Sophie & Alex Don't Tell the Bride

-From the depths of the earth...

-Oh, God.

-..to the crests of the mountains...

-My legs have gone weird.

..these crusading grooms must rise to the challenge.

£12,000...

LAUGHTER

..and just three weeks...

I love that girl. I love her.

..to plan a wedding worthy of their betrothed.

Oh, my God. What's he done?

He just took my dress!

These fair maidens are bound by contract to be legally wedded...

-Oh, no.

-..but have no say in their big day.

Is it just going to all be last-minute and just rubbish?

Oh, I hate it. I need to get out of it.

Can these hapless heroes marshal their armies...

I love her, but she's a bitch when she's like this.

..vanquish dragons...

THEY EXCLAIM

Do as your future mother-in-law tells you.

..and conquer all before them?

Get out of my pub!

Or will they be...

SCREAMING

..defeated?

I'm not doing it.

Tonight...

traditional bride-to-be Sophie dreams of a fairytale wedding.

How beautiful is that scenery?

It's all about romance.

I want it to be a nice, colourful, positive, happy day.

But her wannabe hero groom Alex...

I want that, and them, and the guns.

..wants to show his romantic qualities

by scaring the living daylights out of her.

THEY SCREAM

Will he be able to prove that their love can endure the end of days?

Do I not look like this hero of the day to save my wife?

Pow-pow.

Or will he get it all dead wrong?

Are you sure it's not a joke?

Disaster.

This programme contains strong language

Lovebirds 26-year-old Alex and 23-year-old Sophie from Wigan

appreciate the more traditional things in life.

I'd say our relationship's very 1950s,

that you're a stay-at-home mum...

-Yeah.

-The jobs get done purely by cleaning and dishes and washing.

The housework and everything's all me, and then you...

-And I go out and earn the money. That's just how it is.

-Yeah.

And as the man of the house, Alex knows he has it pretty good at home.

-How our life is, living together, is...

-Is bob-on.

-..perfect.

Perfect. Definitely.

Cos I get my arse wiped, I can just sit back...

-Well, we bounce, don't we?

-Yeah.

But without each other, I don't think we'd cope. I know I wouldn't.

This old-fashioned couple met seven years ago in the old-fashioned way.

On a sweaty dance floor in Wigan.

I used to be out all the time, being a young lad.

We've gone out and we're all having a laugh and a joke

about who can get the nicest and all that.

And Alex made sure that when it came to finding the right girl,

he was in pole position.

Strip poles basically overlooking the dance floor,

so I had a good view of everybody and everything.

I ended up seeing you when I was sharking for girls and...

Sharking for girls?

I just went over to him

and, like, started dancing round with him and that.

He ended up whirling me round and snogging my face, didn't you?

Yeah, it was good.

Ah, yes, the old traditional courting ritual of snogging yer face off.

And from there, love blossomed.

It was sloppy, though, wasn't it, our relationship?

-Yeah.

-It was lovey-dovey, really in love,

like, saying we loved each other all the time.

We spent seven days a week with each other.

Six years into their relationship, their son Lincoln was born

and their new family was complete.

And now their lives are more about cosy nights in than wild nights out.

What I enjoy us doing is chilling out on the couch, watching rubbish.

When Lincoln's tucked up in bed,

Alex dominates the TV viewing schedule with his great passion.

Zombie films.

It's not something that I want to watch...

I would say it is, cos the way certain zombies on Walking Dead

can be crushed and killed,

you'll sit there and you'll be like, "What?!"

It's just I've opened her eyes up to different stuff.

I'll give anything he watches a go,

but anything I watch, he will not watch.

While Sophie shows her love by trying Alex's films out,

Alex shows his love by trying her patience.

I do like tormenting Sophie. I do enjoy it.

He does, he torments me, pranks me all the time.

Every day, there's something.

Just to get on my nerves or something, or to wind me up,

or even just to have a laugh, he'll do it.

And when he's not winding Sophie up or watching zombie films,

Alex concentrates on his other love.

Himself.

I'm always, always trying to better myself.

Not because I love myself, not because it's vain.

-I want to look good for her. I want to look good for you.

-Aww!

-You know that!

-Yeah, I know that.

-But you want to look good for you more.

-No, it's not, though.

It's not. It's not!

-All right, fair enough. Yeah, I'm vain.

-You are vain!

-OK.

Although Alex likes to look at himself a lot,

he also likes to be Sophie's heroic protector and shining white knight.

He's definitely my rock and he gets me through so much.

I know he'll protect me regardless of anything, as well as our Lincoln.

He'll do anything for me.

And they both feel that tying the knot

is crucial to making their family complete.

For us, marriage will be marriage.

It isn't just a thing you do

because that you're in a relationship for so long.

It means fighting through anything.

Anything that happens from now on,

this is it till the day we die, both of us.

And this bride-to-be knows what she wants

is an old-fashioned wedding to an old-fashioned dashing hero.

My perfect wedding would be...

gorgeous, glam, intimate, blingy.

Definitely blingy.

Sort of a Footballers' Wives wedding type.

Not, obviously, too posh, but just nice and glam.

