The Brides' Revenge Don't Tell the Bride

In the last three years of Don't Tell The Bride, dozens of brave women

have handed complete control of the biggest day of their lives to their blokes.

In return, their grooms were given £12,000 and a chance to prove themselves to the woman they love.

Oh, my God!

Lots of the boys had big ideas, and most of the girls

couldn't believe their luck when they were finally reunited.

But nobody's perfect.

He's just not organised anything!

So did the blushing brides really get the wedding they'd always dreamt of?

Oh, my God, there's naked girls!

-Oh, what a plonker!

-And how did they react

to the way their blokes had spent their last three weeks of freedom?

I was horrified. He was a mad man.

That split-second, I was just like - I'm going to kill him.

Tonight, the girls finally get the chance to have their say.

That's exactly what I said I didn't want!

-You don't know how mad I am.

-Oh!

Well, quite frankly, aren't I the bitch?!

Months down the line, who is still making their man pay for his mistakes?

No, he's got another 50-odd years of me going on about that.

And what happened to the couple with the most OTT wedding in the history of the series?

I was married for six months.

23-year-old dancer Ayca Ayabakan, from Belfast, had her heart set on

a traditional wedding with all the trimmings.

Unfortunately, there was nothing traditional about the day

her 23-year-old barman fiance, Jonny, organised for her.

A garden?

What if it starts raining?

Ayca had no idea what Jonny had in store for her.

But with the bride-to-be safely out of their flat for three weeks...

-To Ayca. Good man.

-...

..it soon became clear that wedding planning wasn't high on Jonny and best man Jim's list of priorities.

COUGHING

Morning.

-Morning.

-Morning.

I don't think Ayca would be too happy if she knew that the first thing we did was go out on the town.

I was horrified.

He was a mad man. It was just them having a three-week long stag do, and it was so disappointing.

Jonny might have got away with his three-week stag do,

but he didn't know that

house-proud Ayca had decided to pay a visit to his wedding planning HQ.

Oh, my God! Smell it.

Oh, my...

goodness!

Oh, my God!

Look at the amount of drink that's been drunk.

They are meant to be organising a wedding.

Surely they can't have enough time to have this much fun?

# Start wearing purple Wearing purple

# Start wearing purple for me now

# All your sanity and wits They will all vanish

# I promise

# It's just a matter of time. #

I honestly couldn't believe my eyes.

There was Jonny with like 10 other people in my poor little house,

jumping up and down, wearing my clothes.

Jonny was in my pink glittery top, which I ended up having to throw away because it was stretched.

What was he thinking jumping up and down, when he was supposed to be organising my wedding?

Clearly so drunk that he probably won't be able to function for the next four days.

I think it was Jim, actually, that stopped me putting on one of the bridesmaid dresses,

or the wedding dress, because that would have been... Because they were in the house, so...

That would have been a disaster.

# Start wearing purple

# For me now! #

Oh!

'I was so disappointed in him.'

Even if he didn't know I was going to be going into the house, he knows that

I am house-proud and that it is a big deal for my house to be kept

in a good enough condition. I would say pristine, but I knew not to expect that.

I found it very difficult to encourage myself to forgive him for that.

I really want him to feel really bad for this.

# So I say, think I better leave right now... #

Ayca wasn't the only one who was upset.

Friends and family also found it hard to forgive him.

One of my close friends in Belfast, his granny didn't actually speak to me.

She was so annoyed that I'd upset Ayca over that flat.

She didn't take into account that at the end, Ayca was really, really happy.

She had just seen Ayca crying over the state of the flat and just refused to talk to me.

It was really, really awkward. I was like, "Oh, come on."

Nope, wasn't happy at all. She said, "The state you got that flat in."

That's grannies for you, they're bitter.

All Jonny's partying didn't leave much time for traditional wedding planning.

And this groom wasn't shy of taking a few short cuts.

We can send a lot of invites through Facebook.

That means I won't have to post things.

Facebook wedding invites.

Who does that, honestly?

We're going to give this a go, we're going to try to do video invites

with me and Jim, featuring Peter Andre as the music, just for a laugh.

-What song is it?

-Mysterious Girl.

MUSIC: "Mysterious Girl" by Peter Andre

# Baby girl, I said tonight is your lucky night

# Peter Andre along wid Bubbla Ranks on de mic

# I stop and stare at you

# Walking on the shore

# I try to concentrate my mind... #

I am actually still a bit annoyed about that, because there were

certain people that should have been invited to the wedding that weren't.

I sent Ayca's mum the Facebook invite and after the wedding, she told me she wasn't impressed about

the handwriting, the fact that maybe we hadn't printed out the signs properly

and did it a little bit better. But I didn't really have the time,

or couldn't really be bothered.

It's one thing to improvise an invite,

quite another to take a risk with the wedding venue in the rainiest summer for 50 years.

Imagine Ayca crying when she wakes up in the morning to realise that it's raining on her wedding day.

Not wishing to put a dampener on his bride's mood, Jonny did consider

a traditional wedding venue, a stately home that Ayca would have loved.

