'˜I'm just so glad she turned up!' says Gosport groom

But Alan Jackson from Gosport needed a bit more Dutch courage than most on his big day.

The 23-year-old says he was so scared his bride-to-be wouldn’t show up that he needed a few drinks to settle his nerves.

So when Kelly Wood, 23, entered St Mary The Virgin church in Rowner, Alan described it as the highlight of the whole day.

He says: ‘I always think everything is going to go wrong – that’s the kind of person I am. I was petrified but my mates told me it would be okay. I’m just so glad she turned up!’

More than 50 guests watched the happy couple exchange vows, and double that number celebrated with the newlyweds at their reception at Gosport & Fareham Rugby Club. Not that Alan can remember, he admits.

‘I can’t remember much of it to be honest – the port came out and I got smashed. I remember the first dance but not much of the rest.’

Ed Sheeran’s Kiss Me was the song they chose – although Alan admits he may have taken the romance out of the record.

‘I think it winds her up more as I like to sing it when we go to sleep, because I’m an aggravating person – I don’t know why she puts up with me.’

The pair met at Bridgemary School in Gosport eight years ago, and Alan, an electrical engineer, proposed to Kelly, a daycare organiser, at his 20th birthday party.

‘I swallowed my fear and got down on one knee. We were both pretty drunk but I remember her coming down to my level with a tear in her eye and saying yes,’ he says.