And Alex is determined to show his romantic side

by organising this wedding.

The purpose behind the wedding is...

is showing love.

It's going to be aimed at me looking after her, no matter what.

So, if the world went tits-up then I can still see myself and her

always finding a way for the goal to be set

and family to be solid, no matter what life throws at us.

So, what kind of wedding does Alex want

to demonstrate those traditional values?

What I'm going to do for my wedding

is a Zombie Apocalypse-themed wedding.

That's how it's heading. That's what's happening.

SCREAM

Did he just say "Zombie Apocalypse"?

She will crap her pants, and that's what I want.

-Ahh!

-SHE SCREAMS

I want that reaction

so I can be the one to pull her out and save her for the day.

Alex wants to prove to Sophie he'll always be there through thick, thin

and any potential terrifying attacks from the undead.

Question is, has he bitten off more than he can chew?

The worst thing that could go wrong

is for Sophie not to understand why I've done what I've done.

If she doesn't get that then I've failed completely.

That won't happen. It won't happen.

Well, it had better not happen.

Because traditional Sophie is desperate for the perfect day

to complete her perfect family.

This day means so much to me,

so if he did mess it up by joking and showing his tormenting side

and it didn't pull off,

I would be extremely annoyed and upset with him.

If he just makes me look like a joke, it will be mortifying for me.

It will be hard to forgive.

It's time for the couple to say goodbye.

-Ahh! Bye-bye time.

-It is.

-Love you.

-You, too.

They will have no contact at all

until the wedding day three weeks from now.

-Going to miss you.

-Going to miss you, too.

INDISTINCT

Bye-bye, Daddy. Wave bye-bye.

I've so many emotions going through at the minute.

I don't know where to look, how to feel. I'm a bit numb.

The next time I see her will be on the wedding day.

In the lead-up to the big day,

Alex is renting a bachelor pad on the other side of Wigan.

Lovely!

-Hi!

-Hello. Come in.

Back at home,

Alex's mum Chris and maid of honour Olivia have popped round

to see how Sophie's coping without her hero and protector.

-You've not had a hug yet, have you?

-I have had a hug.

-Come on.

-She's trying to get me to cry, her!

-You have. I can see it.

-I'm not.

-You're trying to be brave.

-I'm not trying to be brave. I'm all right.

-Do you think it's going to be good, the wedding?

-He'll do a good job.

But you know what he's like,

so there's always going to be something.

-He's so unpredictable, it's a bit scary.

-Anything for winding you up.

-Yeah.

-It's out of your control now. There is nothing you can do.

-Nothing.

-There's nothing you can do.

-I can't actually believe you're getting married.

-Me neither.

It's the dawn of the dead, AKA day one of wedding planning.

And to help Alex in his quest to prove he's Sophie's one true hero

are best men Danny and Luke.

-You all right, lads?

-All right?

-How's it going? You coming in?

-Yeah.

Come in, lads.

Right, come on, let's get started.

All right, so the theme of the wedding,

and it's a bit hectic and it is a bit out there,

but it needs to be a Zombie Apocalypse wedding.

-Zombies?

-Zombie?

-Yeah, zombies.

What, as in you two being zombies?

As in everybody else being zombies and we're survivors of zombies

and everyone trying to eat us.

That's stupid, Alex!

You do want her to marry you, don't you?

And are you going to be, like, lying down

and letting the zombies take you, or are you going to be fighting back?

I'm going to be the man to get her out, save the day, use my Nerf gun,

"peow-peow", shoot all the zombies and get us out of there.

So, the boys are on board. Sort of.

Still, their reservations might just help make sure

Alex doesn't get too carried away.

If you're going to do zombies,

you're going to have to do it, like, go the whole hog.

-Yeah.

-You can't just do it half-hearted.

-No.

-It'll look shit.

-Proper make-up and everything.

Yeah. I like the idea of something triggering it,

so she's got a doubt in her head, what's going on?

-Like a nuclear bomb...

-Yeah.

-..air alarm off to set it off.

And then set off, like, army official smoke bomb,

like, the best you can get.

Set a couple of them off

so the whole entire air is covered in smoke.

I love the idea of the dress getting attacked.

I like the idea of her getting attacked

and me ripping them off her.

But I want the dress to get messed up.

-She is going to kill you.

-Yeah.

But if she sees the purpose of why I want the zombies

and she sees the love and affection side of why I've chosen this,

and I can get that in the wedding, then it'll be perfect.

All I can say is good luck, lad.

We'll try and help you as much as possible.

-But,

-BLEEP

-hell, zombies!

-Zombies, lad. That's what I want.

I think Alex's idea of zombies is absolutely mental.

Yeah, I think he's a little bit nuts.

-I think he's brave.

-Yeah, he's very brave.

-I think if he pulls it off, it's going to be amazing, though.

-Yeah.

If he can pull it off. It's a big if.

-That's what we're here to help him with.

-It's a very big if.

Totally unaware of her impending apocalypse,

Sophie is with bridesmaids Corinne and Olivia,

dreaming of her family-focused big day.

We can be a family unit now.