Is this a safe option, or is it actually a really good option to go for something like this?

-It's definitely safe.

-But safe wasn't a word that was in this groom's vocabulary,

so it was goodbye to Ayca's dream country house

and hello to a couple of teepees.

It's looking good, and it won't rain.

And everyone will have a good time.

THUNDER RUMBLES

What's the weather like? At the moment, it's bucketing down out of the heavens,

and...I'm nervous.

Have we made a mistake? Have we?

Oh! Look!

Judgement day finally arrived for this unorthodox groom and his big fat outdoor wedding.

He'd got away with it. It was the first day it hadn't rained in a fortnight.

I got driven to this outside wedding.

It was perfect.

Because it was sunny, and the sun was just shining through the trees, and I just thought,

"Oh my goodness, what have I done to deserve this?"

Once I seen Ayca walking down the aisle, it was just such a mix of emotions, really, like with nerves,

relief that she was smiling.

It was a mixture of relief, emotion and love,

the three key ingredients in a relationship.

It is the will of God that in marriage, husband and wife

should experience a lifelong unity of heart,

body, mind, comfort and companionship.

At that point, I just forgot about everything.

It really wouldn't have mattered what it was, it's just that moment

when you see each other, it all comes back to what exactly the whole point of this is.

And it's not the setting, it's not anything that matters apart from the fact that

you're just here to get married and, you know, promise to spend the rest of your lives together.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Jonny Lacey luck comes into play.

Anybody else had planned a wedding in Belfast outside, it would have rained. Jonny Lacey, nah!

Hello, everybody!

-Everyone through my legs!

-CHEERING

This is the way to the feet.

Holy BLEEP!

If it hadn't have been such a success, the wedding, I think

there would be a lot of things that you wouldn't have forgiven me for.

Yeah, like if it had rained on the day...

You can't blame me for rain.

-No, I know, but I can blame you for risking.

-Oh, yeah.

And, yeah, I think if the wedding hadn't been so perfect in every way,

then there would have been a lot of things I could easily bring up, like the mess of the house and...

Would you still have married me?

-Yes.

-Good.

-Yeah.

It's been almost a year since the wedding, but it looks like Ayca's finally got her own back on Jonny.

We clean the house together now!

It's so exciting.

Jonny's in charge of the kitchen and the living room, and I'm in charge of

-the hall and the bedroom and bathroom.

-Yeah.

It's so exciting for me, because that just did not happen.

And you're getting better at putting washing in the basket, instead of around it as well, so...

Just small changes, but every little helps.

-Just one little step at a time.

-It's brilliant!

Oh, it's so good. He's really grown up.

-That sounds really patronising.

-Yeah, it does.

-I didn't mean it to be patronising.

22-year-old customer service manager Linda, from Derby,

had been planning her wedding since she was a little girl.

But in the summer of 2008,

she gave away all control of her big day to 27-year-old fiance James.

Yeah, she'll be getting in the car now.

He was supposed to give Linda the best day of her life.

Instead, he gave her a wedding morning from hell.

Tonight, Linda finally gets to tell her story.

My lid was about to explode. I was so cross,

and I just couldn't explain to anybody how cross I was.

I felt as though James was the only person to blame, and he was getting the whole blame.

Four hours before the wedding, James still hadn't told any of the wedding party

what time the ceremony was due to take place, and the bridesmaids' dresses were missing.

The dresses aren't here, we have no idea what's happening, who's coming, what.

He knows how stressed I'll be.

God knows what time it is now, and we're still waiting.

Nobody's about. It's not funny, this isn't.

-It's just too late.

-I know, I know.

Don't start getting wound up. Honestly, not this morning.

-Don't. Don't get upset about it, don't.

-It's not worth it.

We will get... We will sort it.

Nobody could get hold of James.

People were just ringing and ringing and ringing him.

Basically, he should have known better.

-Linda's dad finally got through to the oblivious groom.

-Daddy Linda!

James, I've got girls crying down here. They need those dresses.

Right, OK. I've got them in my house now, I will sling them round.

'What the hell are they doing there?

'They're supposed to be here.'

Forgot about the bridesmaids' dresses!

But things were about to get much worse.

DOORBELL RINGS

James had decided on a dramatic makeover for his usually understated bride.

I said that I wanted Linda to look different.

Glowing. Do you know what I mean?

You've got to look different for your wedding day.

With only a couple of hours till she was due to walk down the aisle,

-her bold new look was unveiled.

-# Oh, pretty woman. #

I don't like it.

I like the hair. I do like the hair.

I'm happy with the hair. I hate the make-up, I'm really sorry.

'When you see somebody you want to spend the rest of your life with cry,

'that's really upsetting.'

When you see the person that you want to spend the rest of your life with cry and you've done it,

then that's even worse.

I never liked that bit.

The rest of it, I can deal with, but I never liked the crying bit.

And the crying bit later.

-And the crying bit later!

-And the bit after that.

And the bit after that! And the other crying bit!

I don't know what time I've got.

Don't worry. Take the lot off.

-It doesn't matter.

