‘You get them for the ceremony,’ her mum tells her.

‘No, my hair flowers. I want my hair flowers.’

‘Then you shouldn’t have taken them off and left them in the garden,’ Mandy replies.

Ruby pouts.

‘Well, I can’t have a moody flower girl, can I?’ I say playfully. ‘I’ll go get them for her.’

‘You’re getting ready,’ Mandy says. ‘Don’t be crazy.’

‘It’s fine,’ I insist. ‘She wants them.’

And I want everything to be fine, so if Ruby wants her flowers, I’ll go get them, and if it’s easier if I do it myself, then I’ll do it. There really, really isn’t any need for things to go wrong today.

‘Thanks,’ my sister says. ‘She was by the fountain.’

I grab my black tracksuit from on top of my bed, hop into my trackies, zip up my hoodie and head downstairs to retrieve Ruby’s crown from the large angry bee that allegedly coerced her out of it.

I chose the Victoria Hotel for my wedding – a stunning, (unsurprisingly) Victorian building, tucked away in its own private woodland – because it was close to London, but easily accessible from the north of the country, with lots of rooms so Daniel’s family and friends could travel down from Yorkshire and stay the night. Seriously, I am leaving no room for complaints, from either side of the family.

I walk down the spiral staircase, stroking the silky smooth wooden bannister. Not because I need to, but because I want to drink up every last drop of today. I want to remember every sight, every smell, every touch. I’ve hired two photographers, both with different areas of expertise, to ensure that every shot is accounted for, that I have a memento of every moment. I’m only doing this once, so I’m going to make it count.

It’s July, so the delphiniums in the garden are blooming, in various shades of pinks and purples. I considered including them in my bridal bouquet, but I remembered reading that they were toxic to humans and while I had no intention of eating them, something about carrying something so poisonous down the aisle on the happiest day of my life just put me off.

Sure enough, by the large, stone fountain, I spot Ruby’s flower crown, lying on the floor. I pick it up and examine it and, thankfully, it’s absolutely fine. I say thankfully, not because I care, but because Ruby does. I’ve done everything I can to make sure today is as close to perfect as possible, so I’m pretty confident nothing important can go wrong. Any small thing that goes wrong, I’m not going to worry about. I'm not going to let it ruin my day.

It’s such a lovely day today. Warm, but with a slight breeze. Of course, that’s why I picked today, but you can never be sure with weather forecasts, can you?

I take a moment to admire the gardens. They always smell so much better in the summer, don’t they? And the colours are amazing. The flowers, the fountain – I love the noise of the fountain, the gentle rushing of water. I’m about to take a quick photo with my phone when my ears pick up on another noise, a raised voice, coming from inside the hedge maze. I’m right by the entrance, so I edge closer towards it.