We'll always have Paris: They fell in love as students hitch-hiking to the French capital as bride and groom and now they've married for real

Two students who paired up for a university hitch-hike dressed as a bride and groom have tied the knot for real - after falling in love on the charity trek.

Sam and Adrian Bowers barely knew each other when they embarked on a challenge to hitch-hike to Paris while at university eight years ago.

They decided to dress as newlyweds to attract the sympathy of passing motorists - but love blossomed for real during the two-day trip.

Mon Dieu: French Admit They Are Rude

The couple have now walked down the aisle in front of 120 guests to get married.

Sam, 28, said: "Everyone says it's a true love story. It's very romantic - I just wish he'd have kissed me when we were on top of the Eiffel Tower.

"It was a fantastic wedding and my dress was a lot nicer than the one I wore the first time."

The couple were both second year students at the University of Bath when they took part in the 2004 Paris Hitch, where participants race to the French capital without spending any money.

Race rules state that men and women must travel in pairs for safety reasons and Sam plucked up the courage to ask Adrian, whom she had admired from afar.

She said: "Adrian was in the same halls of residence as me on the floor above.

"I didn't really know him but we had some mutual friends and I'd always liked him so I thought I'd ask him to do the hitch with me.

"He was equally excited by the challenge so we set about planning how we could make sure we'd win the prize, which was a weekend in Amsterdam.

"We realised that nobody would leave a bride and groom at the side of the road so that would be our best way to guarantee we'd get people to pull over in their cars to offer us a lift."

The pair searched charity shops to find cheap outfits for their trip.

Sam said: "I found a hideous wedding dress with a high neck and full length puffy sleeves straight from the 80s.

"My friends helped me adapt it so it looked a bit nicer. Adrian wore a dark suit and tie.

"The plan worked and when we set off on our little adventure, plenty of people pulled over to ask if we were trying to get to the church.

"We explained what we were doing and, intrigued, most people then offered us the lift - we travelled with a variety of people from stone cutters heading to Stonehenge, the head of IBM, and numerous man-in-vans."

Their eye-catching outfits helped them blag a free lift on a cross-channel ferry - where the captain even offered them a free meal.

By the time the couple made it to Paris they had given up explaining why they were dressed as bride and groom, and let people believe they really were married.

Sam, originally from Maidstone, Kent, said: "Our French was failing us so we let people think we were married.

"The market vendors gave us little Eiffel tower keyrings, which I still have on my keys today, and one lovely Swiss couple took us up the Eiffel tower for drinks to celebrate.

"We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine under the Eiffel tower, taking a trip down the Seine, getting to know each other better and then had dinner in a little French restaurant in the evening."

"It was obvious that we liked each other but neither of us wanted to make the first move."

The couple didn't win the challenge but raised £200 for charity - and they grew closer after returning to the UK.

Sam said: "After being back a few days Adrian made a lovely two-minute compilation video of the trip. He set it to the song 'You look beautiful tonight' and it looked like a real wedding video.

"I still wasn't sure he liked me until the next weekend when it was my birthday and he wrote in my card, 'I couldn't wish to be married to a more lovely, fun girl in the whole world... maybe we should do it again one day'."

Sam and Adrian, also 28 and originally from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warks, graduated in 2007 - Sam with a 2:1 in International Management with Modern Languages and Adrian with a 1st in Mathematics.

They have ben together ever since and now live in London, where Adrian works as a risk manager and Sam a sustainability manager.

Adrian proposed while the couple were on holiday in Mauritius and they tied the knot in front of delighted family and friends in Maidstone.

The couple are planning to relocate to New York later this year.