-What if I'm late?

It doesn't matter. Don't worry.

I think it was about three or four attempts before I got my make-up on, and even then, it was minimal,

because every time I was crying, it was wiping another layer off.

The whole day has been ruined.

He's just not organised anything!

Can you just turn that off a minute?

I really wish that I'd perhaps reined my neck in a little bit and just not been so easily upset,

just taken everything more in my stride, been a bit more controlled.

The make-up wasn't the end of the world.

It could have been changed. And if I hadn't started crying

every five seconds, it probably would have taken a lot less time.

Just when it looked as if things couldn't get any worse,

it became clear that James hadn't booked enough wedding cars for the 45-minute journey to the venue.

-I want you lot to take the first two cars then.

-No.

No, no, no. I want you to take the first two cars. I will wait.

Because the show can't start without me.

-You need to be there.

-No! Go.

And he can...wait.

I wanted them to have the traditional ride to the church, or wherever it was going.

I wanted it all to be right.

What Linda didn't realise was that by waiting the extra 90 minutes

for the cars to come back, she was jeopardising the entire wedding.

-Is there anybody that can bring her here?

-The answer is no.

I'm stood there at the altar.

I've then got my nerve-stricken wedding planner saying, "If we don't get her here soon..."

Do you know what I mean? "..there may not be a wedding."

And that prompted me to get Sam to ring Linda, to ease nerves.

It turned out well, didn't it?

-Hiya, Linda, how are you?

-Fine. What?

Please don't say what you're going to say, Sam, because I'll go mad.

OK. So, you wouldn't like your dad to bring you to the...

I wouldn't.

So I have to squash my dress in their car, which has got dog hairs in it?

-Is that pretty much a no?

-Yeah.

It is pretty much a no.

To have gone in their car, in my lovely wedding dress that James had picked,

just with the dog hairs in there, I couldn't have thought of anything worse.

At the end of the day, he will have to wait. This is his mess.

He can wait and he can explain to everybody why I'm not there.

That scene, I come across as an absolute Bridezilla.

And, to be fair, I felt like an absolute Bridezilla.

It was just such a stressful moment.

At that moment, I thought, "We are close to having no wedding here."

Do you know what I mean? Over cars and make-up.

I'm just going to...

go down here for a second.

# You got me begging you for mercy... #

'Now, looking back on it, I wish...'

I'd just got in my own car, just taken my keys, said, "Come on, Dad, get in!"

Chucked my dress in the back and just driven myself there.

But then on the day, it was just all, you know, you're...

you just want everything to be perfect.

She'd had four attempts at make-up and was almost two hours late,

but Linda eventually made it to her wedding.

So when she got down the aisle, did James get a slap or a kiss?

As soon as I walked through the door, the way I was feeling all changed...

I just was so glad to see him.

I missed you so much.

I'll love you forever.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

James had accomplished his mission by the skin of his teeth.

But Linda wasn't about to let him get away with it.

You don't know how mad I was this morning.

I'm sorry.

Fortunately, the wedding reception got off to a great start.

Obviously, we had the traditional wedding breakfast.

Then, all of a sudden it was, "Oh, come through, I want to show you something."

I got really excited that, this is it. And then they opened the doors...

Oh, God!

# Let me...

# Entertain you... #

..and there's just these half-naked dancing girls standing in front of me.

All I could see was these half-naked girls at my wedding.

I was like, "I'm the centre of attention, it's my wedding, it's about me and James,"

and there's just dancing girls.

James and Linda, welcome to your Vegas!

"Welcome to your Vegas!"

Yeah. That was perhaps the most inappropriate welcome that any bride has ever had.

Even when he showed me the tables and all the games, all I could think of is...

these girls standing there with big feathers in their hair, half naked.

Are you not impressed?

-You're not, are you?

-No.

-No.

At that moment, I just thought, "Oh my God!

"What have you done? "What have you done?"

Do you know what I mean? Who picked their costumes?

Not that I'm an expert! Do you know what I mean? I'm not an expert.

Although at that point, I was thinking I was some sort of expert.

The only one point that sticks in my head that he will never, ever

get away with is the half-naked women.

Two years on, Linda and James are expecting their first child.

And James' stab at wedding planning, for all its flaws,

has been a massive turning point in their relationship.

I don't think we would have lasted if we hadn't have done it.

So, I owe a lot to this, and that's the God's honest truth.

-I think it saved us.

-Yeah.

It has saved us. I think that...

showing you that I actually care about some of the decisions

-that we're making in our life is enough to make us stronger.

-Yeah.

Everything seems so much easier. It's not as though it's a fight.

Everything is more 50/50, and there's a lot more compromise.

It's fun to watch back, isn't it? Always pulls a heartstring.

-Yeah, it does. I always feel for me.

-Yeah!

22-year-old Laila Walsh, from Preston, worked on a make-up counter

-and had huge ambitions for her big day.

-Party time!

I'd love a celebrity wedding.

In 2008, she handed over the reins of responsibility to her 25-year-old postman fiance, Nick.

Wanted a footballer, gets the postman!

