A lifelong Notts County fan thought that he was going to miss out on the Magpies’ important clash with Swindon Town to look around an art gallery with his future wife…
It was all a ruse, orchestrated by his best men, who had arranged what would turn out to be an unforgettable day for County mad Paul Smith.
After opening a mysterious parcel gift of 32 match tickets the night before, he met up with his impressive stag squad in the Meadow Lane Sports Bar for a meal, before embarking on a stadium tour with a twist.
After taking a look behind the scenes, Paul, along with his brothers and father, took an unexpected detour into the manager’s office, where they stopped off for a pre-match chat with Shaun Derry and assistant manager Greg Abbott.
Paul was then presented with a special signed Notts shirt, which proved to be good luck for the big game.
After watching the 2-0 victory from the Kop, Paul and his mini Black & White Army were able to meet up with a number of Notts players at the Man of the Match presentation.
"I had an absolutely amazing day for my stag at Notts, and from start to finish I couldn't have asked for anything better,” Paul told the official site.
"My best men Gary Moss and Phil Smith organised it all and kept it a surprise from me until the night before - then they gave me 32 match tickets for the Kop!
“I had been expected to miss it to go around some art galleries in London for the wife-to-be Pippa's birthday! What a relief!
"We had a tour of the facilities including the home dressing room, then we got the chance to meet Shaun Derry and Greg Abbott in the manager's office.
"To make it all the better what a performance and result for the Magpies.
"Of the 32 in the Stag party only four are genuine Magpies but everyone else commented on how good the atmosphere was.
"I'd just like to thank everyone at the club for facilitating me, especially Shaun and Greg and the rest of the staff involved too.
"To top it off we went into the Man of the Match presentation and had more pictures with Alan Sheehan, Jack Grealish and Jamal Campbell-Ryce. Unforgettable."
Good luck to the future Mr and Mrs Smith for their summer wedding.
For more information about group bookings at Meadow Lane, email sales@nottscountyfc.co.uk or call 0115 9557 210.