Brides dash to win wedding bash.

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With peak British wedding season approaching, the race down the aisle has started early for some couples.

Earlier today 40 brides and grooms, in full wedding attire, were spotted dashing through London ahead of first ever ‘Pimm’s Spritz Wedding Dash’ competition, all hoping to win their dream wedding bash.

The to-be-weds traversed Westminster Bridge and past Westminster Abbey, before crossing the finishing line at Battersea Park.

The event included 1km obstacle course, during which the couples faced fun, physical manifestations of matrimonial challenges including hurling bouquets, a ‘balloon slalom’ and a torrential downpour (delivered by powerful sprinklers) before carrying their partner over the finishing line – all in pursuit of an £8,000 prize.

The competition was hosted by the drinks brand to celebrate the launch of its new Pimm’s Spritz wedding cocktail.

Pimms Wedding Dash (16:9) from St Marks Studios on Vimeo.

Daniel Carey, 33, and Jade Wollett, 27, from Wimbledon, won the Running of the Brides-inspired race. The couple, who met in Fiji 5 years ago playing beach volleyball, were awarded a wedding directory package from Rock My Wedding worth £8,000.

Jade said, “We were really looking forward to the race today and cannot believe we’ve won. There was such tough competition! We cannot wait to use our prize to make our wedding even more amazing.”

The winning couple celebrated with a Pimm’s Spritz cocktail, the tipple that can add a little fizz to any wedding.

Elly Martin, senior brand manager for Pimm’s, said: “Marriage is most definitely a marathon not a sprint but with peak wedding season approaching we wanted to help contestants stay on course for their big day. We’re raising a glass of Pimm’s Spritz to all those celebrating their ‘I Do’s’ this year.”

Couples were selected at random to take part in the Wedding Dash after entering a ballot to win a wedding reception prize.

The quirky event reflects the fact that the UK’s ceremonies are veering away from the traditional. More than two in five Brits (44%) attest to having attended a wedding that wasn’t in a church or traditional wedding venue. A third of the nation have attended a wedding in a castle (30%) and a quarter (24%) attended a ceremony on a beach. Furthermore, one in ten (12%) had attended a wedding on a boat. In light of these lavish wedding locations, it is unsurprisingly that most Brits (90%) agreed that weddings have become extremely expensive over the past five years

Pimm’s, the iconic British tipple, was created in 1840 by James Pimm and first sold in his famous Oyster Bar in London.

The new Pimm’s Spritz cocktail is a mix of Pimm’s No.1, sparkling wine, lemonade and garnished with mint and cucumber, the perfect way to bring a little sparkle to any celebration.