A German couple who have been together for 40 years married in the chapel at the King Edward Memorial Hospital on Friday, refusing to put their dreams of a Bermuda wedding off any longer - even in the face of a heart attack and the threat of Hurricane Juan.

Dieter Rademacher and his wife Elisabeth arrived in Bermuda one week ago for what was supposed to be a three-week stay. They were due to be married at the Four Ways Inn on Thursday, where catering manager Andreas Detzer is an old friend.

However just days into their trip Mrs. Rademacher (then still Elisabeth Lammert), who is 79, suffered a heart attack while swimming at Horseshoe Bay beach. Mrs. Rademacher has already had two bypass operations, the last one in March.

She was rushed to the emergency room at the hospital and was supposed to fly out to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Friday. Doctors had advised her to fly there instead of home to Germany as they were uneasy about the long flight.

But with the threat of then-Tropical Storm Juan and the renewed closure of the Causeway and airport, the couple could not leave the Island. Unsure of what the future would bring but unwilling to put off their marriage any longer, they decided to marry on Friday afternoon in the chapel at King Edward.

The couple were "a bit uncertain", Mr. Detzer said, in a hospital in a country where they did not speak the language. However staff at the hospital had been "overwhelming" in their help and support.

ICU nurse Oddrun Farestad made all the arrangements for the couple, he added - even doing Mrs. Rademacher's hair for her on her wedding day. "It was a call beyond duty."

The couple met at Mr. Rademacher's home in the Rhine 40 years ago, where Mrs. Rademacher had journeyed to visit his parents. While she was there Mr. Rademacher, who is now 67, came home from school - and the rest was history. They now own and manage the Poste Hotel in Mittenwald, Germany.

The Rademachers had already pushed their wedding back several times, Mr. Detzer explained, when Mrs. Rademacher suffered the attack. "This time they said no, it shall happen."

They were married by Rev. Alan Garrity in a small ceremony in the hospital chapel, where Mrs. Rademacher insisted on getting out of her wheelchair to walk down the aisle.

The Rademachers were upset that they only got to see a small part of Bermuda which, despite hurricane damage, they thought was beautiful. Awed at the friendliness of local people, they said they hoped to return to the Island.

They are flying to Johns Hopkins today, where Mrs. Rademacher will receive further treatment for her heart condition. "We don't know what's going to happen when we go to the States," said Mr. Rademacher. "But we are very happy."