"If it was Villa Park she'd go ballistic"

But, with his missus having absolutely no say whatsoever in the matter, that was far from the case for another Villa fanatic on Don't Tell the Bride on BBC 3 last Tuesday.

For the uninitiated it, this programme is the type of television trash which my other half sits through on the regular occasions she seizes control of the remote.

Which is exactly how I came to stumble across it the other night.

Anyway, in a nutshell the show revolves around an engaged couple receiving a large sum of cash for their wedding on the proviso that the groom-to-be organises the whole event.

The first the bride-to-be knows about the arrangements for the big day is when she turns up to get hitched.

In the latest episode, Luke, the fella planning his impending nuptials was a Villa supporter and let's just say he had a slight claret and blue theme in mind.

That much was clear when he burst into chants of 'Spinksy and Birchy, Alan McInally, they're the boys who are gonna do us fine' en route to his stag do down Brum's Broad Street.

Before he even checked out a potential venue, Luke was sourcing tropical fish in the club's colours to use as table decorations (Word of advice for future reference, Luke - Neon Tetras are the best match).

Anyway, he soon made it to Villa Park where he arranged a tour to find out about getting married up the Villa, despite being aware of his fiancée, Gemma's feelings on the matter.

Gemma: "The worst nightmare with Luke arranging the venue is that he's going to think that it's going to be great to have the ceremony in the grounds of the football ground and that would just be awful."

Luke: "I think if it was Villa Park she'd go ballistic, but I'd like it there so we'll just have to see."

Thankfully for Gemma, Luke decided against the stadium and chose some grand hotel instead, but not until he and his best man brother had been shown around the swish Trinity 82 lounge at Villa Park and fantasised about getting their cravats on in the home dressing room.

The journey from their Cheltenham home was not wasted, however, as they popped into the club shop to get a swatch of the Villa replica shirts for the colour of the bridesmaids' dresses.

And that was where Luke made one of the tackiest decisions of the lot by buying a Villa pillow, complete with Lion crest for the page boy to carry the rings down the aisle on.

It was surely the biggest waste of a Villa cushion since Martin O'Neill's men blew that six point lead, or whatever it was, over Champions League rivals Arsenal last season.

The claret and blue on the wedding invites was subtle enough to take Gemma a while to notice, but when a Rolls Royce turned up on their wedding day with claret and blue ribbons the bride-to-be eventually got the hint.

Then there was the claret and blue bows around the chairs and the groom on the wedding cake dressed in Villa kit and top hat, not to mention the exclamations of 'Up the Villa' when the photographs were taken, although fortunately he resisted having Holte Enders in the Sky for their first dance.

Remarkably, both Luke and Gemma had the time of their lives and, possibly because of the excitement of the occasion and more probably because the cameras were rolling, the bride took the Villa overkill in good spirit.

But the entire immensely enjoyable and amusing episode has left me wondering how many other fans made sure the love of their life, Aston Villa, of course, featured on their wedding to their second love, their spouse.

Let me know what claret and blue touches you added - or were forbidden from adding - to your big day....

PS: If you've got a spare hour, it's well worth a watch. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n5pbx