variety of disciplines.
The 10 men have undertaken hundreds of skydives, across many drop zones worldwide, and some of them work in the sport.
Langley Castle’s wedding and events manager, Katie Livingstone-Evans Lowes, said they were "truly thrilled and amazed" to have the skydive take place at the venue.
She previously said: "This will be something that the castle has never witnessed before in its 673-year history and in its 37 as a wedding venue."
Chris and Pippa-Rosy will spend their honeymoon wild camping in the Scottish Highlands.
