'I had a fairytale £40,000 wedding... but what happened left me broken'

A Cheshire bride has said her £40k wedding proved so stressful it left her "broken" and unable to talk about it for three months after.

Lucinda Rose, from Frodsham was overjoyed when her partner Ian Brown popped the big question in January 2023 after 16 months of dating.

They booked a venue for September - and Lucinda, 39, told Ian, 43, she'd plan the whole thing.

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But Lucinda's elaborate plan quickly snowballed in a bid to create a 'perfect wedding', inspired by Hollywood films and influencers' Instagram reels.

Lucinda found herself booking everything from fireworks and a string quartet to an ice cream van and even a horse and carriage.

She continued working full-time and filled every extra waking minute with calls, emails, bookings and organising details - even sacrificing sleep.

By the time the big day rolled around, the bride was so overwhelmed she couldn't even focus on her own wedding, she said.

Even though the day was "spectacular" it took three months after the bash before Lucinda could speak about it - because she was left so "burned out" and "broken".

Lucinda, a child psychologist and parenting coach, said: "The wedding took over my life from the second we booked the venue.

"We paid this massive deposit so there was a lot of pressure to get it right - down to the specific flowers, catering, decorations and the little details.

"It was a massive mental and financial load and it just kept snowballing.

"The month before the wedding I was so consumed with doing, making, finding and buying wedding things, that I barely slept and hardly