Trends of brides wanting to lose weight

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  • La5Vega5Girl
    La5Vega5Girl Posts: 709 Member
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    I've been married 22 years, and I am the same way. I tried on a dress that I loved, but it was too small. so I bought different dress in my size. it never even crossed my mind to lose weight for my wedding. LOL we spent a total of about $3000 (or less) on our entire wedding, including all food, dress, flowers (which I had won in a contest) venue, etc. I hope my daughter doesn't expect a big extravagant wedding such as I see today. I don't understand it. and the losing weight? wow I've seen some stories where women are being fed through tubes in their nose, or having their jaws wired shut. marriage preparations now are about THE DAY, not the lifetime ahead. sad.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
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    OMG I've been biting my tongue when I see these "Dress diet hysteria" posts.

    Thank you for your post. And really, you slim down for your dress and for what, to gain it all back, usually. Why add more stress to what is supposed to be a great day, not a chore or a job or a field trip?

    Good post.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,712 Member
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    Correct me if I'm wrong OP, but I think she is more talking about brides buying dresses that are too small in order to lose weight to fit into them.
    Agreed, that's what I read, too. There's nothing wrong with trying to look your best, particularly with all the pictures involved, but I believe you should keep it up and not prove yourself to be a fraud.
  • bkthandler
    bkthandler Posts: 247 Member
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    In fairness every woman I know who got engaged gets asked by most people if she's going to go on a diet or how much weight she need to lose. There is enourmous external pressure.

    A work friend used WW to go from a 12ish to a 4/6 and close to 8 years later she still looks good (she may be a size smaller). She used the wedding as an incentive but has really stuck with it.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
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    I've been married twice now (first one was a disaster and I was too young): first wedding dress was a size 4 and second was a size 14. I looked much better in the size 4, and was able to get the dress I wanted. The size 14 dress was pretty, but the one I wanted didn't fit on my body properly. Plus, arm flab and spilling out of the top.

    My comparison dresses:

    weddingdress.png

    I didn't diet, but I can understand why women want to. Usually there are tons of pictures/videos, and the focus is on you. So of course you want to look your best. Plus my size 4 dress was much cheaper than the size 14, and didn't require as much alteration.

    I was much happier during the second round, but I do prefer how I looked in the first. We'll probably just do a vow renewal in a few years and I'll get to choose a dress I love for that! :drinker:

    You look beautiful thick too. I can't decide which pic I like better.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I've been married twice now (first one was a disaster and I was too young): first wedding dress was a size 4 and second was a size 14. I looked much better in the size 4, and was able to get the dress I wanted. The size 14 dress was pretty, but the one I wanted didn't fit on my body properly. Plus, arm flab and spilling out of the top.

    My comparison dresses:

    weddingdress.png

    I didn't diet, but I can understand why women want to. Usually there are tons of pictures/videos, and the focus is on you. So of course you want to look your best. Plus my size 4 dress was much cheaper than the size 14, and didn't require as much alteration.

    I was much happier during the second round, but I do prefer how I looked in the first. We'll probably just do a vow renewal in a few years and I'll get to choose a dress I love for that! :drinker:

    You look beautiful thick too. I can't decide which pic I like better.

    I agree! Although I think the second pic is better, honestly. Not a body judgment because she looks great both ways but because of the now severely dated dress in pic 1 and more confident, happy looking body posture in pic 2
  • Slasher09
    Slasher09 Posts: 316 Member
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    Im losing weight for my wedding, but I was already trying to lose weight anyway. I was 135 when my fiance and I met (I was a little too slim for my build and I was still in an eating disordered pattern). I was 145 and toned when I found out I was pregnant Nov 2012. I gained 50lbs pregnant, and after the immediate weight of baby and everything else after birth I was still 175. I'm roughly 150 now and would like to keep toning and maybe lose another 5-7lbs before my wedding in 7 months.

    I know my fiance loves me at any weight and no matter what, but I want to look my best that day because it's the one day that I can feel like a princess, and because I plan on spending a child-free week on the beach of Jamaica in a bikini working on baby #2 ;)
  • ASH2038602
    ASH2038602 Posts: 215 Member
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    I dont see anything wrong with wanting to look your best on your wedding day. Hell, I am hoping to be down 60lbs by my friends wedding (not that it's my reason for losing weight) so I dont have to hide from the camera all evening like I did at the last wedding I went to lol
  • jeannelabanane
    jeannelabanane Posts: 38 Member
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    When I bought my dress I was a size 6, when it finally arrived, and it was time for alterations - I had gained quite a bit of weight. Thankfully it was a corset and they were able to add a bit of material, but you can bet that I was in a hurry to drop a few pounds so that I could fit properly into the dress that I had already bought.

    Also - I am MUCH larger now, and I enjoy looking back on wedding photos - getting back to my former self inspires me.
  • vball1121
    vball1121 Posts: 36 Member
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    Wowza as someone who posted a thread about this I feel like I'm being "subposted" if that's a thing?

    We are all on here trying to lose weight. What is your motivation? To live a healthy life? To look great for your spouse? Yourself? To fit into better clothes? If I'm going to spend more than $100 on a dress- I better get my bang for my buck.... my *kitten* being the bang.

    I've been losing weight for the past year just to get to the best "me" possible. I've come a long way but would love to lose an additional 10 lbs before the wedding, or turn some of the skinny fat into muscle.

    Brides wanting to lose weight is not a "trend" as much as wanting to lose weight is a trend.... If brides want to connect on here to make friends in similar stages of their life- why judge? No different then how moms often want to join groups or talk, or people of similar pounds to go.