It is important to bring our Linc up into a proper family as well.

Need to be a Fowler.

Why do you think it's important to Alex?

Cos I know he does want to be with me for ever.

As cheesy as that sounds, but I know he does want to be with me.

-Cheese!

-It's for life.

It's for life with Alex and I know that,

so that's just his way of showing me, really.

Alex wants to push his idea of being a traditional protector to the limit.

-Oh, yes!

-But he has no idea how to put on a zombie apocalypse.

So, he's come to Sheffield for a zombie experience,

which might help get his head around the undead.

-I've got a stiffie.

-'What?'

-Get out of the car now!

-Oh, my God.

Go to the secure vehicle now! Go!

SIRENS BLARE

GUNSHOTS

Oh, yeah!

-This is

-BLEEP

-mint, this.

Oh, yes!

WEAPONS FIRE

That was amazing.

That's what the wedding needs to be, to them standards.

What's the worst thing Alex could do?

If he made me look like a joke on my wedding day.

Like, I had to do stupid stuff and it not be a chilled, relaxing day.

I can accept some stuff, but I don't want him to take it too far.

-Ah, love that.

-Alex, that's well good.

-If it means

-BLEEP

--all decorations,

if it means the party afterwards looks crap, I'm not arsed.

I want that and them.

Having seen what's possible,

Alex has realised that the sky's the limit

when it comes to his very different wedding theme.

What excited me the most was how scarily real it was.

I'm sat in the car, thinking, "What is this?!"

So, if I'M doing that, what's Sophie going to think?

That is the actions and reactions I'm after.

Despite the fact that the zombie apocalypse is taking over,

I've still found a way to keep her alive.

It's midway through week one.

And in a zombie-free zone, Sophie has brought her bridesmaids

to Sandhole Oak Barn deep in the Cheshire countryside

to see the traditional venue she would choose if she was in charge.

-GASPING

-Oh, my God!

Oh, my God!

How beautiful is that scenery? I want to get married here.

-This is, like, magical, isn't it?

-You know what's so nice?

Listen to that.

It's quiet, though. There's no cars, there's no noise.

This place is perfect.

-This is absolutely beautiful.

-I know.

But while Sophie's dreaming of an elegant venue

fit for her romantic wedding, Alex...

Well, Alex is somewhere else entirely.

Newsham Park Hospital, an abandoned psychiatric facility in Liverpool,

rumoured to be one of the most haunted buildings in Europe.

I didn't know places like this existed.

And what better place to celebrate the joy of marriage

than a building with its own morgue?

Sophie wanted quiet.

Well, this is dead quiet.

-I'll give you a tenner if you get in.

-I've done it before.

-Are you going to have a go?

-No!

-Are you sure?

-Yep.

Didn't realise how much of a pussy I was.

Oh, my God.

They're the original mattresses.

So, you can have, like, zombies strapped to the bed.

This is where it has to be amazing afterwards, for her to forgive me,

cos this is going to scare the shit out of her.

It's horrible. This is exactly what I need.

Horrible might suit Alex,

but it's definitely not what Sophie wants.

I love how they've got the fairy lights,

but I'd have a lot more colourful flowers to make it more summery.

There's quite a lot of people sitting on the table.

I'd like it to be, like, not as many people on the table, me.

I definitely hope there's chocolate.

He should know me well enough

to have, like, a chocolate fountain or little chocolates on the table.

He'll probably have a protein fountain.

-Protein bar!

-Protein bars!

I want it to be a nice, colourful, positive, happy day.

If he's thinking outside the box, he could do anything.

What's the worst thing that he could pick?

Somewhere that just doesn't look nice, and, like, pretty.

If it was, like, just an old building.

An old warehouse or something like that.

An old warehouse with broken things

and it looking all dirty and stuff, nothing special.

Like, bright and colourful and clean

where you can take your wedding dress.

-Yeah.

-Not somewhere grotty and dark.

-No, I don't want dark.

It'd best be nice and light.

So, nice and light.

Um...

-What was this for?

-THEY SPEAK OVER EACH OTHER

-Eurgh, so there were dead bodies in that?

-Yeah.

Still, after trawling around the building,

the boys have found a spot where the wedding could take place.

The hospital's old chapel.

It's got beauty, but it's got the apocalyptic...

Yeah, it's got the dark halls and all that lot.

That's what you really want -

-something like the end of the world.

-Yeah.

As far as, like, this random zombie theme goes,

this is probably the nicest thing you can find out of it all.

-This has real scary factor.

-You got beautiful views.

-For me, for the evening, this is perfect.

-I agree.

I know damn well she's going to flip, her, though.

-But at least she can see how much effort you put in.

-Yeah, totally.

-I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

-I know.

This is what I want. I want this for my wedding day.

I want to get married here.

This is absolutely beautiful, but it could be complete the opposite.

I know. It could be.

If we turn up at some skanky old place

with no fairy lights and no bling...

This is the best-case scenario. I want this.

So, he's got a lot to live up to if he wants to make me happy.

I don't want it to be a stressful day.

It should be a day where me and Alex become married

and we can enjoy it and celebrate it.

