I remember being told that we girls start planning our wedding from the age of five … in which case, the thirty years I spent planning our wedding might explain why I wasn't in the least bit nervous!

I thoroughly enjoyed planning the day, the details, the quirky touches and even building a website for our guests on the Moonfruit service that another Forum bride had recommended.

The planning wasn't without a few hiccups. The church had double booked us and we had to move our wedding from 3pm to 5pm, the chocolate wedding cake we ordered was not dissimilar to a huge chocolate tree trunk and the 4 yr old flower girl decided to chop off her hair shortly before the day, but we kept our sense of humour at all times and found ways around the glitches.

The weekend arrived. On the Friday evening, I stayed over at my parents, along with my youngest sister Kate, one of the bridesmaids. We relaxed on the patio on a balmy summer evening drinking white wine and chatting about our childhood. Mum and Dad had an early night but Kate and I stayed up to watch the lovely Brian win Big Brother.

I woke up early on the Saturday. It was a beautiful day. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and around 9.30, Kate and I set off to the hairdressers. We chatted and sang along to the radio as we drove up the M3. It felt more like a shopping trip than the morning of my wedding.

Kate's good friends were getting married at noon and since she wouldn't be able to join them until much later in the evening, we stopped off to watch them leave the church and wish them well. I felt a right pillock waiting outside a church in jeans and a shirt with a tiara in my carefully backcombed and styled hair!

Grant and I weren't getting married until 5pm but the photographer was due at 3.30. We'd taken care of manicures and pedicures the day before and with the hair all ready, a speedy dip and carefully applied make up were all that was needed.

By 3.30, my two other sisters had arrived with their children as well as Grant's mum and sister, Kathryn, another bridesmaid. It was extremely hot as we smiled through photographs in the garden. The cars arrived just after 4.30 and we set off in convoy to the church. People waving and tooting their horns was making me quite emotional but Dr Sleep the owner and driver of the beautiful vintage MG chatted soothingly as we drove along.

We pulled up outside the church and I could see some of our guests still arriving, they scurried quickly inside as the photographer took more photos. My 8 year old, Joshua, was waiting patiently for us at the church door. Grant had organised their matching outfits and when I saw how handsome he looked, a proud lump came to my throat. We gathered around the church entrance and waited for the music to begin. I had practiced listening to the wedding music (March from Aida) for weeks so that I didn't cry when I walked down the aisle. I bit my lip furiously and choked back the sob that was threatening to escape. I saw Grant smiling at me and the vicar winked and started the ceremony.

During the sermon and hymns, I took a discreet glance around the church; the children were happily enjoying their own 'Order of Service', which contained a story, jokes and pictures. There were no tears or whines of boredom - everyone was smiling. Our mums both did beautiful readings, the guests sang happily to the hymns and before I knew it we were signing the register and sweeping out of the church. We stopped for one or two pictures outside the church but quickly began the convoy to Trunkwell House for our reception.

It was a gloriously sunny evening. The roof of the car was down and we enjoyed the refreshing breeze as we drove along the country roads. Each beep of a car and wave from a passer by made us smile even wider.

Trunkwell House looked fantastic, the table settings looked great, the Pimms and Champagne was flowing, the entertainer was doing the rounds, the kids piñatas, bulging with sweets and toys were hanging ready to be bashed open by our young guests and Ella Fitzgerald was crooning over the speakers in the garden.

Determined that our wedding would not follow too traditional a route, we wanted ourselves, and our guests, to remember something a little more unusual. We had abandoned table plans and receiving lines, first dances or hours of speeches. Our guests wore black tie, the bridesmaids wore elegant black evening gowns. The children had their own table with party food and fairy cakes and everyone loved the simple but unusual flower arrangements - calla lilies,bear grass and twigs in a vase that sat inside a goldfish bowl.

The adults tucked into a delicious buffet of aromatic duck, bang bang chicken, crispy lamb, tiger prawns, minted new potatoes and an array of wonderful salads.

The one area that we decided not to economise on was the wine. In fact, so good was the Sancerre and Chateau Neuf du Pape, that most of our guests didn't bother with beer or spirits from the bar and by the end of the evening we still had over a third of the bar tab remaining!

Our fondness for wine also gave us the idea for our wedding list. We had asked our guests not to feel obliged to bring presents but for those who insisted we set up a list of delicious vintage wines ranging from £8 to £50 - something to suit every pocket.

After the meal, Grant and I thanked our guests for coming and our families for their help. Before we could introduce the best man, my son Joshua tugged my sleeve and said he would like to say a few words. The entire marquee welled up as he said how glad he was that I had met and married Grant and how he thought he was 'the best dad in the world'. Neal, the groom's brother and our best man, followed with a few witty words before raising a toast with the strawberry cup.

As we dished out strawberries, cream and chocolate cake, the children opened their party bags and raced around the garden with their new toys. They squealed with excitement as they took turns to bash the piñatas and scrabbled furiously on the floor to pick up the treats that tumbled out.

The band had set up and began to play around 9.30. We took to the floor and bopped around to soul classics. The children played happily, watched over by the babysitters, the grown ups were happy to either dance or just sit sipping wine and chatting happily under the summer stars.

It was just what we had wanted - a lovely relaxed summer party, where the children had as much fun as the adults. As we waved off the last of our guests, Grant smiled and said "What a great day".

We returned from honeymoon to find a collection of over 60 bottles of vintage wine had been delivered. These are now safely stored in a makeshift cellar under the stairs, ready to share with our guests at dinner parties and possibly christenings!

Do Differently: I wouldn't change the day we had, but if I could do it all over again then I'd change everything. There are so many choices for a bride planning her wedding that it's hard to decide on one thing. I wish we could marry the same person every 5 or 10 years, that way, you could try everything from a big church wedding to a tropical beach ceremony.

Groom's Comments: What a great day. I can't fault it.