With today’s date being 11/11/11 – a memorable occurrence that only happens once a century – wedding fever has been celebrated around the world.

Two of the most popular destinations have been Las Vegas in the US, and the UK’s world famous wedding location in the Scottish Borders town of Gretna and the adjoining village of Gretna Green.

An impressive total of 53 couples said “I do” in Gretna , which accounted for 51 weddings and two civil partnerships. Many lovebirds had flown in from as far afield as New Zealand, Canada and Germany to exchange their vows in the area’s seven wedding venues.

The first newlyweds at Gretna Registration Office today were Rob and Lorraine Taylor, from Coventry. The pair boosted the unforgettable day and date by exchanged their rings at precisely 11am.

A delighted Mr Taylor, 57, commented: “Everything just fell into place for us, the number on our wedding registration form was 1111 and we chose the 11th track on a CD for the ceremony music.”

His bride said: “It was all just meant to be. The date didn’t have a special significance for us before; we just had it in our heads. We love number one, we’re both very competitive and we always like to win, so having all the ones was a really good thing.”