Jade prepares for wedding

Reality television star Jade Goody was today preparing to marry fiance Jack Tweed at a country house hotel.

Miss Goody, 27, who announced a few weeks ago that she was suffering from terminal cancer, and Mr Tweed, 21, are due to marry in a ceremony at the Down Hall Country House Hotel in Essex, later today.

Mr Tweed arrived at the hotel shortly before 10am in a blue Rolls Royce – he was dressed in a blue track suit with a yellow number ’3’ motif. Miss Goody flew to the hotel by helicopter late on Saturday from her home in Upshire, Essex.

Police mounted a significant operation with officers joining private security guards at the entrance to the hotel where photographers had gathered.

The couple have sold picture rights to the wedding to a magazine and hired the hotel for the day.

Among guests seen arriving was the BBC television Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross.

Miss Goody has told how Mr Tweed proposed after doctors told her that she was likely to die in the near future.

Mr Tweed was given an 18-month jail term after being convicted of assaulting a teenage boy with a golf club, in September.

He was released from prison earlier this year on licence.

One of the conditions of his licence is that he must live at an address in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, and observe a curfew which does not allow him to go out of the house after 7pm.

Ministry of Justice officials last week intervened to vary the condition of the curfew and allow Mr Tweed to spend his wedding night with his new bride.

Mr Tweed left the house in Buckhurst Hill dressed in a white bra, white panties and white socks.

He was with a number of other friends who were also dressed in women’s underwear.

Mr Tweed and his friends are assumed to have dressed as they made the journey from Buckhurst Hill to Hatfield Heath.

Ms Goody's publicity agent Max Clifford arrived shortly before 11am - about an hour before the wedding was due to take place.

“I have spoken to Jade this morning and she is very excited,” said Mr Clifford.

“She was not too good last night but she had been overdoing things as we knew that she would.”

Mr Clifford added: ``She is as well as possible, but, knowing Jade, she will rise to the occasion. She's very resilient.''

Mr Clifford said he believed that the Sugababes would perform at the wedding and also Incognito, a group of singers who disguise themselves as waiters.

“She also has a wonderful cake,” added Mr Clifford.

“The mixture of all the contents she loves.”

He said Ms Goody’s dress had been donated by Harrods and added: “It’s her dream dress.”

Asked what Ms Goody was likely to say at the ceremony, he added: “Jade will just say what she feels at the time as she has done every day of her life.

“I think she just wants to thank everybody and tell everybody how much this means.”

Mr Clifford said Goody was taking medication to relieve pain and had had a ``bad evening''.

“She would be in a lot of pain but for the measures that have been put in place. She had a bad evening. She was excited. She has been overdoing it.

“She was very tired last night. She needed quite a bit of medical help.”

He said Goody had spent the morning preparing for the wedding as any other bride would and added: “She is with her bridesmaids laughing and joking.”

He went on: “I think this is going to be one of those days where we are going to find out what happens as it happens.

“She’s got some very, very good friends and family and hopefully is going to have a wonderful day. It will be bittersweet.”

He added: “Jade is very much of the people. What you see is what you get. That is her strength and her weakness, really.”

He said Goody’s wedding and plight had attracted interest and sympathy from many parts of the world.

And he said she hoped that her story would help other women.

“She said to me: ’It’s too late for me, Max. hopefully for others, it will not be too late’,” he added.

“My message to her would be today: Be on your best behaviour.”

Mr Clifford was asked what approach he had taken to raising money through selling Ms Goody’s story and replied: “I have had a bit of experience of this. It is trying to do the right thing for obviously as much money as possible and, of course, the least amount of stress.

“We have done a couple of things for an awful lot which will go to her boys.”