Not stressful and anxieties running

and things going wrong left, right and centre.

It needs to be relaxing and just peaceful.

If he knows me and he thinks of me, he'll do a good job.

And I've just got to believe in that.

In order to show his love, Alex plans to take his peace-loving bride

and scare the living daylights out of her.

It's a no-brainer.

An absolute no-brainer. I couldn't do any better myself.

I don't think you're going to find anywhere better than this.

I know. It's a no-brainer. It's a yeah.

One haunted, derelict old asylum with added zombies booked.

All for the grand total of £2,900.

Zombie wedding doesn't get better than this.

Nobody will be able to do a better zombie wedding than me.

Her reaction coming in the car, looking round,

and there'll be nothing round, and when the zombies attack the car,

I'll be on the way down there, so I can't wait to see how she reacts

and how she sees me saving her.

She'll love it. She'll love it.

She'll be taken back by how good I've got it.

HORN TOOTS

It's the end of week one.

And with his haunted venue booked,

Alex and his army of the undead are off on his stag do.

THEY MOAN

Let's hope they have a leg to stand on by the end of the night.

-Has it sunk in, in two weeks, that you will be married?

-Yeah.

-It's not.

-I don't think it has!

I don't know why I'm saying yeah.

The boys launch their attack on Newcastle,

painting the town blood red and slaying it on the dance floor.

People look at you, think, "Halloween's not till Sunday."

But there is a purpose behind it.

Once Sophie realises the purpose of why I'm doing what I'm doing

then she'll totally understand and enjoy it.

Maybe it's the booze, but after a lovely night

spent as flesh-eating monsters,

the best men are starting to see the romantic side of Alex's idea.

It's quite sweet, the sentiment that he is going for. It's really sweet.

It's just whether Sophie

can cut through all the bullshit and see it or not.

Enjoying his night, loving it,

having a good night and then I think tomorrow, it's going to all kick in,

like, shit, I've got two weeks left to do all this.

I think we've got to kick our own arses into gear after tomorrow.

It's the day after the stag

and the living dead have arisen.

The best men have a special surprise

to give Alex a taste of his own medicine.

His greatest fear.

We've come here to do a helicopter ride,

cos we thought it would be funny to put Alex out of his comfort zone,

cos he doesn't like flying.

I'd have to be unconscious to be put on one of them.

Alex might be a big, brave hero, but right now...

he's bottled it.

I don't think you and Luke understood how bad I am with it.

I would never push Sophie to do something she's scared of....

terrified of.

Sophie doesn't have a phobia of zombies.

She's scared of them, but it's an actual phobia,

and a phobia is something that I'm terrified of.

See, right, there's an old lady getting off.

She's, what, 80-odd

and she's got a big pair of balls that I don't have.

I'm not going to go into detail with my close friends

about how bad of a phobia that I am

with spiders and planes and flying and all that lot.

The only person that knows what I'm like is Sophie,

cos she's the one that has to wear the pants when it comes to flying.

And facing his own fears

has made Alex realise how much he needs and misses Sophie.

I can't talk to her about planning our wedding.

It's completely left in my hands.

It's horrible not getting any contact from her.

I know there's a goal and I know there's a purpose for me doing it,

but it's ten times harder than I ever thought it would have been,

having no contact with either of them.

It's the beginning of week two.

And back in Wigan, Sophie is missing her hero.

Bridesmaid Olivia has popped round to cheer her up.

-It is getting stressful, definitely.

-Just waiting.

Just waiting to find out if there's something going to happen or not.

And I guess it's just, like... He's trying for Alex, just for...

-unload everything off to.

-Yeah.

I can try, but...

It's soft, though. It's just cos he's not here. That's all.

It's just hard.

-You need to cry. You have got emotions.

-Yeah.

You're not just this tough cookie you keep making out, you know?

-I miss him loads.

-He'd better do you good.

He'd better make you smile at some point in this three weeks. Christ!

Oh, God, he'd best do. He does, though. He will do.

He'll do a good job.

Well, it depends what you mean by a good job.

But Alex is beginning to realise that his idea of romance

might not be the same as his bride.

I can't believe I'm going to do this for my wedding day.

I know she'll enjoy it, but the two things,

the dress getting blood on and our Lincoln not being there,

are, hands down, the worst possible things I could do to her.

So, I really, really, really need to make up for it.

So, he has a plan to prove how much he loves his bride-to-be.

100%, having two venues.

So, when she gets to the venue after and sees how stunning I can get it,

and the first thing she sees is our Lincoln...

If I plan that right and hit that with the nail right on the head

then everything beforehand will be forgiven, no matter what I do.

From here on in, it's all about Sophie.

Call him Mini-Me!

Job one - give her the perfect hen do.

And what's more perfect than a blow-up replica of himself?

This is not embarrassing at all, this.

DOORBELL RINGS, KNOCKING

DOG BARKS

Oh, my God! What the hell is this?

SHE LAUGHS

Oh, look at him!

What a legend.

Come on!

-We've been waiting two weeks for this.

-Oh, that's so brilliant.

Is that it?

Calm down.

I just want to...

