An Italian woman has married herself in a wedding ceremony complete with bridesmaids and 70 guests.

"I firmly believe that each of us must first of all love ourselves," said Laura Mesi, a 40-year-old fitness trainer. "You can have a fairytale even without the prince."

Part of a growing trend for self-marriage, or "sologamy", in the world, the ceremony had no legal status, BBC News reported.

The idea came to her 12 years ago, when her 12-year relationship ended.

Mesi told family and friends that if she had not found her ideal mate by her 40th birthday, she would marry herself. She said she is the first Italian woman to do this.

But not all reaction has been positive. Among the congratulatory messages left on her wedding photos on Facebook are others crying, "So sad", and "there's something wrong with your brain".

After the ceremony complete with a white dress and with a three-layered wedding cake, she told media that to marry yourself, you need a certain amount of money, support of those around you and "a pinch of madness".

But since 1993, people have been marrying themselves, and an industry has sprung up to support a trend which critics lambast as narcissistic. In Japan, a travel agency began offering bridal ceremonies for single women in 2014, while a website in the US called 'I Married Me' offers self-wedding kits.

Pale