We left things with Andrea asking me to marry her.

By email.

I should point out, I was in the room next door at the time.

That probably tells you everything you need to know about how we worked.

A few days later we went over to Chichester to choose a ring. When the correctly sized ring came in, Andrea didn’t hang about. She was straight in the car and back off to Chichester to collect it.

Now, if I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t in a rush to get married. Not because I had doubts. Quite the opposite. Life had been good to me. I’d had an interesting run, some of it down to hard work, some of it just good fortune. I wasn’t in any hurry to change things too quickly.

Around that time, I used to dabble in the TV-AM morning telephone quiz. Nothing serious, just the odd call here and there.

One particular morning I’d entered again, but had to get into work early for some reason, so I didn’t think much more about it.

Then the phone rang.

It was Andrea, sounding far more excited than usual, telling me I’d won the TV-AM quiz.

Now, there are quite a few Mike Smiths in the world, so I assumed she’d got the wrong end of the stick. I carried on with my day.

A bit later, the phone rang again.

This time it was TV-AM.

Turns out, I had actually won.

The prize was two weeks in Florida. One week in Disney, one week in Clearwater, and a thousand pounds spending money thrown in for good measure.

At that point, the decision about when to get married became a lot simpler.

I picked a date.

We took my mum and Andrea’s son, Scott, with us on what became the trip of a lifetime.

My mum had recently had heart bypass surgery, but you wouldn’t have known it. She still did all the rides at Disney and threw herself into the whole thing. We had a brilliant time.

Then we drove down to Clearwater, which is definitely one of the best beaches in the United States. We met the wedding planner, who basically said, “Leave it to me.”

So we did.

Then came the practical bits. Wedding dress, suits, and all the things you suddenly realise you need when you’ve decided to get married in Florida.

My mum bought Andrea’s wedding dress. All $99 of it.

And it looked lovely.

The suits were sorted, everything was ready, and I did what any sensible groom would do. I prepared myself in the bar the day before and had a great time.

Then the wedding day arrived.

The weather was awful. Andrea had her hair done, also awfully, which didn’t help matters.

But as the afternoon came, the clouds cleared, the sun came out, and good weather shone on us once more.

And there, on the beach at Clearwater, Andrea and I got married.

The wedding itself was wonderful. Simple, warm, and exactly right for us.

That evening, we went on a river cruise with dancing, and it was fantastic. One of those evenings that stays with you forever.

A lucky competition entry had somehow turned into Disney, Clearwater, a beach wedding, and memories that Andrea and I would carry for the rest of our lives.