I AM delighted to report that there is another Mrs Carter in the world.

Let’s face it: you can’t have too many.

In line with a custom started by one of my forefathers, centuries ago, my son has created the latest Mrs Carter – in his case by marrying a Miss Morgan (congratulations, Sean and Hannah).

But I doubt any of my ancestors had as rocky a ride to their wedding day.

Thanks to lockdowns and other restrictions, they had no fewer than five attempts at tying the knot.

I don’t suppose anybody ever forgets their wedding day, but Covid-19 has certainly ensured they will always remember theirs.

And the on-off nature of the event over the past two years also means the parents of the bride and groom enjoyed the day even more than would normally be anticipated.

I love the way weddings have changed in the 34 years since I walked down the aisle.

We never considered anywhere but a church for our big day, but my daughter-in-law chose the beautiful Great Tythe Barn at Tetbury.

There were no cars with ribbons on, no bells, choirs or buttonholes, and she forgot about wearing something old, new, borrowed and blue.

After the ceremony, nobody was left hanging around while the guests were herded in front of the camera for endless formal album photographs, but we were sharing pictures online before the bride stopped blushing.

The invitations and replies were all handled by a website – I don’t believe a single RSVP was received by post – and there was no wedding list because guests were asked to donate money towards a ‘honeymoon’.

But that won’t be until next year, so there was no driving off into the sunset with tin cans and old boots attached to the bumper of the car, at the end of the reception.

In fact, I’m not even sure it was called a reception.

Although bridesmaids are still a thing, pageboys apparently aren’t, and they also decided not to have a tiered wedding cake, saying it was only an unnecessary extra photo opportunity.

All this is good, if you ask me.

There was a time when you could say that if you had been to one wedding, you had been to them all, because for the second half of the 20th century it seemed that each one followed a strict format, with everybody trying desperately to adhere to all the traditions, but not really knowing why.

Nowadays anything goes, and the sort of day you get reflects the bride and groom’s characters far more than the predictable weddings of old ever did.

Which is exactly as it should be.

Only a few traditions remain, the key one being the father of the bride insisted on paying the lion’s share of the bill, for which we are suitably grateful – until our daughter decides to get married.

So we don’t know how much it all cost, but we do know we have priceless memories of the greatest of days.