A SUFFOLK bride was walking down the aisle today just hours after taking part in a 29-gun royal salute in honour of the Queen Mother.Captain Erica Burley, 29, from Peasenhall, near Saxmundham, has been meticulously planning her wedding for the past 18 months.

A SUFFOLK bride was walking down the aisle today just hours after taking part in a 29-gun royal salute in honour of the Queen Mother.

Captain Erica Burley, 29, from Peasenhall, near Saxmundham, has been meticulously planning her wedding for the past 18 months.

As Erica is a captain in the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery and her husband to be, Toby Bridge, is a major in the King's Royal Hussars, finding a suitable date was no easy task.

The families of bride and groom have finished all the last-minute arrangements and a marquee has been put up in the garden of Erica's Peasenhall home for the reception following the marriage at the village church.

The wedding is definitely going ahead even though Erica has an important role to play during the ceremonials surrounding the Queen Mother's funeral.

Yesterday she was in full dress uniform on horseback in London's Green Park taking part in the 29-gun royal salute.

The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired its second salute of the week as the Queen Mother's coffin wass borne in procession from St James's Palace to Westminster Hall.

Yesterday evening Erica dashed back to Suffolk for a final rehearsal for her wedding.

Following the marriage ceremony at St Michael's Church, Erica will be returning to London tomorrow to prepare for the Queen Mother's funeral on Tuesday.

Although the honeymoon has had to be postponed the wedding is going ahead as planned and Erica is proud to be taking part in the historic ceremonies to honour the Queen Mother.

"Nobody feels at all annoyed that they have had to change their plans. We believe it is an honour and a privilege to be involved," she said.

Erica's father, Commander Malcolm Burley, is a former Royal Navy officer, and knows all about the unexpected demands of a military life.

"It did look at one time as though the wedding would have to be put off which would have been such a shame after so much planning.

"But it is possible for everything to carry on and we are all looking forward to the weekend," he said.

It was only while she was studying at Newcastle University that Erica decided on a military career.

Since joining the Army she has served with the United Nations in Cyprus, and has also served in Bosnia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland.