Thought there was just one royal wedding this summer? Well think again, as the King of Ewood, Richie Smallwood, prepares to tie the knot this summer.

And that is just one of the reasons that Smallwood was glad Rovers didn’t have to contend with the nerves of a play-off campaign.

Smallwood will once again be playing Championship football next season, having done so for the previous three years after winning the League One play-off final with Rotherham in 2013/14.

He opted for pastures new with Rovers last summer, reuniting himself with Tony Mowbray who he had worked with during his days coming through the ranks at Middlesbrough.

Smallwood’s style hadn’t been lost on Mowbray despite the length of time away, and the tough-tackling midfielder, described as ‘a soldier’ by his manager, says he owes the Ewood chief a lot.

He said: “If it wasn’t for the boss I probably wouldn’t be at this football club. He obviously likes the qualities that I bring to the team. I’m not the finished article and can improve but I will always give 100 per cent.

“It’s amazing what hard work can do. I try my best, which is all I can do. I appreciate the fans massively. It’s a special feeling and I can’t wait to play for this club in the Championship.

“I’ve spent three full seasons previously playing in that division and playing most weeks and it’ll be a challenge for me, the players and the club.

“The tests will come and we’ll see how we do next season.

“I have every confidence in the management team, players and club as a whole though and see absolutely no reason why we can’t do a job in the Championship and push on.”

Smallwood scored from the spot in the 2013/14 play-off final as the Millers made it past Leyton Orient on penalties.

And while admitting that day was a special one, he says getting the job done without having to go through three more games suits him just fine.

In any normal year, Rovers’ promotion fate would have been secured long before April 24 and the win at Doncaster, but much of that owed to the pressure applied by both Wigan and Shrewsbury.

“That was a great day, it’s a great way of getting promoted but it’s far from guaranteed,” he said of the play-offs.

“It was nice to get the job done as early as possible. The automatics will do me and I can have a nice summer before I get married and go on my honeymoon.

“Bolton went up with 87 points last year, we had that with four games left, but that shows well Wigan have done and fair play to them.

“They had a really strong start, whereas we started the season slowly with those two losses, which wasn’t ideal.

“But from being 14 points behind just shows how well we’ve done.”

Smallwood was the only Rovers player to make it through the season with an ever-present appearance record in the league.

That was largely down to serving his suspension for five yellow cards during the FA Cup first round win over Barnet in November.

And he managed to avoid a two-match ban for 10 bookings before the March amnesty, going an incredible 15 games without a caution.

The 27-year-old says comments from the manager gave him something of an extra spur to make sure he didn’t miss out.

“I think there was a stretch where I picked up four or five in as many games which was disappointing for me,” he said.

“I have learned from it throughout the season.

“I think that’s testament to myself if I can say that, just learned and realised when to tackle and when to win the ball.

“I think I really wanted to prove people wrong. The games seemed to go very slow, people were saying it was inevitable and I saw a few things from the manager on preparing for when it (suspension) does come and I was determined not to get it and hopefully keep earning my shirt and playing every game this season.”

Smallwood signed a two-year deal when making the move from the New York Stadium, where his contract had expired.

A new deal may be in the offing for a player who has been an integral part of the side.

And while there is plenty of love from those in the stands for Smallwood and his tough tackling style, it is reciprocated with his appreciation of how special a club Rovers is.

Having played three years in the Championship with Rotherham, he’s looking forward to testing himself once again in the second tier.

He added: “It’s been perfect really.

“This is a massive club with great facilities and a great manager – it’s given me a platform to put my hard work into practice.

“I think I’ve earned my shirt this season and the manager has shown great faith in me.

“I want to play in the Championship. League One is a tough league but hopefully I’ll get out of it at both times of asking. I want to be playing Championship football, that’s what we all want, and then we can push on from there.”