Rrrrrgh!

To Sophie, Olivia and Corinne.

Your hen do will be Saturday 16th.

You will need to be out of the house by 6.30am!

Take with you travel clothes, scruffy clothes and a bathing suit.

Love, Alex.

There's no heels.

-SHE GASPS

-What has he got planned?

Well, what he's got planned is this.

An assault course. Every bride's dream.

-She's a bag of nerves...

-I feel a bit sick.

-I'm just excited.

At least they'll be fit enough

to run away from those zombies on the wedding day.

-Jump!

-SHE SCREAMS

SCREAMING

-Come on! That's it!

-Keep going. Keep going.

SHE SHOUTS TRIUMPHANTLY

-WHISTLE

-Yes!

That was ace, that. I love that. Proper good.

And if she thought that were proper good,

things are about to get even better.

Alex has also booked the girls into a five-star spa.

-You are joking?

-What?

Aww!

-Upsets me, seeing...

-Look at this day.

I don't feel like I even deserve this all.

From start to finish, I've loved every single minute of it.

It's been amazing.

It's just proves that, like,

Alex knows me better than what I know myself.

I feel positive towards the fact that he's planning the wedding

and that maybe it will be good, because he's done a better job

than what I could plan for my own hen do.

So, I've got every faith in him that he'll do good at the wedding.

With just eight days to go,

Alex is still on the hunt for a blingy, beautiful reception venue

that he hopes will make up for his zombie ceremony.

This is set out not far off how I want it.

It's the right level of bling.

Even the chandeliers and lighting, if you look up...

It's clearly the perfect reception venue for Alex.

But there's one little thing that he's forgotten to ask.

-Are you available on the 23rd?

-Not on the 23rd.

Ohh!

-Could have asked that first, couldn't we?

-Yeah!

Gutted.

With his apocalyptic doomsday looming large

and still no reception venue, it could be game over for this hero.

And if that wasn't enough,

Alex is about to make his most important purchase.

Sophie's dress.

Except, he needs two.

One for the all-important zombie attack

and a second to change into after the first ends up wrecked.

Because I'm buying two dresses, I need to get...

Money's tight, so for me to get the same one twice...

it needs to be the right price, doesn't it?

Are they all relatively priced the same,

or are there some really dear compared to others?

They range from about 500 to about 1,700, something like that.

-500 ones. I love them ones.

-Yeah.

Meanwhile, Sophie, the bridesmaids and Alex's mum have come to Bolton

to find the dress she would choose.

This is going to be so difficult.

I'm very picky with dresses. Very picky.

That's not nice. I don't like that one.

My wedding dress will be the most important dress

I'll ever wear in my life, so he needs to get it right!

The problem with twice as many dresses

is, of course, twice the cost.

So, it's time to look for a bargain.

What's the price of that one?

-1,400 quid.

-Let's put you away!

-Whoa.

-What's that one?

-That's not right.

-200 quid?

-Keep hold of that.

-What you doing?

-I'm taking these. Can we try these on, please?

The boys are happy with

the first couple of cheaper dresses they've seen

but back in Bolton, Sophie is proving a little more picky.

No.

LAUGHTER

Basically, there's not enough bling on this for me.

It's not a corset one where it can suck me in better.

This makes me look wider.

And it's just not the dress that I want.

What if Alex picks a disaster dress, like thinks,

"That's a nice dress, I'll get her that" and it fits like this?

I will not be happy.

That's not great news because Alex and Danny are looking at

a wide, shapeless, non-blingy dress.

That was the first one you picked, wasn't it?

-Yeah, definitely a keeper.

-Stunning.

What's there not to like? What...

I can't imagine any women not liking that.

And it's cheap!

So, while Alex's first pick is

a plain, princess-style, A-line dress from the sale rail,

back with the girls...

-What do you think?

-No way!

-Oh!

-ALL:

-Aww!

It's stunning, that, isn't it?

-It's beautiful.

-I love it!

Oh, my God! I absolutely love this dress!

-It could be the complete opposite...

-Oh, God, no. I don't want it to...

I want it to be this one.

I'll be mortified if it's nothing like this.

I've fell in love with this dress.

Oh, I don't like seeing you upset.

I love this dress, I want this dress that bad.

And there is a high chance I'm not going to get one like this, am I?

Can Alex get it right with his second choice for Sophie?

That's stunning. That's Sophie all over, there.

I think if I open the doors

and say, "Look, there's your second dress..."

She'll love it, yeah.

So, basically, the first two dresses, I'm happy with.

-That was pretty easy, that.

-It was easy, that, wasn't it?

Instant winner, chicken dinner.

Oh, dear. So, our knight in shining armour

has gone for a second corseted princess dress

with only a touch more bling.

It could just be doomsday for our damsel in this dress.

We can do them both for 800, OK,

with the veils and tiara thrown in. How does that sound?

-Both dresses and veils and the tiara for 800 quid?

-For everything?

-Everything.

-Boom! Sold! Sold!

So, with two dresses bought for a bargain £800,

Alex and Danny can celebrate.

I stand 100% confident that she'll love both of them.

