A POLITICIAN swapped her suit for flowing of ivory silk as she wed her university sweetheart.

Nicola Blackwood was joined by friends and family in a “moving” ceremony at Merton College Chapel on Sunday, where she married investment manager Paul Bate.

The Oxford West and Abingdon MP, 36, said: “We never considered marrying anywhere other than Oxford, where we met and where we have so many happy memories.

“We were so lucky to have such a moving ceremony in beautiful Merton College Chapel, where Paul studied and I performed in concerts as a student.”

South Africa-born Mrs Blackwood, who will keep her surname in professional contexts, studied music at St Anne’s College while her husband read at Merton.

She thanked canon Simon Jones and music director Ben Nicholson for making the service special, adding: “He knew the music would be the most important part of the service for us and marshalled choir, organ and trumpets so I could walk up the aisle to Handel’s ‘Glory to God in the Highest’, we could leave to Bach’s ‘Magnificat’ and much more in between.

“It was our family and friends, many of whom had travelled thousands of miles, who made our day.”

The pair will set up their marital home near Wootton.