The day began at 6am, I woke up all alone at the hotel where we were to have the reception. I met my mum and bridesmaids in the restaurant at 6:30am for Coco-pops and fruit - mmmm! I wasn't feeling nervous, just very excited.

At 7:30am we were at the hairdressers. With my hair in curlers and a blue hair net on my head, I was less than amused when one of the bridesmaids started videoing me while I sat under the dryer!

Once my hair was finished, I went into town to have my make-up done. Being parked on double yellow lines, it would be an understatement to say I felt on edge. After a lot of rushing around, the bridal party was finally altogether at a friend of the family's house, from where we were to leave. The next thing I knew, I was prancing around in my underwear when the photographer arrived, and, guessing he didn't want a shot of me 'au-natural,' I quickly put on my skirt and bodice. The next challenge was to get my trainers on (white and glitter Reebok classics,) while wearing nail extensions, what a laugh!

The photographer was snapping away whilst we carried on acting the fool. The flowers were next to arrive and they were stunning - burgundy and ivory. I was still so excited about the day ahead, I could have worked myself into a panic but I thought, 'What's the point?' I knew what I had to do and it was just a case of getting on with it!

The vintage Rolls Royce was great although a little old and rickety, I
thought we'd never make it to the church! When my dad and I arrived at the church, most people were inside, although I did see some of my friends from university sneaking in late - some things never change!

Standing in the entrance of the door, with all the stunning bridal party behind me, I felt so proud. The day I had been planning for 18 months was here and I was going to make the most of it. Walking down the aisle was the most emotional part, seeing all my friends almost crying nearly set me off, so I had to quickly look elsewhere. Seeing Stig beaming from ear to ear made me really happy. Once we were at the front of the church it felt like we were the only two people there. We both got all our words right, (unlike in the rehearsal which we laughed our way through!) The rings looked great and we were so chuffed. I thought, 'Yes, I've done it, now lets go and have a party!' As we left the church, we had to walk under an archway of hockey sticks, baseball bats, tennis rackets and an assortment of dance shoes, needless to say I teach PE and dance.

The photographer was excellent and all the photos went brilliantly. I had requested a photograph of all the dancers, so we did the can-can! I was fine because I had my trainers on and the photo came out really well!

As everyone dispersed to go to the hotel, my husband and I were off to the docks for more photographs. This was a special part of the day, very relaxed and chilled out by the water. I did think about pushing him in for a laugh but then realised that we had hired the suit… shame! The photographer was taking contemporary black and white photographs, so we had to pose against the pillars and walk hand in hand, chatting and kissing. Meanwhile, the photographer was sprawled out on the floor clicking away! It was well worth it, the photos are great.

Up until now the weather had been on our side, but it was just beginning to rain, so we continued on our journey to the hotel. We had around half an hour to mingle with our guests, relax and powder our noses - well mine anyway! Everyone was saying what a lovely service it was and how moved they were. I was in such a daze, it was all so exciting. I don't think we'll ever have another opportunity to see our
entire families and all our friends together at the same time, it really was overwhelming.

The receiving line took quite a while as we had 101 guests to greet, kiss and smile at, it's hard work being the centre of attention!
Eventually we made our entrance and everyone applauded, my Grandpa did
an excellent job as the Master of Ceremonies, so thank you. All our guests received favours at their places, the women had a tea-light candle in a glass holder, which one of my bridesmaids had painted with our names and date, a grand job - thanks Nic. The men all received a lottery ticket for that night's draw, unfortunately no-one won, or if they did, they kept it quiet! The breakfast was delicious; we had prawn cocktail, turkey and all the trimmings, then chocolate fudge cake for dessert.

With a very fussy bridegroom in tow, I had ordered him a vegetable curry, rice and chips as a surprise. He absolutely loved it and lapped up the attention from many of the guests. Following the meal came the speeches, and this I was dreading. My dad went first and did me proud, he said some lovely things and welcomed Stig into the family. Then slightly different from tradition, it was the turn of the best man, Shaun. He totally embarrassed us both by projecting photographs of us when we were little. Stig had an awful hair cut (and still does) and I was dressed in a little white tu-tu! Thanks Shaun.
Then it was the turn of the groom, as he was holding a microphone I became slightly worried, what was he up to? He decided to get the guests involved and got them all singing! Stig sang the verses and the guests sang the chorus. To his credit it went down very well and really got everyone in the party mood, however the verses did not go down too well with me - rude is an understatement! Oh well, it's all for a good cause.

At 6:30pm Stig and I went to our evening venue, a social club, which we
often visit for a little tipple now and again. This was one of the best
moments of the day. We were both sat on the stage of the club, chatting
and swigging Champagne from the bottle, looking very elegant! It was just so nice for the two of us to spend some time together alone, to talk about the day.

At 7pm the DJ arrived and began to set up, about 10 minutes later the first guests started arriving. By around 8pm, the disco was in full swing and everyone looked to be enjoying themselves. Stig and I
had our first dance to, 'You've got a friend' by James Taylor, it was the song Stig sent to me when I was away at university. The buffet food was gorgeous, which is thanks to my mother-in-law, who also did a fantastic job making the wedding cake and the flower girls dresses - thank you.

Throughout the evening, more and more guests were arriving, some I had not seen for years and it was so nice to see them again. Although we had a lot of socialising to do, we both managed to have a boogie. I danced to my trademark song, 'Raining Men' and Stig stripped (only to his boxer shorts thank goodness) to Robbie Williams 'Rock DJ.' It was such a sight for sore eyes I couldn't look! It's not as if he had decent boxers on either!

The day came to a close around 12am, when all the guests left and we got a lift back to the hotel. Back in our room, I was not carried over the threshold… it was more of a push! As we had both hardly eaten throughout the day, we ordered pizza and chips from the local takeaway!

Reading our guest book and cards, as we stuffed our faces, was a perfect end to a more than perfect day.