Once upon a time, the summer was the traditional wedding season - a period when couples scampered up the aisle before having an almighty knees-up surrounded by as many of their nearest and dearest as their budget would allow.

And while the pandemic has put the brakes on many plans - and undoubtedly seen the sale of fancy hats plummet - there's every chance this time next year we will see our social calendars chock-a-block with invitations to witness the coming together of happy couples once again.

After all, Kent is awash with splendid venues to toast life-long commitment.

But while we wait with baited breath for a return to when we can be with friends and family once more, here are a selection of the famous folk who have tied the knot in the county over the years.

Mr Motivator

There are many ways the pandemic has had a profound impact on our lives - from bringing out a once feared loss of community spirit to a deeper appreciation of our family and friends. What could never have been foreseen, however, was a comeback for Mr Motivator.

The fitness coach, real name Derrick Evans, first bounded on to our TV screens in 1993 on GMTV - presenting an at-home workout complete with colourful, and a trifle tight, spandex and inexplicable bum bag. But after several years of the obligatory string of DVDs and TV appearances he dropped down the celebrity alphabet and entered the world of public appearances and motivational speeches.

That is, until he got the call to come and get the lockdown population moving again - this time on the BBC.

But did you know that at the height of his fame, he tied the knot for the third time in a Kent village?

He married girlfriend Sandra at the village church in Chilham, between Canterbury and Ashford, in 1996 - and his best man was his 12-year-old son James.

Among the stars attending the event were the singer Paul Young as well as GMTV co-stars Lorraine Kelly, Penny Smith and Dr Hillary Jones.

Then 43 - today he's a remarkably sprightly 67 - he wore a striking blue and white traditional African outfit before the 250 guests headed over the square for a reception at Chilham Castle.

Not that the vicar conducting the nuptials was particularly star-struck. He admitted he had no idea who he was, adding "I never watch GMTV".

Mr M hasn't done badly for himself though. He and Sandra and his family now run a resort in Jamaica.

Timmy Mallett

If you were growing up in the 1980s, it was almost mission impossible to avoid Timmy Mallett.

It's hard to try and describe a man for whom the phrase an 'over-excited bundle of energy' was possibly created for if you missed his hey-day, but during the mid to late 1980s and into the early 90s he was one of the nation's best known children's TV presenters.

Another product of early-morning programming on ITV, he fronted TV-am's Wide Awake Club - a show created to fill the gap left by the departure of Roland Rat (remember him, rat fans?). It would later morph into Wacaday where one of the games involved a giant cushioned hammer - Mallet's Mallet - bashing kids on the head if they got the questions wrong while he chirped about everything being "utterly, utterly brilliant" at any given time. It was all a bit much even back then, to be honest.

Remarkably, he even got to the top of the pop charts with the group Bombalurina (see video below) which he fronted in the summer of 1990 with his version of Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini where it stayed for three weeks from the end of August and into early September.

And it was on September 8 of that year, as he reigned supreme in the charts, that he wed wife Lynda at the church in Wye, near Ashford, followed by a reception at Chilham Castle.

Lynda, originally from Australia, remains by his side to this day. They had met while he toured in her native country. Today they live in Berkshire.

Timmy, now 64, continues to occasionally pop up on our screens - most notably in 2008 when he appeared on I'm A Celebrity.

Dermot O'Leary

You have to hand it to Dermot O'Leary - he's hard not to like. Whether it is through hosting TV hits such as X Factor, Big Brother's Little Brother, or the National Television Awards, he has been the 'safe pair of hands' option for many a much-watched show over the years.

Add to that, he also has a regular slot on BBC Radio 2.

Little wonder then that he saw many a famous face turn out in September 2012 when he married his long-time girlfriend Dee in a Kent village.

The couple had met in 2002 at a TV production company where they both worked.

Originally from Oslo, Norway, Dee was a child when she relocated with her mum - Rosalind Binks, a Thanet district councillor - to Ramsgate.

And it was in Kent she and Dermot wed, at St Mary's Church in Chiddingstone, before a short stroll to the nearby Chiddingstone Castle.

Among the famous faces attending the big day were Caroline Flack - a good friend of both Dermot and Dee - plus Holly Willoughby, James Corden, Bear Grylls, Fearne Cotton and Leigh Francis - better known as Keith Lemon.

The venue would later announce bookings rocketed by 60% after the couple's wedding.

Earlier this year the O'Learys announced they are expecting their first child.

Robin Cook

During Tony Blair's time at Downing Street, many of his cabinet attained household-name status. Among them was Robin Cook. Although not always for the right reasons.

A Scottish MP since 1974, he was one of the key figures in the modernisation of the Labour Party under Neil Kinnock and John Smith.

By the time Blair stormed to power in 1997, he was appointed Foreign Secretary - a role he had shadowed while the party was in opposition.

However, just months into the role, news broke of an affair he was having with Gaynor Regan in his office. He was heading on holiday with his then-wife when Number 10's communications supremo Alastair Campbell called him to say the story was about to break. He had to tell her at Heathrow. The couple subsequently split.

The following year, as his divorce was complete, he and Gaynor side-stepped media intrusion into their wedding plans, by popping into Tunbridge Wells Register Office to tie the knot - 10 days ahead of the planned ceremony at the Foreign Secretary's official residence of Chevening House, near Sevenoaks.

Having been moved to Leader of the House of Commons in 2001, he resigned from the cabinet in protest at the Iraq war.

In 2005, while out walking in Scotland with his wife, he suffered a heart attack and died. He was 59.

Bob Geldof

If you wrote a book about the life of Bob Geldof and his family, it would be dismissed by many as far-fetched. From humble Irish roots to chart-topper; to raising millions to aid victims of famine, to a tragic high-profile love-triangle which destroyed his first marriage; to deaths of his former wife and then his daughter.

Read more: The love-triangle of Bob Geldof, Paula Yates and Michael Hutchence

And if there's a man who deserves to focus on some of the positives in life, then it is surely he.

So back in August 1986 - a little over a year since Live Aid - as was befitting of their superstar status, he and long-time love, the TV presenter Paula Yates, headed off to Las Vegas to tie the knot after 10 years as a couple.

Simon Le Bon, lead singer of Duran Duran, was best man.

Shortly after their return, they opened up their home in Faversham to celebrate in style with David Bowie, George Michael and Spandau Ballet among the guests, with the marriage blessed in the neighbouring church.

Following Paula's death in 2000, Bob continues to live in the town, with his second wife, the French actress Jeanne Marine, whom he has been with for more than 20 years.

Notable 'anniversary'

For anyone who has visited Margate in recent years, the comment most make when looking at the Nayland Rock Hotel, which overlooks the town's famous sands and is just a few hundred yards from the railway station, must surely be "if they did that up it would be amazing".

And while there are plans to do just that, it has for many years been one of the town's least cherished buildings.

Which is a shame, because the venue packs plenty of history into it.

In the 1920s, none other than silent movie legend Charlie Chaplin paid it a visit just as his Hollywood career was taking off.

But, perhaps more remarkably, was that as recently as 1990, it was chosen by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, Dartford's very own superstar, as the venue for his parents' golden wedding celebrations.

Granted, Eva and Joe Jagger may have perhaps thought their multi-millionaire son may have found somewhere slightly fancier than Margate seafront for such an anniversary, but I'm sure it was what they wanted.

To find out what’s going on in the county and for all the latest entertainment news click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Kent.