The usual tension rose as the best man’s speech approached. Would it be hilariously funny or embarrassingly bad? Martin had managed to find a best man who had known him since he was three and was endearingly entertaining. He even produced video clips of Martin’s most embarrassing moments.

Even Grandma’s cake was a huge hit. Possibly because she insisted on wheeling it round on a trolley to show it off to all the guests first.

‘Whatever you do, don’t touch the towers,’ she hissed at the bride and groom as they reached for the knife. ‘They’re made out of cocoa tins!’

Once the cake had been ceremonially cut, Jean-Christophe wheeled it away to be divided up in the kitchen.

‘Now for the first dance!’ Sophie elbowed Jo, prompting her to let Meredith know. It was time to get everyone up to the other end of the enormous terrace to wait for the bride and groom.

Overtaking the best man’s speech, the build-up to the first dance was fast becoming the new source of tension at the hip modern wedding.

‘I blame Strictly,’ Jo whispered. ‘Thank God we didn’t have it in my day.’ She glanced across at Mark, who already looked rather drunk. Lucky Amanda. ‘At one wedding I went to, the bride and groom danced to “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling”! Everyone thought it was a bit soon for that.’

‘Couldn’t have been as bad as the one I went to where the bride chose James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful”,’ Meredith murmured. ‘And the awful thing was, she really wasn’t.’

‘I thought all brides were beautiful!’ They turned to find Liam standing behind them, smiling at Jo.

Nicky and Martin had very sensibly chosen ‘It Must Be Love’ for their first dance: a sweet song that was quirky enough not to be corny, yet required no dazzling arabesques or embarrassing lifts like something out of Dirty Dancing.

The applause when they sat down again was deafening.

‘Right, everybody!’ Sophie announced as soon as it had died down. ‘Come and watch the fireworks over the river!’

‘You wouldn’t believe how many hurdles we had to jump because of the fire risks,’ Liam confided to Philippe. ‘Special licence from the town hall, only certain fireworks allowed and a fee for the local fire brigade to be standing by. So let’s hope it’s worth it!’

He needn’t have worried. The display was so spectacular that even Nicky’s father, smiling broadly next to his cheerful and unassuming wife, managed to forget that it was costing him a thousand pounds a minute and cheered along with everyone else.

When it was over, Bill clapped loudly to get everyone’s attention.

‘Before you get back to the dancing, I’d like to thank our amazing hostesses. Here’s to Meredith, Joanna, and not forgetting the wonderful Sophie!’