Groom hires diggers to save cash

A Chinese groom who works for a heavy machinery company used a fleet of mechanical diggers instead of wedding cars to save money.

Zhang Zongqiang, 35, admits it took some persuading before his bride, Ye Yuzi, 26, agreed to his plan, reports the Dahe Daily.

But he says his idea was a big success with scores of people coming out to watch the happy couple pass by - in the bucket of the lead digger.

All six diggers were decorated with ribbons and balloons for the wedding in Pingdingshan, central China's Henan Province.

Zhang said: "Our company sells excavators, so I was able to save quite a lot on renting the wedding cars - but I never expected it to attract so much attention.

"The main idea was to save some money on the cost of the wedding but it turned out to be very special in the end."

Ye said she was completely against the idea at first but Zhang won her around by convincing her how memorable their wedding would be.

"Standing in the front bucket of an excavator was freezing, but it was all worth it. I was so excited I had to hold his hand tight so I didn't slip out of the bucket," she said.

The couple handed out wedding sweets to policemen along the route to help make up for the extra traffic congestion.