30976-36JENNIFER Baker will be following in her mother's footsteps when she walks up the aisle at a Walcot church this summer well almost.

She is getting married in the same church in which her parents said "I do" 27 years ago.

But the wedding photos will illustrate how the setting has changed over the years, as the original church building has been knocked down and rebuilt.

And Jennifer and her warehouse operative fianc Graham Snider will be the first couple to tie the knot in the new-look St Andrew's Church.

The church has a special significance for the family as well as parents Gina and Rob getting hitched there, so were Jennifer's aunt and uncle.

Jennifer, 25, said: "I know it's not exactly the same church because the original was knocked down but it still feels really special.

"The vicar has told us that there is a blessing a few weeks before we get married but our wedding is definitely the first, which makes it seem even nicer.

"My mum is really pleased we've chosen the same place. Mum and dad got married within four weeks of the proposal, and just five months after meeting."

Jennifer and Graham, 27, didn't hang around either. The pair, of Blandford Court, in Park North, met in September, started going out in November and were engaged a month later. The sales associate said: "I suppose mum and I are the same once we've got them we want to keep them."

Graham said: "I'd never heard of the church before Jennifer mentioned it but I'm happy to go along with it. I think it's a great idea.

"And what makes it even nicer is that we're getting married on my mum and dad's anniversary, so we are keeping both sides of the family happy."

Gina, 46, a clerical assistant, said the church held special memories for all the family.

"My husband's sister and his brother got married in there so I'm really pleased Jennifer and Graham have chosen it," she said.

The church was knocked down in 1998, 40 years after it was first built, when surveyors deemed it structurally unsafe.

Houses have since been built on the original site and the new church stands in the converted former church hall.

aemery@newswilts.co.uk