WEDDING guest Karen Jeffrey was worried about wearing off-white in case she outshone the bride.

But what the local primary school teacher didn't know was that SHE was the bride! Her partner Paul Baines had secretly arranged their wedding. Karen believed she was going to see one of Paul's work colleagues tie the knot at Bolton register office yesterday afternoon. But just before their lift turned up at their home in Radcliffe, Paul, 28, produced a bottle of champagne and told her the truth.

"I just gave her a hug and whispered in her ear," said Paul who met Karen five years ago when the couple went sledging on a blind date.

"I was gobsmacked at first but now I am thrilled to bits," said Karen as she stepped inside to become Mrs Baines.

Paul had secretly arranged everything, from the reception at the Bolholt Hotel, Bury to the yellow carnation buttonholes for guests.

He sent wedding invitations from their daughter Nicole, 19 months, with a PS on the bottom saying "please do not tell my mummy".

But Karen's friends and colleagues at Radcliffe Primary School had the hardest job of all -making sure Karen looked wonderful for the big day.

Paul conned her into splashing out on a new outfit and going to a rare visit to the hairdressers, saying he wanted to make a good impression on the bosses at work at a colleague's wedding.

The rest was down to fellow teacher Cath Hudson: "She went straight for the black dresses,"she said.

"At first she did not want to wear off white because she did not want to look too much like the bride but I persuaded her it would be OK.

"She refused to buy the jacket to go with the dress because she said it would be too much but I went back and bought it afterwards without her knowing."

Paul said afterwards: "Everybody kept saying I was not very romantic, so I decided to prove them wrong.

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