Nick was determined to give her a wedding fit for a celebrity,

complete with a two-grand princess dress,

-the biggest tiara he could find...

-Oh, my God!

..a horse-drawn carriage, and even a helicopter.

SHE SCREAMS

-You've not arranged that?

-That's for us, baby!

-Get lost!

This is the real... I'm an ordinary girl from Preston.

Amazing! I feel like a celebrity.

I feel like a celebrity.

-You are a celebrity. You're MY celebrity.

-Aww!

-Love you!

-Love you!

# Cos we all just want to be big rock stars... #

-Woo!

-There's no doubt Nick succeeded in giving Laila the wedding

she'd always dreamed of. Unfortunately,

a great wedding doesn't necessarily make a good marriage.

I was married for six months...

and that was it!

-What God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Amen.

-Amen.

I honestly believed that when we got married, it was going to be forever as such.

As cheesy as it sounds, I did. Otherwise, I would never have done it.

When you come to that agreement, especially in front of God, it was meant to be forever.

But you can't stop things changing.

God can't stop things changing, unfortunately.

-But you move on. You learn.

-Mmm.

At the end of 2008, the marriage broke down.

Nick and Laila are now getting a divorce.

She's chosen not to look back on her wedding day,

but Nick and best man Stephen are proud of what they achieved.

It's still given me huge confidence to know that we've planned a wedding in three weeks

and gone through it and done it. It's a fantastic achievement for both of us.

I think for the level that we pulled as well and for what we sort of wanted, it was fantastic.

-Wasn't it?

-Oh, yeah.

-I can't blow my own trumpet enough, I feel.

Nobody was more surprised by what they managed to accomplish than the boys themselves.

Me and Steve are just the most casual people on the planet.

He's still a bit of a boy.

He's going to have to buck up his ideas.

We're slackers, aren't we really?!

Social lampers!

-PHONE BEEPS

-Is that your phone?

-Are you on the fax number?

-Don't know.

Yeah, sounds like it. Well done, Nick!

Knowing how high Laila's expectations were,

Nick and Stephen threw themselves into the task in hand.

-We need something quite different.

-Celebrity springs to mind.

Celebrity status, yeah, definitely.

-I like it. I really like it.

-What stands out for you though?

I think it's exactly what we've been looking for.

THEY LAUGH

-Stephen!

-It wasn't hard work.

It wasn't the most difficult work, choosing that wedding dress, was it?

-How does it feel comfort-wise?

-Very comfortable.

-Is it not restricting?

-No. It has like a hoop around it,

so it allows you to walk.

-So you've got nothing between your legs at all.

-Right.

I won't take that as an insult.

They did us a massive favour, because they told us about wedding dresses.

I'd never been into a dress shop until then.

Like the weight of dresses. You wouldn't think that traipsing around in something quite heavy all day,

it's going to wear you out and get you quite tired.

That's lovely.

-How much is it?

-It's 1,720.

Get back in and get if off!

It would cost him a sixth of his budget, but for Nick,

nothing was too extravagant for his bride.

She never, ever lets me do anything.

So, to choose a dress of this quality, I think she'll be absolutely gobsmacked.

The wedding day arrived, and the actual horse-drawn carriage

that took Jordan to her wedding pulled up at Laila's door.

DOORBELL RINGS

Oh, my God! You won't believe what he's got for me!

SHE SCREAMS

Oh, my God!

-Look what he's got for us!

-Jordan's carriage!

-It's Jordan's carriage!

-Oh, my God!

Oh, my God!

Argh!

I just can't believe he's done something like this for me.

Nick may have wowed his bride, but he'd forgotten about the bridesmaids.

How are we going to get...

-To the church?

-Yeah.

-I don't know.

We haven't got any transport, have we?

-Have we really not?

-No.

Have you got any taxi numbers, lass?

For your mum and that?

-Yeah?

-Has he not got them a car?

-No.

I put Stephen in charge of transport, in terms of the coaches,

and I think that's all you did really!

It was a funny one, that.

It was my... It was my...

my one objective. I think it just completely slipped my mind.

Which sounds stupid, but I think I just completely forgot to do it.

How is everyone else coming?

Unless they squeeze into the horse and carriage, I don't know.

They know what time the wedding's at, don't they?

Do they?

I've not arranged any transport for bridesmaids.

It was just sort of panic stations really.

But in the face of adversity, we sort of came through again.

When everything went a bit chaotic,

we kept our cool and managed to sort it out.

Didn't the hairdresser sort it out?

I think so, yeah!

Have you got any taxis available now?

-10, 15 minutes. Nothing sooner?

-The church was only about three or four miles away.

It was only a fiver, I don't know what they were all complaining about.

It wasn't a massive trek.

-Get your hand in your pocket.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand to greet our bride.

ORGAN PLAYS WAGNER'S WEDDING MARCH

SHE WEEPS

CONGREGATION: Aw!

Laila Nadine Frances Walsh, will you take Nicholas Paul Miller,

here present, for your lawful husband,

according to the rite of our holy mother, the Church?

