WHEN we decided to get married, we thought that 18 months was plenty of preparation time for tying the knot.

When we started on the road to our wedding we were confident we had plenty of time to make sure that everything from bridesmaids to bands was sorted out. Now, with less than 13 weeks to go, a year-and-a -half doesn't seem enough. Yes, all the key things are in place. Lucy said yes, the church is booked and the venue is all sorted.

When we started I naively thought that once those things were out of the way that the bulk of the hard work was done. Now I look back at my 18 month younger, highly optimistic, self I mock him. Idiot. There is still so much to do.

You see no matter how well you think you are doing, there is always something else to sort out. Plus there are pitfalls along the way designed to help rubbish your plans.

I'd heard stories of photographers being double booked and other clichéd mini-disasters coming along. I dismissed them, convinced they were largely part of a PR campaign from a wedding insurance provider. Idiot.

We'd ticked off our videographer for example after many hours watching clips on the internet, mocking the weddings of others and cherry- picking the best ideas on show. Now it seems our arrogance has come back to bite us on the bum.

Our videographer decided, just as we were prepared to hand over a large bundle of cash, that no, he can't actually video two weddings on the same day as he seemed to have quietly assumed.

Quite why it took so long for this to dawn on him I don't know. Perhaps he is the latest incarnation of Doctor Who and was going to nip into the Tardis to fly between time, and space, Swansea and Southampton, but decided better of it. Maybe he lost the instructions for his diary and didn't realise that writing the names of two happy couples into one slot wouldn't really work.

Either way, it all means that what was a great big tick in our to-do-list has now had to be scribbled out and we've got to start again.

It is starting to seem as though the process of getting married is one big test, putting you and your bride-to-be through a matrimonial Krypton Factor-style assault course. For every wall we climb, we seem to be landing face down in the mud.

I'm looking forward to the big day and seeing all my family and friends toasting myself and the new Mrs Davies and jetting off on honeymoon.

After all this hard work, I think we'll need it.