ANGERS, France - A bride gave birth only minutes after tying the knot at a townhall wedding in western France, making it more of a "big day" than anticipated, the local mayor told AFP Sunday.

"It did rather shake us up," admitted Jean-Robert Gachet, mayor of Jallais, after hearing that mother and baby were doing well.

Saturday's ceremony was nearly called off after the heavily pregnant bride had several false alarms, although her due date was July 14.

The bride was "definitely a bit worn out, but we put that down to the stress of the wedding. I tried to hurry it up a bit so that she didn't get too tired," said Gachet.

But only moments after the happy couple said their vows and emerged outside to pose for the traditional photos, while the guests left for the reception, the bride suddenly felt unwell and went back into the townhall.

Emergency services were called, but her waters had already broken and she gave birth to a little boy on the spot at 12:15 pm.

"The cry of the new born boy was an emotional moment! It was a first for us and for the emergency services," Gachet said.