I will.

Nick is now living back at his mum's and studying to become a teacher.

I'm still glad I got married, yeah, because if I was ever to get married again, I'd be better prepared.

I'd be more understanding as a person.

I'm more focused. I sort of know what I'm looking for in a woman.

I know the finer qualities that I would like to have on my side.

-I think just about I've married the right man.

-Just about!

Just about! Grapes in there.

# If you are what you say you are

# A superstar... #

I think what I take from the break-up really

is that relationships require effort, married or not.

And I think if that effort

dwindles, then fractures start to appear.

24-year-old Catherine Tolland from Glasgow mentors in a high school.

She was not used to letting her man take control of anything, but in 2009 she allowed

her laid-back 24-year-old fiance Richard to organise her wedding.

Nervous?

I need the toilet now you've said that!

He was always going to have a hard time

satisfying his perfectionist bride,

and she was never going to be one to hold back.

I knew that I was always going to be quite demanding.

I've always been very harsh, I just say things as they are.

You're doing this to please me, so you should make sure that I'm happy, and if I'm happy, you are happy.

That's how it works. It's the wedding day, so you should think about what I would like.

San Miguel?

Richard and his best man Phil were more interested in pleasing themselves than Catherine.

I had in my head that Phil was going to be distracting him,

going out and buying beer and they'd be drinking in a pub all the time, and proved it quite nicely.

I thought, "Yeah, that's exactly what was going to happen."

So I wasn't shocked, but I think I was shocked by the way

that was their absolute first thing.

Pub.

-You reckon?

-Pub.

-I've got to see a minister.

-I don't care. Pub.

You're worried that you've got to go and see this minister tomorrow.

-He is a massive influence...

-Listen, that's a big thing.

We've had nine beers, are you telling me two beers will make one bit of difference?

-Right, let's go for one. Let's go halfway.

-You have met me halfway.

It's not going to be one, is it? It's never going to be one.

It will be one. Well, no, it's going be two.

-All right?

-Let's go.

Judgment day had arrived.

Phil's had no sleep at all, and I've had three hours.

Richard might have been worse for wear, but

Catherine would never forgive him if he messed this meeting up.

You particularly wanted a Christian wedding?

I think, for me, a church wedding's very important, it's very symbolic of what you're doing.

To be married in the eyes of the Church

is a very important tradition, I feel, to me.

I was really embarrassed. I was sitting watching it thinking, "They must be stinking."

Like, really, how could they have went in that state?

I found it a bit disrespectful as well.

The most important part for me was that they had to make sure that

we could get married in a church, it was the first step to our marriage, and they just kind of took it

very light-heartedly and made a bit of a joke about it.

Yeah, on reflection I probably wouldn't have done that,

but luckily I think the minister saw through the alcohol breath.

That's sweet!

It's not really, is it? It's a bit tacky, really.

Unaware that her groom was putting ticks in all the right boxes,

Catherine wasn't impressed when she discovered what he'd planned for her hen night.

That's exactly what I said I didn't want!

With every hint of what he'd been up to, she became more convinced he'd got it all wrong.

What a weird choice of tartan.

It's just a horrible colour.

Does it really matter, at the end of the day, if things don't co-ordinate and don't match?

Are you joking?! Of course it matters!

Tiny things felt like they were massively important, and because

it was Phil and Richard that were planning it, I was very concerned about things like things matching

and colour schemes, so in the back of my mind I was picturing the absolute

worst, with nothing matching, being really garish, really uncoordinated, just looking absolutely vile.

While Catherine was losing her sense of perspective...

Richard was enjoying his freedom with his stags.

Wish I didn't have to see that, I think that's clearly a reason why stag do secrets stay secret.

All I could think when I was watching it was, "My family are watching this,

"my dad'll see this, my gran'll see this".

And then I thought, "Oh, that minister's going to see this"!

After three weeks away from Richard and her house, Catherine was

determined to get ready in her own home on the morning of her wedding.

Got a bit of a problem. Just wondering where Cat's staying tomorrow night?

She's really getting upset.

She'll be in the hotel.

Ask him if I can have the house.

She really, really would like to stay in the house, is there any chance you could sort that out?

-If I could, I would, but it's just impossible.

-Absolutely genuinely impossible?

Genuinely impossible.

Nothing's impossible!

Cat, he is at the end of his tether with stuff.

I'm not getting anything that I want, so why can't I just have one thing

that I really want, cos I'm not getting anything else that I want!

-You've got to trust him, you've got to trust him.

-I'm not going in a hotel.

Then come here and I'll go out.

No. I'm going home. I'm packing my suitcase and I am walking home,

and I will stand outside the house till he pisses off out of it.

Oh, God!

When I think about the things that I said, and the way I was acting,

I was absolutely mortified, I really was.

I thought, "I can't believe I said things like that, I can't believe

"I really thought that was massively important."

Richard got quite annoyed with me about the way I had behaved.

He said, "Could you not see the stress I was under"?

I was thinking, "No, cos I couldn't see you, I couldn't talk to you, how did I know what you were doing"?

