A WEDDING dress that was worn by the bride at Yorkshire's wedding of the year forms the centrepiece of a flower festival this week.

The recent general election meant some reorganisation for the Hon Simon Howard, 45, and 33-year-old Marks and Spencer heiress Rebecca Sieff, who had booked the register office in Malton, North Yorkshire, for their big day on June 7.

Fortunately, the couple did not have to wait too much longer before they could tie the knot.

They were the first to get married at the Temple of the Four Winds, at Castle Howard, the ancestral home of the groom.

Their wedding, at the weekend, was later blessed by the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, at the estate's private chapel.

A reception followed in the castle's Great Hall, with dinner on Saturday evening in the Long Gallery.

The bride wore a full-length gown in silver-grey by Pallant Couture, of London, which is now on show at the castle's annual flower festival, which runs until Sunday.

The temple where they tied the knot is also now licensed, allowing other couples to marry in the castle grounds, which were used as the setting for the television series Brideshead Revisited.

However, one detail that the couple have not revealed is their choice of honeymoon destination.

They will leave for an undisclosed location later this month.