So she kept refusing to name the date. But then a weight-related health scare proved the catalyst for her remarkable transformation.

Trapped in a cycle of comfort-eating to combat her cripplingly low self-esteem, Sheila was terrified of being the centre of attention while looking too fat in her wedding dress.

It gave the 32-year-old mum-of-two the determination to shift the pounds - and to walk down the aisle at last. By the time Sheila tied the MCINNES knot with Brian she appeared a completely different woman. Having lost half her body weight, she looked absolutely stunning in a size 12 bridal gown and was more than happy to have all eyes on her.

Teaching assistant Sheila, from Stockton on Tees, tells the Mirror: "I never believed I could lose the weight, so I put marriage to the back of my mind. "I wanted to be married to Brian but I couldn't do it when I was so big. He wanted to set a date straight away, but I was too insecure. Despite his commitment I kept thinking he would leave me for someone thinner - and the thought of seeing myself in a wedding dress as the fat bride made me feel sick. I was aware of my size the whole time. I didn't feel I could go out for a meal because I was frightened I wouldn't fit in the chairs. So having everyone watching me would have been awful for me."

Brian, 39, says: "I always loved Sheila the way she was and I never had a problem with her weight. From the first day we met I felt comfortable around her. But when I saw her on our wedding day I was over the moon. I just went: 'Wow.' I felt so, so proud of her and I was holding back the tears."

Sheila's weight problems began in her teens when she started to think she was bigger than the other girls in her year at school. She says: "Looking back I can see I wasn't, but it started to affect my confidence. The lower my confidence was, the more I ate and by the time I left school at 16 I weighed 14 stone."

Over the years Sheila, mum to 13-year-old Sophie and Lily, six, tried various diets, desperate to shed some weight. But although she often lost a few stone, she'd pile it straight back on again - and more. She says: "I did the Atkins, Weight-Watchers, Slimming World - you name it, I tried it. I'd lose four stone, then gain even more. I was trapped in this cycle of losing weight and then putting it back on." Many of Sheila's problems stemmed from her binge-eating. Using food as an emotional crutch, she would gorge on fatty takeaways, biscuits and crisps.

"After a binge I would feel revolted with myself, I'd be in tears," she says. When she was 21, her partner left. Sheila suddenly found herself raising Sophie on her own and began eating even more to cope with the heartache. Within a few years she was 24 stone, had started to hate socialising and found it hard to find clothes to fit. She says: "Evans was the only shop I ever went into - at my biggest I was struggling to get into their largest sizes. I would pick out clothes that fitted rather than the ones I liked, regardless of how I looked in them. I looked years older than I was.

"I remember one night I was in the pub with some friends and a bloke came up to me and said: 'You've got such a pretty face. Such a shame.' I laughed it off but felt terrible inside. That thoughtless comment will stay with me forever."

Sheila was also convinced that no man could possibly find her attractive. And then she met Brian at work in 2002. "He's the complete opposite of me," says Sheila. "He's quiet for a start. But he made me laugh and he made me feel special. We just started out as mates and although I really liked him, I never thought anything about it. It never crossed my mind he'd feel the same way."

In fact, Brian did feel the same way about Sheila, not thinking twice about her size. He asked her out and their first date was a trip to the cinema in August 2002. "I had massive butterflies and my mouth was dry with nerves," says Sheila. "I was worried I'd end up talking rubbish. But afterwards we went for a drink and a bit of Dutch courage made me feel a lot better. We chatted for hours and everything felt right."

They agreed she should seek medical help to lose weight. Doctors referred her for a gastric band but Sheila was told she would have to lose 10% of her body weight before they could operate. Determined to fight the flab, she found a low calorie diet plan on the internet which replaced meals with milkshakes, soups and bars. "It seemed quite expensive, but the £66 a week for all the food packs was probably what I was spending on food for myself anyway," she says. "And Brian said he'd support me whatever, which was a big encouragement."

Confident

Sheila started the plan and lost a stone in the first week. And the pounds continued to drop off. By the time she'd reached 20 stone - the target weight which qualified her for a gastric band - she felt confident enough to carry on dieting without the need for surgery.

"It was difficult at first getting used to not eating proper meals, but I never felt hungry or deprived," she says. "The real turning point came on Christmas Day when I had to miss my turkey dinner. I felt if I could do that I could do anything. I started walking and getting out more. The smaller I got, the more exercise I was able to do and that speeded up the weight loss even more. And as well as losing weight, my skin was glowing, my nails were growing and my hair was lovely." By last summer - less than a year after starting the eating plan - Sheila had reached her goal of 12 stone. She told Brian she was ready to say "I do".

On their wedding day in October 2009, Sheila drew gasps from the congregation as she walked down the aisle looking stunning in a strapless white gown. She says: "It was a lovely day and I got so many compliments. We had friends there who hadn't seen me since I started to lose the weight who were speechless when they saw me."

Sheila's weight loss has also improved her bond with her daughters. She says: "It's changed everything. We do so much more as a family now. Brian used to take the girls swimming and I'd be sat at the side just watching. Now I feel able to put a costume on and get in the pool with them. And it's made my relationship with Brian fresher. We go out as a couple and I don't feel I have to hide in the background any more."

Double-take

"It's amazing to be able to go into places like Dorothy Perkins and Debenhams and pick clothes off the rail knowing they'll fit me. I still can't quite believe it. Occasionally I go into Evans to have a look round as a little reminder of how far I've come. Sometimes I catch my reflection and do a double-take because I can't believe it's me."

It's taken lots of willpower and dedication to get Sheila this far, not forgetting the help and support of her diet counsellor Susan Hampton. She says with a smile: "I couldn't have done it without Susan. Every week I felt like I was giving her a piece of my body armour - and each time I felt a little bit more ready to face the world. I feel like I've wasted my 20s, so it's all the more reason to make the most of my 30s - as a married woman!"

Before

Weight: 24st

Dress size: 32

After

Weight: 12st

Dress size: 12

Source: Daily Mirror