There's no way there'll be any doubt that she will be thinking,

"He's done a bad job," not one slight... I've no doubt at all.

-I've done well. I'm happy.

-We've done well.

-I know.

Alex is happy.

But will Sophie be?

As long as he doesn't just pick the first dress that he sees

and he puts thought into it, then that's all he can do, really.

But if it's like a dress that just doesn't fit my figure,

I'll be heartbroke, I'll be genuinely heartbroke

if it's not one...something that I like.

Over in Wigan, Alex is at a dead end in his hunt for a reception venue

to take the edge off his zombie apocalypse.

They're all laughing, basically, when I'm on the phone to them

because it's just too short notice, so any venue,

ANY venue at the minute now is looking...

I am desperate at the minute now.

It's really, really to keep picking myself up and keep trying.

It's the final week. With the time running out and loads still to do,

Alex is dead up against it.

He's off shopping, to make sure his wedding doesn't end in a bloodbath.

I've got to get the invites sorted,

I have to let her know that it's this Saturday,

bridesmaids' dresses, transport, flowers...

The venue is not sorted yet, but it will be sorted by today, hopefully.

Well, at least he's got his zombie props sorted.

-Is it not buy one get one free?

-And flowers.

-Whatever the cheapest is, we'll have.

-Yeah.

-Oh, and bridesmaids dresses.

-I'll take all three.

With Alex looking dead on his feet trying to find a second venue,

he may have just got lucky.

He gets a call from one of the last available venues in Wigan,

a restaurant in Standish which has a luxury blingy tent.

Looks amazing, doesn't it?

-Just needs to be more fairy lights, more bling.

-Yeah. I mean,

behind all these backdrops, there's fairy lights behind them all.

At night-time... So these are LED up-down lighters,

so we can change the colours.

This marquee is your marquee for that night.

-If you want to do whatever you want, that's fine by me.

-Love that.

With the second venue booked for £2,800,

this hero may have saved the day.

I think once she sees how stunning it is inside

and what can be done to it, yeah, it is a maker-upper.

Yeah, I think when she gets here,

she'll be made up when she sees this.

I've got a day, I've got a day to work to.

With two venues booked and a registry office for the legal ceremony,

Alex can let the guests and Sophie know the date of the wedding.

I'm doing all these amazing things on certain days

and I can't just go,

I've done this and I'm doing this for us,

and she looks after me and keeps my head straight.

It is surprising to think that she protects me

just as much as I protect her, in different ways.

And his protector is about to learn the date of her wedding.

Oh, my God!

I'm getting married on the 23rd?

What a way to do it, though, really, to put the date on my shoes.

At least I know now.

The little monkey! Honestly!

Shit, am I wearing these on my wedding day, though, really?

Surely I won't be wearing these on my wedding day,

this is just like a nice little...treat?

Oh, my God! What is he playing at? Really, what is this about?

I just hope to God I'm not running around on my wedding day,

like running around and doing stuff.

I just can't get my head around why I've got trainers, though.

MUSIC: Thriller by Michael Jackson

Well, she won't really be running AROUND.

Strictly speaking, she'll be running AWAY.

And Alex is back in Liverpool with a bunch of recruits

who will be what she's running away from.

SCREAMING AND SNARLING

Do me, that.

Obviously, the coach driver, he's not going to have a clue,

he'll just be dropping them off, so just pull them off,

walk them through and as you're walking them through

getting them in, just full-on attack them.

From the coach, where do we then go...?

What we'll do is bring them in through the steel doors

and put them in the lock-up room.

Do you not have a couple of zombies in the rooms,

just hidden in the dark in the rooms that they're in?

So, like, just before you bring them out...

Strapped in, chained up, making noises.

SHE HISSES

It's the day before the wedding and Sophie is finally going to see

the most important dress she'll ever wear.

I am very nervous right now, about to see my dress,

what I'm going to be wearing tomorrow, so I am very nervous.

I've got to make sure I look and feel good on the day.

If I don't, it will be disastrous.

-OK, Sophie, shall we have a look at the dress?

-Yes.

Right, big moment here.

Whoo!

Oh, I hope he's done all right. Oh, gosh.

Oh, my God.

Sophie dreamed of a sparkling, fishtail, strapless dress.

She is about to see Alex's choice -

the first dress he saw, which he plans to have ruined by zombies.

As you do.

Oh, no!

Oh, my God. I don't know what to say.

-Is this the actual dress?

-Yes.

-So it will be this one that I'm having?

-Yes.

-SIGHING:

-Oh, my God.

-Do you want a drink of water?

-Yeah, I need a drink.

I'm like dead flustered here right now.

I don't like it.

-It's all right, listen. Just try it on.

-Come on.

You're bigger than this. Come on, drink that, come on.

-You're bigger than this. Come on. Sophie, please.

-Is it that bad?

Right, I'll try it on.

He's taking the mick.

I want to swear my head off right now.

-Are you sure he's... That's the one? That is 100% the one?

-Yes, yes.

-He's gone through and picked that?

-Hold your posture different.

-No, no, it's this dress, it's minging.

-Yeah, I know it is.

