Then - disaster!! Mum woke up feeling ill, and not with just a hangover or nerves either (as we thought at the time). She had gone down with a very nasty stomach bug that had been going around Warminster as we later found out!

Clare went off to have her makeup done at 10am and I kept an eye on Lauren until it was time for me to go and have my makeup done too. I still felt a bit fragile so I sat at the beauty salon knocking back a bottle of water and Alka Seltzer, much to the amusement of everybody! After Clare was finished she headed back home for her hair appointment which was at 11am. I managed to get through being made up without falling off the couch and was quite pleased to see I didn't look like Alice Cooper! The hairdresser was in full swing turning Clare's hair into lovely ringletty curls when I arrived back, and my cousin Hannah, the third bridesmaid, arrived shortly afterwards. Mum had been to the hairdressers but had come home and cancelled her makeup appointment, as she didn't think she would be able to make it through. I started to get worried about her. A lot worried…

The lady who made our bouquets arrived to pick up our cake, which she was taking, along with the flowers, to Grittleton House for us. She ended up helping me and the 3 bridesmaids get dressed, as by this time mum had gone back to bed. Half an hour before we were due to leave mum decided it was best if she didn't come as there was no way she would make the 45-minute journey. I was totally heartbroken and I think dad and the two older bridesmaids were putting a brave face on things trying to get me to cheer up - but it wasn't working. It just didn't feel right getting married without mum being there.

The car a 1977 Daimler Limousine arried and then it was time for us to leave. It was horrible - mum was in tears saying how much she was letting me down and I started to cry too (but typically of mum she told me not to because I'd smudge my makeup!) We left the house and I managed a few smiles for the neighbours who had gathered outside with cameras. On the journey to Grittleton I just sat and didn't feel anything - not excited or nervous. Just empty. But I did decide there and then that we would make it up to mum - whatever the cost. We arrived early and the photographer was still doing the photos of Ian, his best man and the ushers so Ian had to be rushed inside to see the Registrar. Then it started to rain! At that point I didn't particularly care because mum wasn't there, so rain kind of summed up how I was feeling really. My flowers hadn't arrived either - the lady who did them had forgotten to pick up the cake stand so she had to go back for it. So dad and I had our "exit from car" photos taken with no flowers. (They arrived shortly afterwards though.)

Once I was given the all clear to go in to see the Registrar, I realised there was yet another problem. We had asked both mums to be witnesses, so now we had to think of somebody else to step in at the last minute. In the end, we asked my aunt, mum's sister.

And then all of a sudden it was time to get the show on the road. We all lined up outside the marriage room waiting to go in. I heard the owner of the house ask everyone to stand and my entrance music Pachelbel's "Canon in D", started playing. Then a couple of guests arrived late so we waited for them to go in. Poor Ian must have thought I'd changed my mind, as the music seemed to play for ages!! We were given the signal to start walking down the aisle (again!), and somehow I managed to fix a huge grin on my face - goodness knows how as what I really wanted to do was run down the aisle and cry on Ian's shoulder. The ceremony itself went almost without a hitch. Ian's dad read "Marriage Joins Two People in the Circle of its Love" by Edmund O'Neill and my friend Helen read "Us Two" by A.A. Milne.

Ian and I couldn't keep our eyes off each other, the best man had the rings and didn't drop them, and I didn't fluff my lines as I'd been worrying about for at least the previous fortnight. But the Registrar did get my name wrong at the end and called me Karen! Luckily she didn't do it during the legal bit!! The walk back up the aisle (to "The You & Me Song" by The Wannadies) as husband and wife was followed by a celebratory drink of Kir Royale, and what seemed like millions of photographs. We amazingly managed to get some photos taken outside as it rained on and off. Everyone worries about the guests getting bored during the photos but I can honestly say we'd had enough ourselves by about the 20th picture!

Then we did the "cutting of the cake" photos and lined up to greet everyone as they went into the room where the reception was being held. Just as we finished saying hello to the last person we had some good news - mum had phoned to say she was feeling better and a neighbour was going to bring her over to Grittleton! We started the meal (melon cocktail, followed by turkey and all the trimmings and then a choice of chocolate roulade, strawberries and cream, or ice cream) feeling much happier! Mum arrived during the main course and Ian and I rushed out to meet her - she got a huge round of applause when we came back in again! Dessert was put on hold while we had a bit of an impromptu photo session outside, as the photographer hadn't left when she'd phoned so had waited for her to arrive. The sun even came out again!! Then it was back inside for dessert and the all-important speeches. Dad hadn't written a speech and just did it off the top of his head there and then. He said some lovely things about us - although he made mum and I cringe a bit when he called her his "good lady wife!" But at least he got it right when he said that Ian is the kind of son-in-law every mother-in-law wishes for!! Ian also did a fabulous job - he was very funny and I was so embarrassed by all the nice things he said about me. Andy, the best man, did a bit of a strange speech and I really was quite worried that he made Ian sound like a car crashing alcoholic who thinks everything smells like purple (don't ask!) - but hey, he's an art student so that's his excuse! After dinner we had coffee and wedding cake in the marriage room while the band was setting up and we waited for the evening guests to arrive. Then the real partying began.

