A HUSBAND and wife who first met at their own wedding will mark 50 years of marriage.

Kidlington couple Emmanuel and Erena Choranji are set to celebrate their golden anniversary today.

The pair were the first Indian couple to ever marry at Wesley Memorial Church in New Inn Hall Street in Oxford, and they revisited the venue for the first time last Sunday for a celebratory blessing.

Mrs Choranji remembered how she was 'nervous' to walk down the aisle on July 22, 1967.

The 68-year-old said: "When I arrived at the church, all the men were dressed in suits. I didn't know which one was going to be my husband.

"I saw a man moving furniture for me to sit on, and realised that was the gentleman I was marrying. I didn't know what to feel."

Their families had arranged the marriage and Mrs Choranji, then 18, had only seen a photo of her betrothed.

Their relationship gradually bloomed and, five decades later, they have five grown children and three grandchildren.

Their son Benjamin Choranji, 38, said: "My mum and dad have always said love came afterwards. It grew and blossomed."

Emmanuel, a 70-year-old retired barber, moved to the UK to be with his father, who was working in Glasgow.

But just as his dad sent off the paperwork for his family to join him, he died of a heart attack.

Catering worker Benjamin Choranji said: "He was only 14-years-old at the time. The villagers in India all said there was no use in them going now.

"But he felt it was his dad's last wish for them to come to the UK. They left in the middle of the night, when they knew the villagers would be asleep and could not persuade them to stay."

They moved to Glasgow in the 1960s, and about the same time Mrs Choranji's parents moved from India to South Oxford.

Her dad met up with her future husband's father after hearing of an Indian community in Glasgow, and decided Emmanuel was a suitable match for his daughter.

After a traditional Christian wedding, the newlyweds brought up their family in Birmingham before moving to Kidlington in 2001, where they now enjoy tending to their garden.

Their son is hopeful he can follow their success, having wed his wife in India last year just 13 days after being introduced.

He said: "It was a whirlwind, I had an instant connection with her. I hope in 50 years we still have the appreciation my parents have for each other."