We had been together for many years and finally decided to get on with it! Not being people to hang around i called the register office and booked the first summer date that they had. This left me 3 months to organise everything! We also didn't have a lot of cash having just built an extension. I went to work researching where to buy flowers, how to make flower arrangements and all the other things that I had to do.  It was a lot of work but I had great fun learning and creating. The house was like a display at the Chelsea flower show.

It really did end up being a real DIY wedding. I made everything:

All the flower arrangements, my bouquet, my flower crown and all the buttonholes (they were calla lilies in shades of pink and lilac and some white). Also the buttonholes for the groom, bestman and the ushers, which were diferent to those of the guests, and corsages for the mums.

I bought white napkins and dyed them in pinks in lilac, then folded them in two different styles.

I designed and printed the Orders of the Day and made little bows to go on the front. My 'sister-in-law to be' assembled them, sticking the printed pages to the covers and adding the ribbon.

Then there was my dress. Ebay provided a wonderful ivory Pronovias dress for £60. It was my dream dress except for the colour, oh, and the lack of straps and the neckline.  I took it apart, which meant that every single bead and sequin came off the skirt. I dyed the top layer of fabric and the bodice in lilac (using polyester dye which is done in a pot on the stove) which involved the kitchen being like a laboratory for three days - little pots of colour here and there, large pots of colour bubbling away.  Being a shortie I had to shorten the skirt, then I changed the neckline to sweetheart, made hanging straps and reassembled it. Did I mention that every single bead and sequin on the skirt I sewed back on?

A friend made the cake - a double sided affair - flowers on one side and superhero symbols on the other, but I made the cake stand. Again ebay provided someone to make a solid base, which I then covered in leaves and added small flowers down each corner edge to match the cake colours.

I almost forgot - I bought satin shoes, dyed them lilac and added pieces of beaded lace from the dress.

I can't bear to part with the dress, bouquet, crown, shoes or strangely, the cake stand. But my husband has treatened divorce if I don't get rid of the flower arrangements which are filling the house. I am keeping some of them though!