    Obvious bias here but to each their own? If i'm PAYING someone to take pictures of me... might as well feel confident.
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
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    IMO, this whole thing about dieting for a wedding is just plain silly. Those brides let themselves go for so many years before the proposals....if this is the dream of every little girl, to look like a princess on this day, they should have thought about this part sooner.....lol
    Ladies, buy a dress that fits your body, not your imagination! If your guy proposed to your pounds, OWN THEM!

    Most women that I have seen lately 'post-wedding' have expanded to their 'pre-wedding' proportions and beyond. I mean, how silly does this look, standing next to those skinny wedding pictures.....?
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    I am not just talking about overweight women, but women who may be normal weight, following the Kate Middleton trend of an already thin or normal size woman getting even thinner to get into a tiny size dress. When I got married, I was 5'2" and 110 (taller and thinner than I am; now!); now a woman that size would be trying to get down to 90 lbs. for her "special day." I guess I'm also talking long range, since people are spending more on weddings than in the past, and I've often found that the more spent on the wedding, the shorter the duration of the marriage. One wedding of some work colleagues a few years back was at an expensive NYC venue. The marriage lasted a little over a year.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I see nothing wrong with wanting to look your best for that day.

    But I wonder if the weight loss tv shows where there are BIG STAKES to not succeeding also add to the temptation to order a dress in the size you hope to hit?

    Also, is it more common now (than decades ago) to pick out and order your gown months and months in advance? I'm really not sure. I never knew people did that much before having a daughter who watches Say Yes To The Dress.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I am not just talking about overweight women, but women who may be normal weight, following the Kate Middleton trend of an already thin or normal size woman getting even thinner to get into a tiny size dress. When I got married, I was 5'2" and 110 (taller and thinner than I am; now!); now a woman that size would be trying to get down to 90 lbs. for her "special day." I guess I'm also talking long range, since people are spending more on weddings than in the past, and I've often found that the more spent on the wedding, the shorter the duration of the marriage. One wedding of some work colleagues a few years back was at an expensive NYC venue. The marriage lasted a little over a year.

    Wow, you really have a chip on your shoulder about weddings... Jilted?!
  • vball1121
    vball1121 Posts: 36 Member
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    For lack of anything better to do I'll continue to be the devil's advocate :) I'd like to think I'm "normal" weight and trying to perfect my body. What better reason to get some abs showing if not for my wedding night? I was the highest weight when my fiance met me actually- and I'd like to think our relationship isn't going to be any different. You're throwing out a lot of broad generalizations so more concrete examples would be nice..

    And with the money thing... maybe a better indicator is a percentage of income? I've been to a few lovely friends weddings of different household incomes and I do think relationships that went into debt or close to it for their wedding struggle. Different people put different emphasis on the wedding, and to some people a $50,000 wedding isn't extravagant based on their household income a long with what their family's may gift them.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    Brides wanting to lose weight is not a "trend" as much as wanting to lose weight is a trend.... If brides want to connect on here to make friends in similar stages of their life- why judge? No different then how moms often want to join groups or talk, or people of similar pounds to go.

    I'd say that's true...I can only speak for myself but I don't feel that any one reason is any better/worse than others. And I think it's cool that you have been on a longer term self-improvement kick for fitness and so on. I got married (second time) 1 year ago and I was on this weight loss thing, so I wound up losing about 30 lb between my engagement and elopement, and another 50-ish pounds since the wedding. But for me it was totally unrelated to getting married. And I don't think my reasons are somehow "better" than someone who loses a similar, much-needed amount of weight for a dream dress.

    I think the pressure on brides to lose a lot of weight for the perfect wedding has become a huge trend to the point of seeming silly, though, and I totally admit that I roll my eyes when I see tanks & t-shirts meant for workouts that say "Sweating for the Wedding" or "Buff Bride Boot Camp", I guess that's just me being a bit of a snotty jerk lol. But I feel like that is where the big trend comes in that several women have mentioned in this thread.
  • IHateThinkingOfAUsername
    IHateThinkingOfAUsername Posts: 568 Member
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    1) Why shouldn't brides, or anyone, want to lose weight? Why do you want to lose weight? Why can't they want the same reasons? Why can't they want to start their married life with those aspirations? I lost all my weight the first time round because I was turning 30. That is no different. A big life event coming up.

    2) I think the reason brides buy a smaller sized dress is because of the stupid amount of time it takes to order a dress. Here in the UK you're (I was) advised to order it 9 months in advance. Before my 30th birthday I lost nearly 4 stone in 8 months, I went from a 14/16 to a 8/10. Maybe if brides could order a dress a month in advance they wouldn't do this.

    But mostly 3) Who are you to say they shouldn't? You look after you.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Because unfortunately wedding pictures last forever and it's embarrassing to be fat in them. I would know, I don't have any displayed anywhere. For what it's worth, if I still had my wedding dress(es) I would swim in them now.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I'm an old fogey too, lol. Got married in '91. I didn't diet and my dress was rented, just like my husband's tux was rented. I mean, really...what was I going to do with the dress when I was done with it? I was able to get a much nicer dress at the rental than I would have been able to afford if I'd bought it. I did get my make-up specially done and had a hairdresser to the house to fix that for me, but other than that, I was just me. And, you know what? The pictures look beautiful. All brides look beautiful. In all sizes! It's practically impossible to look bad in a wedding dress, so I can't see the fuss. The glow you carry on that day will overshadow what you're wearing anyway. Repeat after me...all brides are beautiful!

    Love your attitude.

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