The band (a trio called The Light Fantastic) was worth every penny we paid and then some. Jane, the singer, has the sort of voice that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and we still haven't tired of listening to their demo CD!! We had our first dance to Shania Twain's "From This Moment" (although obviously the band's version of it!) This was the part of the day we were most worried about as we hadn't quite managed to get around to practising, so decided to go for the "shuffle and smile" approach - and we must have put on a convincing show as most people didn't believe we'd never danced together before!! And then all of a sudden, after nearly 18 months of planning, it was over! The day was gone. Just like that. Whoosh!! The guests made their way home and we headed off to our first night hotel, The Angel, in Chippenham.

When we woke up the next morning and went to get dressed for breakfast I suddenly realised I had no clothes other than my wedding dress - in my stressed out state the day before I'd totally forgotten to get someone to take my overnight bag to the hotel!! So I ended up wearing some of Ian's shorts and spare t-shirt, and ended up going home in bare feet!!

Now…fast-forward 2 months to Saturday 6th October 2001. We'd spent the week we had between the wedding and going on honeymoon planning what we were going to do to make things up to mum. We spent most weekends down at
Warminster making secret trips to make various arrangements and each time it was so hard as mum would apologise for spoiling our big day and we would have to pretend to sound really disappointed even though we were very excited about the things we were arranging.

We went to see Judith Hall of the British Humanist Association who wrote and conducted a fantastic reaffirmation of vows ceremony for us, which took place at 12:00pm at Milford Hall Hotel in Salisbury. We didn't tell mum what we were up to and she didn't find out until she got an invitation two days before the ceremony in their wedding anniversary card on 4th October 2001, but we let dad in on all our plans.

I bought a new outfit, and the plan was that mum would wear the lovely suit she bought for our wedding again and dad and Ian would wear their waistcoats that we'd had made but just with ordinary suits. I ordered cream rose buttonholes for Ian and dad and a pink rose corsage for mum. As for my flowers - I picked up two bunches of carnations from the florists at Reading train station on my way home from work the day before the ceremony and made them into a posy on the morning of the ceremony! We'd also arranged for a little surprise party after the ceremony, so just before we left, I sent my sister Clare a text message to let her know the coast was clear and she could come along and start setting up.

We arrived at Milford Hall about half an hour early so took the opportunity to take some photos outside while the sun was shining. Everyone was fantastic and the staff even took some pictures for us so that we didn't have somebody missing in all of the photos!

The reaffirmation ceremony was wonderful and everyone (including Judith, the Celebrant) was fighting back the tears. We had chosen new readings, "A Gift From the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh which Ian and I read between us, "I Promise" by Dorothy Colgan and "The Blessing of the Apaches" both read by Judith. We even exchanged rings again. After the ceremony we had more photos and a couple of glasses of bucks fizz, and then had a nice lunch in the restaurant at the hotel. I kept sneaking glances at Ian's watch as we'd told everyone we'd invited to the surprise party that we'd be back about 3:00pm and by 1:30pm we were already on the dessert (and at that rate we were going to arrive far too early!) We ordered coffee after the meal and even though I was very full I managed to get through 2 extremely slow cups just to fill up the time. The drive back to Warminster from Salisbury was via the "extremely scenic route", and we got back at exactly 3pm in the end. Mum was so surprised when she walked in to their lounge to see all the family and friends we'd invited to join us that she rushed back out and had to have a little cry!

After that the party went really well. Clare had done a fantastic job hanging balloons and streamers and we had lots of lovely food supplied by my aunties and granny. Ian, mum, dad and I cut the cake I'd bought between us as it was as much a party to celebrate their wedding anniversary a few days before as it was to celebrate our wedding part two!! And then the alcohol flowed, the kids were very well behaved, everyone had a great time and, most importantly, of all, mum was happy again!!!

Do Differently: Ian looked absolutely gorgeous in his outfit, as did the bridesmaids and the rest of the wedding party. It wasn't the perfect day we'd hoped for but we wouldn't do anything differently. (Although obviously if we could have our time all over again then I wouldn't want my mum to be ill again!) In a strange way, things didn't turn out too badly as we'd debated the "small -v- larger wedding" subject at the start of making our plans and this way we got to have one of each, and I got to wear two lovely outfits!!

Groom's Comments: It was a wonderful and really special day which I really enjoyed, and will remember forever. Ali looked devastatingly gorgeous (as always!) as she came down the aisle. She really is the wife you always dream of marrying!

Comments: What on earth would I have done without WGUK? I've had such a fantastic time making new friends, getting advice and help with our ideas and being able to help others in return. Thanks everyone!!