No offence, no offence, it's just not me. This dress is not me.

I know... I can't believe he's picked that. I am shocked.

-Can I see a bloody mirror, please?

-Of course.

-You sure it's not a joke?

-Oh, no, I don't like it.

-It's horrible.

I just don't know what's possessed him.

Maybe it was the zombies.

It makes me look dead big here, and wide.

This bit doesn't even fit me properly.

I look flumpy, I look dead... I look a whale in my dress.

Can you just see what it will be like when you pull it in?

It's how it goes up here,

it's like maybe a pregnant woman should wear it.

-Oh, lovely. I look like a frigging pregnant woman.

-No! I didn't...

Stop taking things the wrong way. I didn't say that!

It's just disaster.

There is no way I can wear this dress.

Their reaction has said it all.

I can't wear this dress.

Get on t'phone to him, please, and tell him

-that you've got to do something about it.

-He'll have to.

So, with Sophie hating her dress,

Olivia puts a desperate call into Alex.

Alex, she really doesn't like her dress. It... It just doesn't...

do anything for her.

-You all right?

-Yeah, I don't know what to say, though.

Is there anything we can do?

No, there's no money for anything else, it's gone.

Well, can she not swap the dress

for something for the same price or something?

It's only a cheap dress,

so you will struggle to find one to match that price.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-You've got nothing to put to it?

-Nothing.

£2.24, I think I've got.

Right, well, I'll see what we can do,

but if we can change it, you're happy with that?

-Yeah, but it has to be at the same price.

-Right. All right.

-All right, bye.

-Speak to you soon.

I have got a second dress, it's better,

so she probably won't mind me getting blood on it!

It gives me a bit of relief, then, if she hates her dress anyway.

I've been on the phone to him. He were dead quiet.

I said what about change it for something a similar price

and he said...if the shop will have something that cheap in.

Right, so it's a cheap dress. I knew it would be.

Well, let's just not rule anything out, yeah?

With the revelation that Alex chose

one of the cheapest dresses in the shop,

Sophie must now find a dress in the same price range,

but there's not much to choose from.

Have they been worn before?

They're ex-sample dresses that were in the shop,

that we've discontinued and moved upstairs.

For God's sake, I'm going to kill him. I'm going to...

-That is miles better.

-Much. Beautiful.

-Miles better.

Better than that one. Definitely. Turn around.

That's more you, that shows your... That's you.

No, that is lovely. I like that.

Yeah, miles better. He's an idiot.

-You're still marrying him, though, aren't you?

-Yeah, of course I am.

Amazingly, Sophie has found a dress she loves,

but Alex's choice has rocked her confidence in his ability

to pull off the perfect wedding.

I just thought he'd nail my dress and he did not

and I was so disappointed.

But I just hope he pulls it off tomorrow.

I hope he does.

It's the day of the living dead.

And while Alex is busy playing with guns and raising the undead...

Do I not look like the hero of the day, to save my wife?

Pow, pow!

..over at Sophie's house, she's about to see

her first surprise of the day - Alex's bridesmaids' dresses.

Oh, I like them! Oh, I love them, they're really nice!

-Do you not like it?

-Sophie...

-What? What's wrong with it?

Do you not like them? Really?

-Oh, no! She's going to cry!

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

Are you going to wear them?

They're just not very flattering, are they?

I think they look really nice. I'm made up he's picked them.

I know you're not, but I love them, they're really nice.

As long as you love them.

You look stunning, both of you. You look gorgeous.

While Sophie's day starts serenely...

-It's gorgeous.

-Are you sure?

-You look absolutely beautiful, Soph.

-I love it.

..over in Liverpool, her guests are about to get

their first BITE of the wedding day ahead.

-SIREN WAILS

-Yeah, bitches!

THEY LAUGH

-Shit!

-Oh, I told you I didn't like stuff like this. It's a Swat team.

-Oh, I don't like...

-Oh, my God!

SCREAMING

Why would you get married here? Why would you do this?

Why would you get married here?

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.

You are about to enter an infected zone.

My colleagues are going to escort you off one by one.

Stop talking!

Hold it there, gentlemen. Stand apart.

Check him for bites as well.

Come forward. Come on. Secure the perimeter.

SCREAMING, SHOUTING AND GUNFIRE

Everybody inside! This way! Keep moving!

Everybody keep moving! Infected! Move!

SCREAMING

Sophie is going to kill him.

Every little girl dreams of a big princess wedding

and this is not it!

So far, it's going exactly to plan, really.

Everybody is scared out of their wits and excited.

-And blaming Alex instead of us, so...

-Yeah, blaming Alex.

-That's good, yeah.

-It's ideal.

-Just an average day for zombie killers.

I can't wait to get up there and get married. Do you know what I mean?

I can't wait. You know, once she knows all the effort

that's been put into it... She'll love it.

With the guests in place, Sophie is still blissfully unaware

of the impending apocalyptic bloodbath wedding Alex has planned.

Not a Miss for much longer. Nearly a Mrs!

Yay!

Mrs Sophie Fowler.

This looks nice. Are we here?

What? It's not going to be that rundown building?

