From Kaos in Swindon to chaos in Las Vegas

Leslie Shaw from Middleleaze has had a wedding to remember.

The last day of term in July for the Tregoze School teacher was full of wedding preparation surprises. The whole school performed a 'This is Your Life' nuptial narrative and Grant Warwick, 18, from Grange Park, one of her first pupils planted a big kiss on her cheek to wish her well.

The plan was to be married to Michael Deegan in a balloon flying over the famous Las Vegas strip at 4.30am. She had fallen for him at Swindon's Kaos night club in March 1997 when he asked, 'do you like Northern Soul.'

"It must be fate that he asked that question because I adore that kind of music," said Lesley. "I nearly fell over with shock that somebody in Swindon also liked it. He admitted afterwards that he didn't know it well himself."

Leslie explained that Northern Soul is exclusive to the north west, particularly around Wigan.

They eventually found a convenient date at the end of July to travel to the USA, and though they want to stress they had a wonderful time, they certainly won't forget their wedding summer which included:

· Being sent to the wrong hotel in Manchester by the travel agent the night before their flight, then being evacuated from the sixth floor when the fire alarm went off

· A 4 hour flight delay later that day

· watching the in-flight film 'Forces of Nature' starring Sandra Bullock about a man trying to overcome one disaster after another to get to his wedding, an omen they wondered?

· Arriving at the luxurious Luxor hotel in Las Vegas to discover the room they had booked was not available and waiting four hours for another to be found

· Most crucial of all, finding out that the winds were unseasonably strong, making ballooning impossible. Michael and Leslie were woken at 4am on four days running to be told that they could not fly.

By coincidence Tregoze School pupil Leanne Berisford and her parents were also staying in the same hotel and were woken each morning, ready to witness the take off.

"We were so tired that we were going to bed at 9pm," said Leslie. "Can you believe it, Vegas starts waking up at that time!"

· By Friday 6 August, they had gone through the stressed-out stage and were resigned to making alternative plans. The winds were still too high and Leslie looked in the yellow pages for somewhere to get married later that day. Sadly the Berisfords had to leave that morning and Leanne was not able to wear the bridesmaid dress she had brought as a surprise.

"In the end it was a bit sad to get married in a chapel in Las Vegas with just the photographer and the organist as witnesses," said Lesley.

· The professional photos came out, but the pictures on Lesley's camera did not.

· After a couple of uneventful days, winning and losing money as you do in Vegas, they decided to hire a car, a nice sporty soft top. Travelling at 60mph down the freeway the roof started to come adrift. There was Lesley hanging on trying not to take off with it.

· A second hire car had a tyre slashed in a car park.

· They returned home ready for a reception on 20 August with family and friends to find out that the cake they had asked for could not be made because the layers were too heavy and the design had to be changed.

· Then they discovered one of the caterers who they had booked for a pig roast was very ill. The Royal Oak at Bishopstone stepped in and took over the job.

· They had booked Bishopstone village hall for the reception, but then discovered the key holder had gone on holiday. Another was found just before the guests arrived.

· Whilst trying to sort out the key, best friend and Tregoze colleague Emma Sleigh, who was helping out, discovered she had a flat tyre. Michael and Leslie, dressed in their wedding party clothes, had to talk Emma through changing it.

"The party was just fabulous, everybody had a great time," said Leslie. "We went to the Marriott Hotel that evening and guess what happened? The fire alarm went off in the early hours."

· At Las Vegas airport they realised they did not have any souvenirs, so they bought a pack of cards. Back home, they started to play poker, soon to discover that they contained two sets of clubs and two set of hearts.

"In spite of all the little problems, we really enjoyed our trip," said Leslie. "But when you add up the list of mishaps, it does sound like a catalogue of disasters."

She and Michael have booked a half term holiday in Turkey. With their luck they are wondering if it is such a wise place to visit.