There are so many things nobody tells you. The first, and probably the most fundamental, is that giving birth is not the end of anything, only the beginning. That breastfeeding hurts, especially in the first weeks, and also that the biggest problem is sometimes right at the end, at weaning.
I spent the last four years continuously breastfeeding, weaning and breastfeeding again. Two children in two years, what can I say, fun! Feeding on demand was fortunately the most automatic and normal thing for me and I didn't worry much about it. I read a few things about it and decided that in our case 6 months would be a MUST-HAVE and a year NICE TO HAVE. Every single day beyond a year is my bonus and a sacrifice for it. That is how I felt.
Matias was totally addicted and weaning him was a process of several months. At night he woke up non-stop and called for the breast MAMA. 
I spent several weekends away from home (thank goodness for that!), but they didn't help at all. Neither did homeopathic remedies to stop lactation, drinking less, a firm bra, sage and mint teas, NOTHING. Milk kept being produced, enough even for 3 children, Matias could feel it and howled like a baboon. Until someone advised me to put lemon on my NIPPLES. It seemed like complete nonsense to me, but I decided to try it. I explained to him that the milk had gone bad and was sour. He decided himself that he didn't like it, and from one day to the next he stopped asking and the milk stopped being produced. He was 14 months old. HALLELUJAH.
With Bruno I had decided in advance that I would not breastfeed for more than a year. It wasn't good for me physically, and after the experience with Matias I had no desire to fight with an already bigger child. As soon as he turned one I went away for a weekend, he got a bottle of milk and stayed perfectly content. The weaning went without any problems and not even once did he demand to be breastfed. A small miracle in my opinion.
And how was it for you, did weaning go naturally and smoothly, or did you have a hard time?