For many people, their wedding day is the happiest day of their life - but that wasn't the case for Chloe Dodds.
Chloe was shamed into losing 11 stone after passers-by teased her for being overweight as she posed for her wedding photos.
The 35-year-old wore a size 30 gown after ballooning to 21st 8lbs on a diet of Sugar Puffs, pizza and chips.
She was reduced to tears as by-standers heckled her with comments such as "you look so fat in that dress!" as she posed for pictures beside her wedding car.
The ceremony had to be delayed for 15 minutes as Chloe burst into tears as she walked down the aisle.
But the real shock came when her official wedding photos arrived - and she was so horrified by her appearance she vowed to lose weight.
She shed three stone before having a gastric bypass and her weight has now plummeted to just 10st 12lbs.
Carer Chloe, now a size 12, said: "I was mortified when I heard those comments. It was my wedding day and people had heckled me - I was a curvy bride but did I really deserve such taunts?
"As I looked through the wedding pictures, I couldn't believe how fat I was - I knew I couldn't carry on like that."
Chloe, of Seaham, Durham, peaked at 21st 8lbs before falling ill on a holiday to Ibiza in 2009 and losing two stone in two weeks.
She was then diagnosed with type two diabetes and her weight settled at around 19 stone when she got engaged to long-term boyfriend Paul, who she met online aged 21.
But when she went wedding dress shopping she realised most gowns were only available up to size 20 and she had to get a size 30 imported from America.
She only invited 15 people to her wedding because she was so conscious about her appearance and hid her dress away in a wardrobe until the big day in August 2010.
She said: "I checked myself out from every angle in the mirror, desperate to find a thin angle. But I was like a beacon in my dress. I just wanted to throw on my old, baggy black clothes and disappear.
"My mum wiped my tears away and assured me I looked beautiful."
A group of local residents had gathered around her wedding car outside, waiting to catch a glimpse of the bride.
But when she stepped out she was horrified to hear taunts of "You look awful!", "Fat bride!" and "You look so fat in that dress!".
Chloe said: "My heart broke into a thousand pieces. I thought I looked big when I'd put the dress on, but to hear it come from other people hurt so much more than my own criticism.
"I thought there was an unwritten rule that you always complimented a bride, no matter what."
Caring Paul reassured her when she arrived at Sunderland Register Office but the cutting comments had ruined her big day.
She said: "We posed for photographs outside the registry office. I smiled and laughed and I was happy, but a part of me was still so upset.
"Our guests were all complimentary, telling me I looked stunning. But the compliments fell on deaf ears. The damage was done."
Chloe quickly changed out of her wedding dress and into comfortable baggy clothes at the reception and vowed to change her ways.
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She visited her doctor and explained that all previous diets, slimming classes and pills had failed and asked to be considered for a gastric band.
Chloe was referred to a specialist in February 2011 and was told to slim down to 18st before she could go under the knife.
She took two years to lose the weight and finally had the operation at Sunderland Royal Hospital in June last year.
Now, a year later, her diabetes has disappeared and she has slimmed down to a 10st 12lbs size 12.
"I physically can't eat much and I don't want to", said Chloe, who is a full-time carer for her mum Joyce, 59, along with husband Paul, 37.
"I eat a boiled egg for breakfast, a jacket potato with cheese for lunch and a small portion of shepherd's pie for dinner.
"I have some excess skin, which is common in rapid weight loss. I'm saving up to have my bingo wings removed. And after we've had children, I'll have a tummy tuck too.
"Those cruel jibes ruined my wedding day, but I think I got the last laugh. I'm finally who I want to be."
Proud hubbie Paul said: "I thought Chloe looked beautiful on our wedding day. What those people did was just cruel. But I'm proud of Chloe for losing weight - she looks even more fantastic now."