In my head, he was out drinking with Phil all day every day and there wasn't much else going on.

It did upset me, because I thought she was quite...

I almost felt like she was a bit ungrateful, almost, as to what me and Phil were doing.

It is the one part that I really, really regret, like I just wish hadn't happened.

Because I do, I look completely psychotic.

After three weeks of tears and tantrums,

it was finally time for doubting Catherine to see what her future husband was actually capable of.

Just coming into the church and walking round the corner,

all I could think in my head was, "Walk, just walk, don't run".

I wanted to give him a massive cuddle, I was so happy to see him.

Richard, I promise to respect you as your own person and to realise that

your interests, desires and needs are no less important than my own.

I promise to share with you my time and my attention and to bring joy,

strength and imagination to our relationship.

Do you give your blessings to this marriage of Richard

and Catherine and promise always to support and encourage them?

We do.

Richard had given her the church service she so wanted, but surely he wouldn't get all the detail right?

I was really shocked.

I was like, "Wow". It was way better than I was expecting it to be.

Things matched. I was like, "Oh, my goodness, there's like a form of colour co-ordination".

-What were you expecting?

-I was expecting something a bit garish.

Shame you couldn't have eaten the cake, though, eh?

Yeah. Next time. Well, not that there will be a next time,

but remember I don't like fruit cake, I wanted sponge.

I like fruit cake, that's the problem.

But I don't. There was three layers, you could have got a sponge one.

How ungrateful are you, eh?

I don't think I could actually explain in words what it felt like, because it was like

every great thing that will ever happen to you and every massive

surprise that you'll ever have in your life, all at the one time.

Every single thing that I saw was a surprise, everything that

happened was a surprise, and it was quite an overwhelming experience.

I don't think you'd get that sense of excitement and joy from a normal

wedding, because you would know what was coming next, whereas everything

that was coming next was an absolute surprise, and I just didn't know what to expect.

It's been less than a year since they got married, but Catherine has learned some important lessons.

I didn't feel that I came across well at all, I just looked like a complete Bridezilla.

And I did find it quite weird.

I would say almost a bit ashamed about how I acted or came across, so it was quite hard to watch

and I just sat and I thought, "If that's really what I'm like as a person, then I've got to change."

I'm a lot more relaxed about a lot of things, and I'll certainly try and be a lot nicer.

I'd like to think the experience has made us more of a partnership,

but I think, at the end of the day, Catherine still rules the roost.

29-year-old Sheena, from Leicester, works as a government

project manager and is the first to admit she can be a bit of a diva.

In 2009, she allowed her wacky 30-year-old fiance Ritesh

-and his sidekicks, Bav and Nimesh, to plan the most important day of her life.

-Do not cry.

Sheena, you're spoiling your face.

Stop it.

It was touch and go whether this groom would ever be able

to deliver the impressive wedding day Sheena so desperately wanted.

With Ricky, he does like to... He likes to be a bit outside the box and do what he likes to do.

Some of the time that's really good, but on your wedding day if you had, like...

You can't have a chip van at your wedding.

No-one even eats cake, but people eat chips.

-Chips on the wedding day?

-I'd like to factor it in.

If we can factor it in, I'd go for that ahead of other little things that we've got.

You would rather have chips than the decor?

Yeah.

Hire a balloon, pow!

-To where?

-Alton Towers.

Ricky gets hung up on details sometimes, and for the normal person

it's not that important, but for Ricky, that is crucial.

-You got any good CDs?

-CDs?

We can't go to this venue with no music on.

Try and get the Rocky theme tune as well, Eye Of The Tiger.

-Eye Of The Tiger, we've got.

-All right, wicked. Let's go.

It does make you nervous to think that's how it all started.

# It's the eye of the tiger It's the thrill of the fight... #

I think the music was important, cos it got you in the mood, didn't it?

-It was a challenge, wasn't it? Have you seen Rocky IV?

-Oh, yeah.

It's quite an intense movie, people get killed in that kind of movie.

It's really a motivator, isn't it? Charge yourselves up.

Rocky and his sparring partners got a bit carried away with their wedding challenge.

Two walkie-talkies, I'm Delta One, you will be Delta Two, Sheena will

be known as the Eagle and you will be known as Ritzy A, right?

-So we'll be known as the A Team on the day.

-Yeah.

Got no worries at all now!

I'm hoping at the end of it, right, the whole event finishes

and everything and it's a roaring success, and I'll be like, "I love it when a plan comes together"!

This is your cue to put the A Team music on in the background!

I think that they thought that they were the next big things

to hit the UK, you know, in terms of planning weddings.

It's like they were in control and they were the men, they were the guys.

I think they loved all the attention, they'd be like

these wedding superheroes.

Delta Two, come in, Delta Two, over.

Delta One, over.

We have a code red situation.

And I think that they enjoyed that sort of power.

Something that was missing out of their lives, probably.

While Ritesh was busy being a wedding hero, Sheena was busy being a stresshead.

Still no news on the date.

-My God.

-He hasn't even sent any invites out.

That's Ricky!

