The Bridal Beauty Paradox: We’re In Weigh Over Our Heads

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katey_my_lady
katey_my_lady Posts: 81 Member
Anyone else love the blog A Practical Wedding? It's one of my favorites. Today they posted this article on losing weight/toning up/"perfecting" ourselves before a wedding, which is something i've thought a lot about. Link: http://www.etsy.com/blog/weddings/the-bridal-beauty-paradox-were-in-weigh-over-our-heads/

I read some of my own feelings and ideas of what I want my wedding to be like in this post. Yes, I want to get healthy and stronger, and honestly I'm not trying to lose much weight--just some vanity pounds. The wedding is a perfect excuse to do so. Would I be torturing myself with Body Revolution if I weren't thinking about the wedding? Probably not. But then I wonder, am I setting myself up for disappointment? Am I trying to achieve some kind of false ideal because there's pressure to have a perfect wedding day?

Last night I had a dream that my wedding photographer was late, and didn't capture the ceremony. I was furious and yelled at her, appalled that I wouldn't have the pictures, even though I had the memories. Reading this article has made me reflect on that dream and what it's pointing to internally.

I wonder what others think of it.

Replies

  • puggleperson
    puggleperson Posts: 740 Member
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    When is your wedding? I'm going to check out this blog.

    I know when it comes closer to my wedding I will have nightmares as well about things going wrong!
  • puggleperson
    puggleperson Posts: 740 Member
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    BTW.. I have been engaged since October and the only thing I have done is checked out 2 venues. I'm so not into wedding planning :)
  • katey_my_lady
    katey_my_lady Posts: 81 Member
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    I'm not getting married until next April. Not sure why the nightmare happened so early! Maybe because we're planning our engagement party, and that seems to be just as stressful as planning the wedding. Actually, more stressful. Wedding planning has been a breeze--found our venue, florist, photographer, DJ within a few weeks and we've been kickin' back ever since. Oh, and I have my dress, too!

    When is your wedding?
  • LittleMissAlx
    LittleMissAlx Posts: 291 Member
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    OMG, I love A Practical Wedding. I love how they focus on the important thing - that you're getting married, and ultimately, nothing else should be as important.

    I'm also losing weight (otherwise I wouldn't be here, I guess), but that's more to do with how being fitter made me feel than for the wedding, and it started before I got engaged (I lost it, then put it back, oops). Though I have researched things I probably wouldn't have done if it weren't for the wedding - the whole, which bits of your body will be shown off by your dress and therefore need to be focused on, kind of thing. Like arms and upper back - not that I've actually done anything about it yet :)

    Though that applies to the wedding - but we're planning on July 2014, so we've plenty of time (though I do have the dress!)

    I don't think you're necessarily setting yourself up for disappointment - we all want to look our best on our wedding day - unless you have unrealistic expectations. And I don't think even when we look absolutely incredible, that we'll look back on it and not find something we want to have changed. But that's life as a woman, right? We're never entirely happy with what we've got. But reading APW and the sad stories as well as the happy ones, has made me more determined to be happy with what I've got - because in the end it's our life that's important, not whether our arms could have been a bit more toned on one specific day :)
  • megteg
    megteg Posts: 97 Member
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    Thanks for posting this - I can relate already and I've only been dress shopping a few times. Once I left the fitting room in tears...I just couldn't believe how big the sizes were, and they didn't even zip up! Now I honestly dread trying on dresses. All I want is to try on a drop-waist gown, but I can't get any over my hips!

    I've got in my head that I am supposed to be my "ideal self" for the wedding, and this article is probably right - it's just unrealistic to think that way. The author so got it right that I'm convinced I need to have amazing photos by the end, which is still important to me, but obviously I can't expect to look like the airbrushed models from the bridal magazines. :)

    Thanks for the dose of reality - I'm going to add that blog to my list for further reading!