I'd stayed at my future in-laws house the night before my wedding, as it was a convenient distance from the church. My chief bridesmaid, Gail, and I were sharing the guestroom and in the morning we were given tea and biscuits and some rather good news. My future mother in law, Angela, told us that the weather seemed fine and it looked like it would turn into a lovely day! It had been a very wet July and I wasn't holding out much hope of good weather so this was great news.

We had a lovely continental breakfast in the conservatory, put on a classical music CD and enjoyed the sunlight which was streaming in through the windows. I was surprised at how relaxed I felt. After a quick shower it was time to head off to the hairdressers where Gail and I met up with my Mum and another bridesmaid, my friend Julie. The hairdresser did a great job although it was slightly embarrassing walking along the high street, back to the car with a veil and fancy hairstyle, still in our casual clothes! When we got back to the house it was on with the makeup and nail polish. Before I knew it the photographer had arrived but I hadn't changed into my dress. The panic started to set in but my bridesmaids did a great job of calming me down and helping me to get ready.

Whilst I was having the first few photographs done at the house I could sense that something was wrong as everyone looked worried and were having hushed conversations. I kept asking what had happened but no one would tell me. As it turned out, my Dad had arrived to accompany me to church but he was under the impression that his morning suit was ready and waiting for him at my in-laws house, when in actual fact it was still at our house where Dad had been staying the night before. It was thirty miles back to our house and there was no way that Dad could drive there and back in time to go with me to the church. Someone rang home to see if Paul - my fiancé - and his best man were there so that they could drop it in on the way to church, but they'd already left. In the end, my Dad wore Paul's Dad's morning suit and Paul's Dad made the sixty-mile trip to put on the other suit and then make his way to the church. It was very fortunate that he and my Dad are the same size! After that problem I convinced myself that things could only get better.

My youngest bridesmaid, India, arrived soon after and then it was off to the church. Thankfully, our wedding cars didn't hit any traffic trouble and I was actually fifteen minutes early. The church was in a busy market town so we had quite a few onlookers, which was a bit daunting, but nice at the same time. Dad and I sat in the car and chatted until it was time for a few photographs before we went into the church.

The vicar greeted us at the doors of the church and we followed him in. I chose the traditional Wedding March from Lohengrin by Wagner as my entrance music. I felt quite shy as I walked in and looked mostly to the floor until I glanced up to see my grandmother motioning to me to keep my head up. I arrived at the altar and we began with the hymn 'Morning has Broken' and then it was on to the vows. I was surprised at how calm I felt during the vows and although a few people said I spoke too quietly (I can't actually be heard on the video!) I didn't feel any nerves at this point.

The vows seemed to be over very quickly and then our good friend and
usher, Robin, stepped forward to read 'Blessing for a Marriage' by James Dillet Freeman, which we had found on the WeddingGuideUK site. The vicar read Ecclesiastes 4:12 and then talked about the two of us and said that although we had met through modern technology (the Internet - where else!) he hoped that our love would be of the old fashioned kind. This was lovely as it really personalised the service for us and showed that the vicar had taken time to get to know us. We had two more hymns, 'The Lord is My Shepherd', and the upbeat, 'Give me joy in my heart', which was a favourite of mine from my school days.

After a hot half an hour standing in the courtyard while photos were taken it was off to our reception venue. On arrival we had yet more photographs at the entrance to the hotel and some with our cake. Our smiles were looking quite forced at this stage! We had a welcoming line up in the gardens of the hotel and then it was time for the meal and speeches. My Dad made a lovely speech about how he and my Mum were doubly proud as I had just graduated from university and was now having my wedding day. Paul and his best man both made funny and touching speeches too.

In the afternoon the guests relaxed in the gardens of the hotel while Paul and I went to the New Forest with our photographer for a few more photos. It was nice to get away for a while and have some time to ourselves, my dress and shoes gained a few grass stains and we both felt a bit daft dressed in our wedding attire surrounded by picnicking families and people walking their dogs, but we still managed to get some nice photos.

An evening party at the hotel rounded off the day. The DJ played our first dance tune, 'Fly me to the moon' and after that a selection of 60's 70's and 80's music which we had chosen. The party finished at midnight and after an exhausting day we made our way to our room to find all our wedding presents and cards which had been laid out in our room by the hotel staff. A lovely ending to a wonderful day!

Do Differently: Make sure that everyone had the right outfits and discuss things in detail in advance with the photographer as we didn't get all the photos we wanted.

Groom's Comments: A wonderful day, it took so much planning but went by so quickly!