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It was the wedding guest that wasn't invited - an endangered leatherback sea turtle who gatecrashed a couple's beach ceremony.

Jason and Kate Crowe were tying the knot in Saint Croix, in the US Virgin Islands, when the unexpected visitor turned up after the ceremony.

The bride was standing sipping cocktails in her white dress with her new husband when one of the party shouted to look at the water.

Wedding crasher: The giant sea turtle pulls itself out of the water as bride Kate watches in her wedding dress

The extremely rare turtle pulled itself out of the ocean and on to the sand, looking for a place to lay its eggs - during cocktail hour.

The fascinated guests watched the reptile - the largest of all living turtles - as it circled and dug a hole, before covering its eggs and rolling back into the sea.

Jason, who shared the photos on Reddit, said: 'We've been joking that our wedding got crashed... by a sea turtle.

Uninvited guest: The endangered turtle stunned guests when it turned up at the wedding in St Croix

'All of the locals from the resort were going on and on about what a good omen it was and how our wedding "was blessed". 

'We told the resort when we all came up from the beach for the reception on one of their patios. 

'The next morning we were the talk of the resort at breakfast as all the staff were coming up to us talking about it and checking out our pics.

'Now that's a memorable event at your wedding.'