Animal lovers Kelly and Billy Bleach made sure their four-legged friends were included on the guest list when they got married.

The couple, who run a kennels near Bredhurst, took along their entourage including 12 dogs and three horses for their big day.

And one of them, Zeus, even acted as best man, accompanying the sweethearts up the aisle and handing over the wedding rings as they said their vows.

Kelly, 35, said: “We both decided they had to be there. They are my babies. They were very well behaved and it was lovely having them with us.”

Instead of the traditional vintage vehicle, or even a horse-drawn carriage, Kelly’s dad Trevor Smith escorted his daughter to the civil ceremony in Sittingbourne with them both trotting there on horseback.

And each of the six bridesmaids and ushers was partnered with a pooch.

Three-year-old Zeus, one of four large Alaskan breeds they own, was singled out to perform the honours as best man.

Billy, 31, put the ring in a box attached to a collar around Zeus’s neck and, on his instruction at the altar, handed it over.

Kelly, who runs Karebear Kennels in Lidsing with her husband, said: “They are very clever animals and he did very well.”

Kelly rode to the venue - The Dreys, Squirrel Wood in Runstead Lane - on Friday, July 12 on her own horse, Spartacus.

Kelly said: “It was a marvellous day. The animals stayed longer than we thought, especially when they smelled the barbecue, but after a few hours they were taken home.”

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