LOVE was in the air when two Cumbrian churches staged mass wedding ceremonies.

Churches in Crosthwaite and Coniston were part of a nation-wide attempt to break the world record for the number of couples renewing their wedding vows simultaneously.

Crosthwaite Church opened its doors to welcome 21 couples, while a further 18 couples joined in ‘The Big Promise’ at St Andrew’s Church, Coniston.

They were among 1,400 couples who took part in 70 venues across Britain on Saturday.

The Rev Tim Harmer, of St Andrew’s Church, and his wife June joined in the celebrations.

Mrs Harmer said: “It was lovely, and a really special moment with everybody taking it seriously and looking into each other’s eyes.”

Over at Crosthwaite Church, the Rev Michael Woodcock performed a ceremony for people who had been married between four and 55 years.

“Collectively we worked out that we had achieved 721 years of marriage together,” he said.

In traditional style, both ceremonies ended with champagne and - cakes.

From Cornwall to Orkney married couples made their promise in unison at 5.15pm and together beat the current Guinness World Record set by 1,089 couples in the United States in 2009, although it has not been officially confirmed.