This is the moment a bride and groom didn’t tie the knot and climbed a massive rock without ropes – with her in HEELS.
Newlyweds and experienced rock climbers Tom, 26, and Elaine Bunn, 24, reached the summit of the tor in their full wedding attire.
Elaine tackled the 15m (50FT) Haytor in her full bridal gown and heels while Tom decided he’d take on the steepest section in his wedding suit without using ropes.
They got hitched nearby but during a break between speeches and dinner they fled to the Dartmoor landmark to take a series of unforgettable pictures.
The couple of Exeter, Devon, met eight years ago at a local climbing wall and have shared a passion for it ever since.
Elaine, a civil engineer, said: “We have climbed on Dartmoor countless times and fell in love surrounded by it’s beauty so climbing on our big day only felt natural, although I usually wear more appropriate attire.
“Tom is such a good climber that I wasn’t so much worried for his safety as that of his new suit and shoes. Dartmoor granite can be sharp.
“Getting up Haytor in my heels and wedding dress was not too bad, it was nice to not have to carry all the climbing kit for a change.
“Most climbers know however that getting down is often as difficult as getting up and this was definitely the case for me.
“Luckily my new husband was on hand with a fireman’s lift. judging by their faces, I think a few tourists may have got a bit more than they bargained for on this day!
“I couldn’t be happier to start the adventure of marriage with an adventure on Haytor and thankfully our wedding photographers were also up for the challenge.
“It was such a good thing to do and has given us some incredible pictures and memories.”
The talented pair married at Colehayes Park, Bovey Tracey, on Saturday and the pictures were taken by Cornwall Wedding Photographers.
Elaine added: “We were lucky we had good weather and a handy gap between the toast and cream tea and dinner.
“We just grabbed the chance and shot up.
“We are both quite adventurous so it was the perfect thing to do.”
Tom, who is a manager of the Exeter Quay Climbing Wall, said the idea for the climb started as an idea for their wedding cake.
He added: “We wanted to have a cake that was half traditional and half rock faced with Elaine and i climbing on it and it turned into a figurine of me climbing up to her.
“Because the venue was only 10 minutes from Haytor we decided to recreate the cake scene for real.
“We left the guests as they were about to have dinner, both in our full wedding attire and Elaine even kept her heels on. She went up the easiest side on the back but I then free-climbed the harder route.
“We just thought it would look pretty cool. I proposed on the top of a glacier in the French Alps two years ago and we are now on our honeymoon climbing mountains so there is a definite theme.
“Elaine was on board straight away and thought it was a great idea.”