No, but you would think that, you know, the first thing you do is sort the date and the venue out.

-At the moment, I don't know anything about what I'm wearing, nothing.

-Jewellery, hair, nothing.

It just feels weird, it doesn't even feel like I'm getting married.

It will be memorable whichever way it goes, that's the thing.

Either it'll be hideous and we'll have a good joke...

I don't want people to remember my wedding just because it was a joke!

48 hours before the big day, the joke is wearing thin.

The guests were gathering at Sheena's traditional mehndi night, but the bride to be still hadn't

received an invitation to her own wedding.

I've not heard anything at all, I don't know if we've got a wedding date.

Ricky, what are you doing, you know?

You should have let me know by now.

-Hi.

-I'm coming down.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-Who else is downstairs?

-Everyone's here, you ought to get a move on.

No, they can wait, I'm sorry.

It's up to me, isn't it?

I've been doing things, haven't I?

-OK, I'm going.

-It'll be the longest hairdo in history.

Yeah, and it doesn't look any different every time I do it.

Let go. Can I not let go of this, is that what you're saying?

-No.

-Can I let go?

-No.

I think I came across a bit...

Like a bit of a diva, and that's fine, because you can be a diva

on your wedding, it's the one time in your life that you can be a diva.

Oh, God, no, he's got me a bloody tiara!

-I'm not wearing a tiara!

-Shh!

-I'm not wearing a tiara.

-Ssh.

Nina, I'm not wearing this.

It's not funny, Nina. I'm not joking.

-See, you can just have it so you don't see it like that, and have your hair round it.

-I don't like it.

Can I just take it off one minute, we'll try and pin it back and then see what we can do.

-How can he choose a tiara, he knows I don't...

-Shh, shh.

I was like, "Oh, my God, you caused that much of a thing about it?" You know what I mean? Jesus!

It was a nice tiara, nothing wrong with the tiara, know what I mean?

Yeah, I thought it was a bit dramatic.

Can we just try that thing again? I thought that looked really...

Look straight and put your hands down, please.

-I've got one hairpin.

-You don't put it on like that.

Just shh.

It's princessy, isn't it? It's lovely.

It didn't look bad, it looked all right.

It looked all right, but it didn't suit me.

Then you just don't wear it. You don't make a big calamity about it.

Yeah, but I didn't think I was making... It was the first reaction was I don't wear tiaras, you know?

But...

Every cloud's got a silver lining, now I know how to control her.

-I'm not wearing a tiara.

-Shh!

Why would he choose a tiara, he knows I don't...

-Shh, shh!

-It's like, "Shh!

Shh, shh! I never even noticed that your sister does that before.

-Just shh.

-I'm not wearing a tiara.

-Shh, shh.

The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, does that thing on dogs.

So I've started to...

I've implemented some of the strategies on my marriage.

-And has it worked?

-Yeah, yeah. Shh!

The big day arrived and it was time for Princess Sheena,

minus the tiara, to find out if Ritesh the joker had it in him to deliver her perfect day.

When she comes in, bling de da bing!

Oh my God!

I knew Sheena was happy because she cried for absolutely ages.

But there was one point when I was there, that she cried for

extra-long, and I started thinking you're going to say no, aren't you?

And she goes, "I'm sorry."

No need to be sorry, just say yes!

Sorry. Sorry, sorry.

Every time I went to say something it just

all came out, tears everywhere, I was a bit of a mess.

She started talking and bubbles started coming out of her mouth.

Snot started coming out.

I had a few doubts myself, if I'm honest!

Joking, best day of my life.

-Thank you so much.

-No worries.

His wedding planning success has been a massive confidence boost for Ritesh.

I started working for myself, which was one of the biggest things I realised -

you can go into companies and work for them, but it taught me to gamble

on myself and I thought I'm a winner, go for it.

Me, Bav and Nimesh, we really want to become event planners.

Wedding planners.

Ritesh could not have been happier with the day he planned,

but of course, Princess Sheena might have done a few things differently.

The only thing I would have changed probably is maybe a bigger wedding cake.

I would have had toilets in the grounds.

I would have been nice to have a bit more food and nibbles in the evening.

I maybe would have had a dance floor, and a free bar.

But apart from that I don't think I would have changed anything.

It was lovely.

25-year-old nurse Pippa Hawkins, from Ipswich, was already organising

her own wedding when lack of money put paid to her ambitious plans.

So in 2008 she let her 24-year-old fiance Tony organise a new one for her.

He was on a hiding to nothing from the start.

I think brides have a right to be a bit Zilla-like.

For that one day.

For Pippa there were two crucial elements to her dream wedding -

-walking down the aisle of her favourite church...

-Longest aisle in Ipswich.

-And wearing her dream wedding dress.

-That's my dress!

That's it.

How beautiful is it?

-It's the dream dress.

-I love it.

It's the most...

It's really comfortable,

it's a mix of elegant and simple with a little bit of sparkle.

I don't think another dress is going to be good enough.

Pippa knew it was against the rules to try to influence Tony's

decisions, but she couldn't resist having a quiet chat with her sister about the bridesmaids' dresses.

