A Chinese bride has attempted to break the world record for the longest wedding dress by walking down the aisle in a 2,162m-long (7,083ft) gown.

Lin Rong's dress was made for her by her husband-to-be, Zhao Peng, and his family in eastern Jilin province. It took their 200 wedding guests three hours to unroll the fabric and decorate the train with 9,999 silk roses. Mr Zhao's mother said she knew her son was trying to express his love, but she thought the dress was a waste of money.

"I do not want a cliche wedding parade or banquet," China's Xinhua news agency quoted Mr Zhao as saying.

So instead, he decided he would use his nuptials to challenge the current wedding dress world record of 1,579m (5,180ft), set in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on 1 April 2009. Mr Zhao enlisted most of his family to pitch in with his idea, bringing materials, choosing patterns, making silk roses and stitching on jewels on the day, Xinhua said. His aunt, who conveniently is a dressmaker, had agreed to make the design.

Romantic gesture

And Mr Zhao's feat did not end once he had tied the knot.

After the event, he cut the dress down to 1,984.1022m, to represent his bride's date of birth, and added 608 crystals, one for every day they had dated. Mr Zhao said he had submitted his attempt to Guinness World Records in London and would also be sending video footage.

"Both the length of the dress and the number of silk roses pinned on the wedding dress can make history," he said, but added that it did not matter to him whether he was successful or not.

The whole effort cost Mr Zhao about 40,000 yuan ($5,800; £3,470), but his schoolteacher bride was reported to have "laughed and cried at the romantic gesture".
Mr Zhao's mother appeared less impressed.

"It is a waste of money in my opinion," she told Xinhua.
"Though I understand that he wants to show his love on the big day."