At 6ft 6” and loud to boot, Rhian, 28, couldn’t miss Sam, 29, when they met on a night out with a mutual friend in Cardiff. “Sam said he noticed me instantly, but didn’t think he’d ever have a chance with me – so he was really pleased when I agreed to dance with him!” Rhian explains.

Just a month later, the couple were head over heels and making plans to move to New Zealand together for a year. The last time she had been there, Rhian had tried to make her way to a region outside Queenstown, but been thwarted by the weather – so a year and a month after they met, Sam’s proposal started with a surprise trip to the same region – Paradise.

“Out on a drive one day, we stopped at a beautiful place called Diamond Lake,” Rhian says. “That’s when he told me there were two diamonds: the name of the lake and the one he had for me. It was such a shock I struggled to speak! It was a perfect proposal that I will never forget.”

Back in Cardiff, with a very clear idea of her dream dress, Rhian found herself swapping fabric and style suggestions at The Bridal Boudoir (thebridalboudoir.co.uk), who created her dream gown: blush silk with a halter neck and voluminous fishtail skirt, finished with hundreds of glittering diamanté beads.

And this perfect dress helped Rhian create the perfect bouquet, as local florist Flowers by Joy (joysflowersaberdare.co.uk) matched a mix of peonies, Sweet Avalanche roses and alcho mollis to a swatch of the blush silk.

Rhian finished her look with a sparkling headpiece and full-length veil (thebridalboudoir.co.uk), plus jewellery from a pearl market, which she’d picked up over the two months she and Sam had lived in Beijing. “When I tried my finished dress on,” she says, “I felt like an old-style movie starlet.”

Rhian fell head over heels in love with these glitzy shoes from Hanson, China. “During the day, so many people commented on how beautiful they were,” she says. A glamorous pair of heels gave Rhian the Marilyn Monroe-inspired look she wanted for the day.

Rhian styled her bridesmaid in an antique white Fifities-style dress. “My twin sister was my bridesmaid, so it was pretty easy to find her a present!” says Rhian. “I bought her a new charm for her Pandora bracelet with a diamante in the middle – she loved it.”

This mix of film-star style, subtle shades and well-travelled touches – the couple had recently taken a three-month trip to Australia, Bali, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – all became key parts of Rhian and Sam’s big day.

Rhian’s first Grace Kelly moment came straight after the traditional ceremony at St. Margaret’s Church, Mountain Ash, South Wales, when the couple headed off to the reception in a convertible 1962 Ford Galaxie. “We were so lucky with the weather, we could drive with the top down,” says Rhian. “Everyone waved us off – it gave the moment a real Hollywood-chic feel!”

Everyone arrived at Aberdare Golf Club (aberdaregolfclub.co.uk), Cardiff to pre-reception sparkling wine and bottles of beer. “The golf club was close to the church, with wonderful views over the valley,” says Rhian, “and the menu was lovely.”

The tables – named after countries Rhian and Sam had visited – were a team effort: the cloths and napkins were handmade by Rhian’s mum and friends, the centrepieces of blush gerbera, hydrangea, roses and peonies were arranged by Rhian’s cousin, and the couple collected favours including purses, fans and chopsticks on their travels.

“I tried to match the colour of the stationery to my blush wedding dress, while combining the polka dot details of my maid’s dress,” says Rhian. Printed with gunmetal silver writing and a logo using the couple’s initials, the design was simple but super chic.

For a personal touch, Rhian got creative with DIY details, choosing to make her own table plan. “I bought silver frames and mounted them onto a padded board,” she explains. “Then I organised the tables and printed each list for the frames using a pretty typeface. I think it looked really individual and did the job perfectly.”

Guests ate pâtè with Sam’s mum’s homemade chutney; scotch beef with seasonal veg; and a choice of profiteroles, lemon lush cake or peach, pecan and toffee cheesecake. Next came the cutting of the cake – which almost didn’t happen when the one the couple had ordered online arrived flattened, dented and greasy. “The company said it wasn’t their fault, and refused to help,” Rhian explains. “So it was ASDA to the rescue! I bought four tiers of fruit cake which a family friend helped me assemble, and it looked pretty good.”

All that sugar was put to good use later dancing to live tunes from swing singer Daniel Hughes, before he doubled up as DJ for the night (creationworldwide.com), playing Mary Chapin Carpenter’s version of Grow Old With Me as the couple’s first dance song. “The words were so apt for us,” says Rhian, “and it had a lovely tempo to dance to.”

Romantic as that first dance was, the bride’s favourite part of the day had to be walking down the aisle to her groom. “It was truly a wonderful moment. Sam looked as happy as I have ever seen him,” Rhian says.

For more real wedding inspiration, look to Katie & Ed’s Forties-inspired day packed with patriotic hues or check out Rebecca & Rob’s enchanted garden-style wedding…