I really would like you to have a very plain, simple dress.

With preferably no sparkle.

And straps.

-Well...

-And I would like you to remember

what I want when you go looking for dresses, rather than what you want.

No, it will be a case of what looks best.

What I'm asking you is to think of my feelings when you're picking them.

I'm not going to pick anything you'd hate.

It doesn't matter cos Tony gets overall say, and he wouldn't let you.

Then this is a silly conversation.

You cannot refuse to wear it cos then you're refusing to be a bridesmaid.

And you're not going to do that to me, I know you're not.

You're so aggressive!

She was stroppy. I felt sorry for her sister because of how stroppy Pippa was.

I thought, you can't really say that to her,

because it wasn't Vicki's decision,

it wasn't Pippa's decision, it was mine.

Pippa knew that Tony's dress choice would never match up to her own,

and with less than 24 hours till the wedding,

it was time for this bride to confront her worst fears.

Is that the dress?

Oh my God, look at all the buttons.

I know you don't like buttons, but you won't see them.

It goes right down to the bottom.

-They're dress buttons.

-I will put it on, OK?

Wow.

-I think that's gorgeous.

-So do I.

I think that is stunning.

What do you think?

Makes my hips look huge.

-No, it doesn't.

-Not at all.

You've got no waist, you can't even see your hips.

Is that your veil? Lovely.

It's got a sparkle in that.

I didn't feel comfortable, I didn't think I looked nice.

So I couldn't pretend I liked it, when I didn't.

Here we are the day before the most important day of our lives, and I have reduced her to tears.

It wasn't a nice feeling.

My hips!

-You can't tell.

-But I can see them, I'm not stupid.

Tell them I don't like it.

-It's your choice. I can ring Tony...

-Why are we having a discussion?

I said ring him!

That's really spoilt, Philippa.

She doesn't.

She doesn't.

Mum, I asked you to support me.

-You don't like the dress?

-Do I look like I like it?

I think you look stunning.

You would say that if I had a bin bag on my head.

There was nothing special about it.

There was nothing that sparkled or...or

made me stand out.

She doesn't like the dress, Tone.

So what, she's not going to wear it or...?

I don't think she's going to wear it, no.

I was gutted, I did think that she looked beautiful,

and I couldn't see what was wrong with her wearing it.

I could have been worse! I think I handled everything very well.

It was a nice wedding dress.

For older people.

Tony didn't want to upset his bride further so allowed her to exchange her dress for another one.

Now, that is better.

See, now my hips don't look like Manhattan.

When the big day finally dawned...

This is the moment we've been waiting for!

Tony was going to have to work pretty hard to make up for the dress disaster.

-Still none the wiser?

-I still have no idea!

It's so annoying!

Oh, my God! Is that where I'm getting married?

He'd agreed that we'd get married in a church then move on

to another venue, so I was surprised when we didn't have the church,

but as soon as we came out of the drive and went past it, I thought, "Oh... Oh."

I don't want to look.

I don't want to. I'll cry.

I was wearing a dress he hadn't seen,

so he didn't know what I looked like.

And I just desperately wanted to see his eyes, so when I got

to the end of the aisle and he did eventually look into my eyes,

then I relaxed completely then.

I was just taken aback by how beautiful she looked.

You'll start me off again, don't!

-You have chosen to make personal promises to each other.

-Have we?

Didn't you know that?

You are a truly special man, and I feel like the luckiest woman alive!

Oh, it's beautiful, it's sparkly!

Pippa didn't mention the dress drama, but Tony couldn't resist having a little dig.

At this point there would usually be flowers for the mums,

but Pippa didn't like the dress I picked for her, so the additional budget got eaten up on alterations.

She didn't know until I announced it to the whole room right there.

Yeah, I dropped her in it a bit.

Should have liked the dress, shouldn't she?

And all these people are looking at you on the top table, in the middle of the speeches and you're like...

Well, quite frankly, aren't I the bitch?!

I do wish that I had just worn it. I have had nightmares over this.

A couple of family members said, "You should have worn that dress, you are so spoilt,"

and it is meant in family jest, but it's a sensitive issue.

I'm a sensitive person, and you know, I think...it's just people's judgment.

It's been two years since the wedding, and Pippa's expecting their first child.

But she hasn't given up on her dreams.

She is currently arranging a five-year blessing

that sounds suspiciously like the wedding she always wanted.

The dress I was going to wear,

my brilliant, most perfect, beautiful dress - he has said I can have,

if I want to, for the five-year blessing.

So...how can you not be happy?!

It is definitely a chance for me to put my stamp on things

and just to plan a little bit and have something...

not my way, because that sounds terrible,

but, no, it is, to have things my way!

They had the most eventful weddings you could imagine,

from the half-naked showgirls to the dress that failed to impress.

Our gutsy brides have finally had their say,

but the vast majority of them still had the best day of their lives.

Brave brides of Britain, we salute you!

# Here come the girls

# Here come the girls

# Here come the girls

# Here come the girls... #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd