More taffeta, tantrums and traveller traditions: Forget William and Kate, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is back...



With not one, but two royal weddings to look forward to this year, you'd have thought we'd had our fill of all things bridal. But the return of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding tonight shows Channel Four clearly has other ideas.



In the style of last year's Cutting Edge film, which revealed the extravagant nuptials between young traveller couples, the new series follows the trials of several more teenage brides.

This time it uncovers even more about the gypsy traditions and lifestyle, from a lavish first holy communion to how a young girl is expected to behave before marriage.

Lavish: Sam Norton, 17, wore a 20st pink dress with mechanical butterflies on the bodice and lights in the veil

And one of the most fascinating, and visually arresting, was the episode featuring 17-year-old Sam Norton.

Unlike most of the girls featured, who have been steeped in gypsy culture from birth, she is an outsider marrying into a traveller family.

But that is not stopping her from embracing all the traditions of her future husband's family - including a lavish dress.

'Because I'm not a gypsy, all the guests expected me to opt for something modest, but I wanted to go traditional to prove I was one of them,' she explained.

Eye-catching and back-breaking: Dresses worn at gypsy weddings can cost up to £50,000, weigh 20 stone and have a 20-foot train

Fairytale: Pat and Sam married on Channel 4's Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

By 'traditional', of course, Sam means over-the-top fairytale princess, and her 20st gown was no exception.

The pink taffeta creation had 24 petticoats and an 8ft train. It was embellished with mechanical butterflies on the bodice and UV lights in the veil, all powered by 12 batteries stowed under the petticoat.

Sam would not disclose how much her family spent on the dress, because 'gypsies don't talk about money', but admits it cost 'thousands'.

Over-the-top: Sam and Patrick at their wedding reception, where the lights on her dress come into their own

'I had to bandage my body with padding before I put it on, yet it still cut my waist and bruised my ribs,' she revealed.

'Because I couldn't go to the toilet I didn't drink anything all day - except for the toast when I had a pint of Dirty Vimto [a double port mixed with alcopops]'

If you think this sounds like a health and safety disaster, it probably was. The dress designer, Thelma took a fire extinguisher to the reception just in case.

'We weren't sure if it was safe,' she said.

Love at first sight: Josie, 17, and Swanley on their wedding day in July. They found each other on the internet and only met for the first time in February last year

Princess moment: Josie, who left school at 11, has been planning her wedding day since she was a little girl

The distinct gender roles within the gypsy community are also laid bare, and make for fascinating watching.

'Men and women have very fixed roles,' says Sam. 'Most gypsy wives don't work, it's very traditional. Married men aren't allowed over the threshold of the kitchen, even to make a cup of tea.'

'Most gypsy wives don't work, it's very traditional. Married men aren't allowed over the threshold of the kitchen, even to make a cup of tea'

And from a very early age, girls are encouraged to aspire to marriage. In another gypsy rite of passage we see eight-year-old Margarita preparing for her first holy communion.

We see her mother painting her lips with gloss, before she struggles to the church in a gown - not dissimilar to Sam's - that weighs twice her own bodyweight. The occasion is seen is as a dress rehearsal for a girl's wedding day.



Episode one also features Josie, 17, who is from a large Irish family living in west London, in the run-up to her wedding to Swanley.

Rite-of-passage: Margarita's mother prepares her for her first holy communion, which is considered a dress rehearsal for a girl's wedding

Dress rehearsal: Margarita struggles with her vast pink gown, which weighs twice her own body weight

The teenager, who speaks with a heavy Irish accent, despite having only visited Ireland once, dropped out of school aged 11, claiming that high school is 'not the place for a gypsy girl'.

She describes how she met her fiancé on the internet, and but only met him in person for the first time in February last year. She says it was love at first sight.

Just two months later, Swanley proposed and they married in July in traditional gypsy fashion.

Big day: Another bride featured in the series, Bridget, poses with her bridesmaids after her wedding

And the first thing Josie started planning was her wedding dress.



'Every girl wants their dress to be the best because you're only going to wear it that one day.