text: Firefighters tackling a huge blaze at an Oxford hotel saved a couple’s wedding when they salvaged their rings and the bride’s dress from the charred building yesterday. Lauren Halliday and Steven Smith feared they would have to get married in their jeans after they were evacuated from the Randolph Hotel on Friday. The ceremony went ahead at St Edmund Hall in the city. Eighty guests fled the fire at the 119-bedroom hotel, which featured in TV’s Inspector Morse. No one was hurt. Eighty guests fled the fire at the 119-bedroom hotel, which featured in TV’s Inspector Morse. No one was hurt . Seventy firefighters fought the blaze and the damage was expected to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. The extent of the damage to the Grade II listed Victorian building remains unclear but aerial pictures of the scene showed gaps in the roof and exposed beams. The five-star hotel, run by the Macdonald chain, includes the Morse Bar, named after being used as a frequent setting for many scenes where Morse and Lewis deliberated on complex cases. Cast and crew also stayed there while filming the detective drama. The Morse Bar has featured in episodes of the follow-on TV series, Lewis, too. Seventy firefighters fought the blaze and the damage was expected to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds . Roads were closed around the hotel as fire crews fought to stop the flames spreading, while its staff and guests were evacuated. Eyewitness Anabel Bacon, who was on the roof terrace of the Ashmolean Museum opposite the imposing, gothic hotel, said there was an initial plume of smoke, which stopped very quickly - but “all of a sudden it resumed again with just as much force”. She said: ‘The fire service was there very quickly after the second plume erupted, within five minutes. Everyone was surprised… no one knew what was going on.’ The fire's cause is not known and the extent of the damage to the Grade II listed building remains unclear . An aerial view over the historic hotel shows massive plumes of smoke billowing over Oxford city centre .
target: Lauren Halliday and Steven Smith were evacuated from Randolph Hotel .
  Came as huge fire broke out at the 119-bedroom establishment in Oxford .
  Couple feared they'd have to get married in jeans but ceremony went ahead .