-Oh, my gosh! What is that?

-We're not here?

-Got business here?

-Yeah, I hope so.

-OK, we're going to go in there.

-What?

Oh, my God!

I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him.

It's got a sticker on the front door that says hospital.

-Oh, Sophie, I can't do this!

-And he's pretending to be a sheriff.

This building just freaks me out.

I'm shaking, Sophie, I'm absolutely...

Listen, we'll stick together, we'll be fine.

-Just don't leave each other.

-I need to go to the toilet first

-because I'm going to end up pissing myself.

-I'm going to wet myself.

We've had kids. I am literally going to wet myself.

-Where?

-There's someone here opening the gates.

-Where?

-Opening the gates.

Oh, my God!

It's all right.

We'll be OK.

Oh, my God!

Oh, my God!

THEY SCREAM

They're zombies!

Zombies! Oh, no! I don't like it!

Zombies!

-THEY SCREAM

-There's Alex!

-SOPHIE LAUGHS

-Look at Alex!

LOUD TENSE MUSIC

You're not meant to see me before we get married, you shit!

I'm going to have a panic attack! I can't do this!

SOPHIE SCREAMS

LOUD DRAMATIC MUSIC

Oh, Alex! This is like Walking Dead!

GUNSHOT

Oh, my God! I'm going to kill you!

CONGREGATION CHEERS

After three long weeks apart and with the zombies under control,

Alex and Sophie can say their vows.

Are we getting married up here?

Are we?

Hi!

-Dan is going to marry us.

-Are you joking me?!

SOPHIE LAUGHS

Are you being real?

Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today

under these extreme and unnatural conditions

to bear witness to Alex and Sophie coming together in holy matrimony.

Firstly, I'll hand over to Alex and Soph to express a few words. Alex?

This three weeks has been a nightmare,

but it's a walk in the park compared to what we've been through,

so I couldn't be more happy to have you as my wife.

Oh, bless you! Oh, babe!

It has been really hard, this past three weeks without you,

I'm not going to lie and I'm never, ever

having three weeks away from you again. Definitely not.

-OK, Alex, if you'd like to place the ring on Sophie's finger.

-That one?

Yeah, that's the right one.

Fit, fit, fit, fit, fit!

Push it on! There you go.

Yay!

May you have enough happiness to keep you sweet,

enough trials to keep you strong,

enough sorrow to keep you human,

enough hope to keep you happy.

May all your ups and downs be between the sheets

-and remember...

-LAUGHTER

-Remember, Alex, happy wife, happy life.

-Yeah.

You may now kiss the bride.

APPLAUSE

Mrs Fowler!

CHEERING

SOPHIE SCREAMS, GUNSHOT

Oh, my God! My wedding dress!

On my pissing dress, though, Al!

SCREAMING, GUNFIRE

And with all hell breaking loose,

it's now up to Sophie to save the day.

I didn't want him here!

Oh, my God!

It's a lot different to what I expected it to be.

I was expecting it to be a normal bloody wedding

and he's thought outside the box and it wasn't a proper wedding, so...

-Well, what do you think about it? Was it all right?

-I've loved it.

It has been fun. And that you're my hero.

-Yes! I saved the day!

-You saved my day! He saved me!

After her encounter with the walking dead,

Sophie is now off to her reception venue

where the family can be reunited in safety.

Oh! Hello!

Oh, my God! How cute does our baby look?!

-Hiya!

-Hi!

Oh, babe.

Are you all right?

This venue is amazing. You've done so well!

Have you seen t'cake?

Oh, my God!

-I love that!

-Isn't it funny?

-That is class!

And Alex has one more surprise up his very tight sleeve.

-There's another wedding dress.

-Yay!

Oh, my God!

-Alex, that's beautiful, that.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

Thank God I do not have to wear this dress all day now.

APPLAUSE

Hi!

Just somebody reassure me, there is no more zombies now, is there?

This is Alex we're talking about. You're never safe with Alex.

When you see this venue, you forget about everything else, don't you?

She's had the perfect day

and Alex has done brilliant. It couldn't be better.

Today has gone not only to plan,

but better than we ever could have hoped.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, definitely.

I have never seen Alex as passionate as he's been throughout this and...

It just... The love that he has for Sophie just radiates from him.

I've loved every single minute of it.

I've not actually not enjoyed one bit. It's been amazing.

-Absolutely amazing. He is my hero.

-Oh, you see?

Her reaction on seeing her first, that was the best part of my day.

I'm going to take this whole three...this whole experience

-as a life-changing experience.

-Yeah.

That I can't cope without you is the biggest lesson learned about myself.

-Yeah. I think we need each other, don't we?

-Totally.

Next time, David and his twin brother best man

-plan a dance extravaganza for full-time mum Kelly.

-Good boy.

But can these terrible twins...

The first thing you want to do is think big.

..create a welcome surprise...

-I love it!

-..and drum up something spectacular?

-I don't want a whole big show.

-Or will the show fall flat on its face?

-It might look lovely.

-Oh, that's horrible.

-Oh, she's crying again!

MUSIC: I'm A Man by Spencer Davis Group