The wedding rearranged in ten hours after arson

With only hours to go before the ceremony, a suspected arson attack had destroyed months of meticulous planning with his bride Kirsty.

But before the couple's thoughts could turn to postponing the event, friends and family rallied round in a desperate attempt to salvage the big day.

Remarkably, they managed to put up a new marquee and lay on a fresh banquet in time for the 2pm wedding.

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Such a happy outcome looked impossible at 4am when Mr Thomas watched as his £9,000 reception went up in smoke.

"The whole marquee was ablaze with flames shooting out of it," he said. "I was heartbroken because it was such an important day for us."

Fiancee Kirsty Pullman, 29, and her mother had spent hours the previous night making the tent look perfect.

But all their preparations could do nothing to prevent flames engulfing the marquee's large entrance canopy, dance floor, red carpet and immaculate table settings.

It took two fire crews half an hour to get the blaze under control and another hour damping down the scene after the marquee was doused in petrol and set alight.

Mr Thomas, who was woken by wedding staff at the Old Kent Barn, in Swingfield, Kent, could not pluck up the courage to tell his bride-to-be - in the end letting her parents break the bad news.

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By then recovery efforts were well under way as staff made a plea to a local marquee company for help and a replacement was soon put up. Miss Pullman, a nursery assistant and Mr Thomas, an HGV driver, waited anxiously as the new marquee was fitted out with flowers and decorations.

A graphic design company reprinted the table plan, place settings and table numbers, while the caterers replaced cutlery and glasses.

The couple, from Canterbury, sat down on schedule with 40 friends and relatives for a wedding breakfast of melon, cold meats, profiteroles and fruit. Another 150 guests arrived after the speeches for a disco in the new marquee, a discreet distance from the charred wreckage of the old one.

Mr Thomas said: "It was meant to be such a special day and it could easily have ended up as a complete disaster after the marquee was lost.

"But everyone pulled together and we decided to press on and make the most of a terrible situation."

His bride said: "This has definitely been traumatic. But despite all this, we have each other and are very much in love."

The couple were engaged for eight years before tying the knot with daughters Megan, four, and 18-month-old Lauren as two of their six bridesmaids on June 23.

Kent Police are still investigating the blaze.