A Roman Catholic priest dropped dead at the altar before a couple exchanged their vows in Germany over the weekend.

Grzegorz Wieczorek, 47, collapsed while he delivered a prayer at the St. Lambert church in Bavaria on Saturday, the Munich-based Merkur newspaper reported.

Wieczorek hit his head on the stone floor in front of the shocked couple and their nearly 100 guests.

"It was like something out of a movie," organist Andrea Wittmann told The Local newspaper.

The Polish priest is believed to have suffered a heart attack, the Merkur reported.

Many of the guests had travelled great distances to be there, so the bride and groom — from Germany and Italy, respectively — decided to continue the ceremony several hours later with another priest at a different church.