New Year's Eve is always pretty eventful for me," laughs Alison Burling-Morris. "I don't know what it is about me and December 31, but something always seems to happen.

This New Year's Eve saw Alison glide up the aisle to marry Ivor, her partner of more than 10 years. "We met on New Year's Eve," she says. "And we got engaged on New Year's Eve.

Are you spotting a theme yet?"The wedding was a celebration in more ways than one: as well as showing the couple's commitment to each other, it marked the end of a two-year slimming challenge for Alison. In total, the36-year-old has shed an incredible five stones in weight - and dropped five dress sizes.

"You look back at your wedding photos forever," adds Alison, whose goal was to wear a size 12 wedding dress."I wanted to look back at them and feel really happy about how I looked, not embarrassed."Alison, who lives in Cambourne, says she had "always been big". "When I was young we thought nothing of getting a bag of sweets on the way to school - and eating them all before we got there," she admits.

"We weren't so health conscious in those days. I wasn't really aware of my size being a problem until middle school, when I was about nine or 10. I used to get the mickey taken out of me and I can remember not wanting to go to school: a teacher came round to see why I wasn't going."

In her early 20s, after moving into her own home, Alison noticed that she had really piled on the pounds. "I was young and wanting to go out with my friends," she explains. "But I didn't have the same confidence they had - and I couldn't buy the same clothes."
Alison was 24 when she first joined Weight Watchers. "I was about 12½ stone at the time, which is nothing compared to what I got up to," she explains. "I lost more than two stone and then, that New Year's Eve, I met Ivor. It was in a pub, nothing romantic at all. But we just got on really well."

For the first few months of their relationship, Alison admits holding back. "I was scared of falling hook, line and sinker, in case I got hurt," she explains. "But, although I didn't see it straight away, we're a match made in heaven: we always know what the other one is thinking."

Feeling contented in her new relationship, Alison says she let her Weight Watchers membership slide. "I have rejoined so many times since then," she says, rolling her eyes. "Every time I would lose a stone or two then give up. And I'd always put the weight back on - along with a little bit more."

When Ivor proposed Alison says it was a real shock. "It happened on New Year's Eve, funnily enough," she explains, grinning. "I'd always thought he didn't want to get married. The previous New Year's Eve, he got down on one knee, said he had a ring for me and then produced a DVD of The Ring as a joke.

"So when he really did ask me, on New Year's Eve 2004, it came completely out of the blue. He did exactly the same thing and said he'd got me a ring. Only this time he produced a little red box instead of a DVD. It was a huge surprise - a really nice surprise. And the ring was exactly what I would have chosen: like I said, he knows what I'm thinking!"

Alison was on cloud nine - but the weight continued to creep on. By summer 2005, even Ivor and Alison's mum were worried. "My mum's favourite was 'So, you're not on a diet at the moment dear?'" laughs Alison. "That was her way of saying 'You need to do something'.

"Ivor never said anything outright, but he could see I wasn't happy. When people asked us to go out I'd make an excuse, saying that I hadn't got anything to wear; I felt so uncomfortable about how I looked."

Joining her local Weight Watchers club, which meets at The Hub in Cambourne, Alison had lost 34lbs by Christmas. But then, in January 2006, she stopped following the healthy eating plan - because she fell pregnant.

Suffering from violent morning sickness ("which actually went on 24/7 for three whole months"), Alison's weight continued to fall in the early stages of the pregnancy. "I saw 10st on the scales for the first time in about 10 years," she remembers. "I thought, 'This is where I want to be: after the baby comes, I'm going to get back here'."

When little Tilly arrived, in September 2006, both Ivor and Alison were overjoyed. But, in amongst the dirty nappies and sleepless nights, Alison's slimming plans slipped to the back of her mind.

With her weight peaking at 15st 10½oz, Alison says she spent most of Tilly's first Christmas avoiding the camera lens. "You know what it's like," she says. "Everybody wants to take a photo of you with the baby. In fact, I think there was only one picture taken of me that Christmas - I kept passing Tilly to her dad, saying 'Take a picture with him'."

When Alison saw that solitary picture, she was "absolutely horrified". And, on New Year's Eve 2006, she and her friend Jane Paddison made a pact - to go to the very next Weight Watchers meeting. "It had to be on New Year's Eve, really, didn't it?" laughs Alison.

After the first weigh-in, Alison came home and cried. "It was very emotional," she says. "But it was a major turning point: I really haven't looked back.

"It's been different this time; I was determined not to give up. The main difference is that I'm a mum now. I didn't want Tilly growing up having to face the same issues I did. I wanted her to grow up with a nice, slim mummy."

When Alison and Ivor set their wedding date, for New Year's Eve 2008, it was an added incentive. By sticking religiously to the Weight Watchers points plan Alison soon began to shed the pounds.

Keeping a strict food diary, Alison planned healthy meals and snacks in advance - and lost an amazing 5st 4oz. She credits class leader Kerry Bentley with keeping her going, along with her Weight Watchers buddy Jane, who was her chief bridesmaid. "They had faith in me when I didn't," she adds.

Alison, who is 5ft 6ins, reached her target of 10st 6½lbs in time for her hen weekend. "I felt really emotional about it," she says. "It's been two years of really hard work, but I did it. Sometimes I find it hard to comprehend just how much weight I've lost: if I'm honest, I'd got up to a size 22 - a size 20 was too tight. And now I'm a 12!"

Alison says she's never felt happier than wearing her stunning champagne-coloured gown walking up the aisle to meet Ivor. She said it was "the most fantastic wedding and it has to be my best New Year's Eve ever . . ."