The ‘wedding package',a one stop shop for your special day, is great in principle but could rob you of the perfect opportunity to shop! Here's how to do it

First: Get the wedding itself booked in. This is the centre of your day, whatever style you choose. It'll be the bit that bonds you together, for better or worse. Awwww….

Second: Book your after party, the way you want it, not how others think you should. It's your day. You can feed people standing up, sitting down, with a buffet, with a formal sit down meal.!There are loads of options for providing refreshments for your guests. Choose what you want. Do yourself a favour and ignore seating plans, people will sit where they like, so they are more relaxed.

Third: Being confident that your pictures will be carefully choreographed memories will be worth taking time to choose the right photographer!

Fourth, and best: Head for the shops! Great fun! With money to spend and a style in mind, enjoy! On your list you may have:

A Wedding Gown: What colour will yours be? In days gone by we got hitched in good old ‘Sunday best'. The penchant for white robes came from the royals, and now it seems we've all joined in. Pictures of George VI and Elizabeth, in white robes, were seen in newspapers all over the country, then in 1949 the first royal wedding on television, Princess Elizabeth and handsome Philip was beamed to the whole country.

Wedding gowns are by definition gorgeous, although those that stay in my mind are the coloured ones. A rich, strong green one for instance, a bright electric blue dress with a matching cape, and an uber cool striped gold gown. Mine was blue, of course. Simple choice. Following in the steps of my Grandma, who wore a stylish flapper dress, and silver accessories, for her wedding in 1929. So stylish. But best of all chosen because green was her favourite colour.

Footwear: Whatever the season, even where the weather's more reliable, you can't know what it'll be like on the big day. Unless you're doing the whole thing indoors, you will need a choice of footwear. Oh, don't forget to break in the shoes at home beforehand; weddings can punish your feet, be comfy!

And for your head: It can be great fun trying on headware, especially if you have real friends with you - who'll say so when something isn't right. There's a huge choice out there, of veils, combs and clips, hats, you name it….

All the other bits and pieces: Can be kept in a neat little bag.

Your bridesmaids: This part can be difficult if you have a big range of sizes and ages. So make sure you choose from your own ideas, and don't feel you have to go with "the norm"

Ok, what's next on our list…..