Hazel Smith and Keith Webb decided to get married on February 29 for a bit of fun after becoming engaged on Christmas Day last year.

"It appealed to our sense of humour," said Mr Webb.

"Our anniversary will only be once every four years. If I forget after that my life won't be worth living."

Their first anniversary will coincide with the year of the 2012 London Olympics.

The couple, from Weymouth in Dorset, met during a blind date three years ago.

Miss Smith, a 46-year-old home inspector, bought Mr Webb a Suzuki 600 motorbike for Christmas and he proposed.

"Hazel bought me a bike for Christmas to bribe a big rock and it worked. I proposed to her on Christmas Day," added Mr Webb, 42, who works as an off-shore superintendent for an oil and gas firm.

Miss Smith said yes and the couple set the big event for today's leap day. They are tying the knot at St Olaves Hotel in Exeter in front of 29 guests and with Miss Smith's 14-year-old daughter Natasha as bridesmaid.

A leap year occurs every four years when an extra day is added to the calendar to compensate for the fact that a solar year is almost six hours longer than 365 days.