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too rich for her taste.
    ‘I’ve chosen mine,’ Kate announced with relief. ‘It says it’s by Giovanni Lucciani. That’s a made-up name if I ever heard one.’
    ‘Oooh, yes,’ said Tess, in the Coronation Street accent she used to denote a joke, ‘that’s really lovely .’
    Now the reason for all the ring-hanging became clear. The dresses looked so light and fluffy – all that tulle – but the accusation that they were ‘meringues’ was true in one sense only. They may have looked as though they had been spun from sugar and air, but they definitely didn’t feel like it.
    ‘Don’t even attempt to help me,’ said Heidi when Kate moved to unhook the dress she had chosen. ‘I’ve had years of practice at this. You need to have the right technique so you don’t do your back in. I reckon this dress is three stone.’
    Kate could only gawp in horror as she contemplated trying on a dress that weighed as much as her niece.
    ‘Three stone. Perhaps I’ll go for something simpler,’ she said. ‘I only picked this one out as a joke.’
    ‘No,’ chorused her mother and sister. ‘We like it. You’ve got to try that one.’
    Kate had the feeling she was doomed.

Chapter Nine
    Unlike Kate, Diana already knew the ropes at Bride on Time. She had accompanied three other brides to their first dress fittings. This time was going to be so much more fun, now that she was no longer the bridesmaid but finally, thankfully, the bride. She didn’t know if she would ever forgive Ben for letting her think that she might make it to thirty without an engagement ring.
    Anyway, here she was at last. She was slightly frustrated to see that there were two other brides in the ‘salon’ that morning but was soon reassured that she would be the centre of attention regardless. After all, Diana was being assisted by Melanie Harris, the proprietress herself. Add to that the fact that Diana was much more beautiful than the rat-faced woman with her equally ugly children and so much younger than the other bride. How old was that one? In her forties? Diana was surprised that a woman of that age was even considering a traditional wedding dress. Wouldn’t she be better off in a nice tailored shift dress with a matching jacket to cover her arms? Diana shared that thought with her mother, who agreed.
    ‘Thank goodness they do a good line in boleros,’ said Susie.
    Melanie handed Diana her five plastic rings. Diana said she didn’t need any instructions.
    ‘Do you know what sort of thing you’re looking for?’ Melanie asked.
    ‘I know exactly what I want,’ Diana assured her. ‘I thought with my complexion, I should go for an off-white. I’m having pale pink flowers. Tea roses. They’re a type of rose named for Princess Diana, which I thought would be appropriate.’
    Susie Ashcroft agreed. ‘She was named after Princess Diana,’ Susie explained to Melanie. ‘And a right little princess she’s turned out to be.’
    ‘Oh, Mum,’ Diana chided her mother playfully, ‘you don’t mean that. In any case, who isn’t a princess about her wedding? Doesn’t every girl deserve her special day to be exactly as she wants it?’
    ‘Yes, especially if her scumbag deadbeat father is paying.’
    ‘How about this one, Mum?’
    Diana fingered a strapless dress in duchesse satin with a cathedral-length train.
    ‘Isn’t a cathedral-length train going to be a bit much?’ asked her friend Nicole.
    ‘Not if you’re getting married in a cathedral, like I am.’
    Nicole shrieked at the news. ‘You’re not . . .’
    ‘It’s true.’
    ‘How on earth did you swing that?’ Nicole asked.
    ‘Daddy did the bishop’s kitchen. He got a discount; I get a cathedral wedding.’
    Susie nodded. ‘It’s about time Dave turned out to be useful for a change.’
    ‘Oh my God, Diana’, Nicole was almost hyperventilating, ‘your wedding is going to be so grand.’
    ‘Where are you having the reception?’ Melanie asked.
    ‘Well, it’s going