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This post is inspired by my friend Robyn from The Real Life RD. Read more about her story or listen to our podcast episode where we discuss this topic.
When C and I first met we were 21 years old. I was a recent college grad with severe self-esteem issues and some version of disordered eating meets overexercise meets major body image troubles. It wasn’t a great look.
Nevertheless, C seemed to see past these things and we pretty quickly fell head-over-heels. Despite a border between us (and a couple months of “self-exploration” on opposite coasts), we went from pen-pals to “official” after spending 10 days together. On day 11 he told me he wanted to marry me.
286131831 days later he finally asked…but who’s counting?!
Hindsight is always 20-20 and while I’ll admit that at times I wondered why C took 6 years to ask, I now totally understand why. When we met at 21 we had a lot of growing up to do. Together we’ve navigated 1st jobs, 2nd jobs, 3rd jobs, and me quitting my job. We moved in together, moved across the continent together and in between totalled a car together. We watched a dog for a year, got our own dog and have spent all 6 years resisting not buying a zoo (a pipe dream but who knows?!). C has supported this blog, worked for the blog and more often than not, has to be reminded to read the blog. But while these milestones are easy-to-remember, it’s the small moments that happened in between that remind me why it was important that we waited.
I’ll never forget crying into C’s arms one year on Halloween because I felt too fat in my dress (I was a completely delusional 114 pounds). Or when he took me home from the gym after 20 minutes because my body started to shut down on me. But especially when we lay on a hotel bed in Montreal and I explained to C how I finally was starting to feel comfortable in my skin, even as my body changed.
We have grown both emotionally and physically over the past 6 years, and through it all he has been by my side.
So when I think about our wedding day, a day I have been looking forward to since that cold Minnesota night when C first took me home to his family and he told me he was going to marry me, I want my physical body to reflect all of these experiences.
6 years ago I would have frantically gone on a crash diet to prepare for my wedding day, and probably spent all the days after wondering if I looked thin enough. I would have picked myself apart to a point where the fun and excitement of of getting to celebrate our love with our favorite people would have been lost.
But I’m not that recent college grad with severe self-esteem issues and some version of disordered eating meets overexercise meets major body image troubles anymore. While I certainly have my days, I’m far more confident in my own skin than even I could have imagined. I am a woman who feels far more compelled to take up more space than to push myself to extremes to take up less.
I’m the biggest I’ve ever been, but I’m also the happiest I’ve ever been.
I’ve also had 6 years of practice navigating our weight-phobic world. My fear is not for how I’ll react to the incessant pressure to be my smallest on my wedding day, but for the millions of women who haven’t had this practice. I know how to speak to a tailor about fitting to my body size now, not for some future size, or to look for a photographer who says absolutely nothing about my body. In the same way that I can ignore people checking their apple watches for calories burned or the fitness instructor telling me to crunch for that bikini body.
Some of you may not be there yet, or maybe you’ve never struggled with your body image but suddenly all the pressure from your upcoming wedding is bringing up these thoughts.
If so, this post is for you. So hear me out:
You do not need to lose weight for your wedding. You do not need to take up less space to be a beautiful bride.
Your wedding weight is whatever weight you weigh on your wedding day, not some arbitrary number you might as well have picked out of a hat.
You will look beautiful on your wedding day, no matter what weight you’re at.
So what will I be doing to prepare for my wedding day?
I’ll be working on reducing my stress. Weddings are stressful. There are opinions, planning and all sorts of logistics to finalize. And I won’t pretend like I haven’t cried at least 3 times about it. But I’m trying to remind myself that this is supposed to be a happy occasion and not just a relief after months of planning.
So instead I’m journalling, taking a self-acceptance course, spending time with C and Bodhi, going for facials to care for my skin, nourishing my body with everything from kale to wine and moving my body in a way that makes it feel awesome.
I’m taking care of me. I’m doing things that help raise me up, not tear me down.
I very well could put on 100 lbs before our wedding. And if that’s the case, so be it. It will be a journey C and I can navigate together. More likely, I will remain the exact same weight I’ve been for the last few years (I don’t own a scale so I’m guessing here) because I finally have found a lifestyle that is actually sustainable. A lifestyle that doesn’t involve calories or scales or last-minute alterations because I finally lost those “last 5 pounds”.
A lifestyle that I can share with the partner I chose, and who chose me for the rest of our lives.
*all photos by Bettina Bogar
So nice to see voices reaching people like this. Beauty is so much more valuable when it radiates from within <3
You’re amazing! Loved reading this post and getting an inside look into that gorgeous mind of yours!
xx
I feel the exact same amazingness about you <3
I wish every young girl could read this!!!
I too once thought that it’s almost customary to get into serious shape for your wedding. But honestly, it’s literally just ONE other night with your loved one. All it does is legally establish your love for each other. You already have formed your love six years ago. I don’t see why suddenly tackling on a crazy diet and exercise routine would be necessary! And this may sound cliche, but you’re already exquisitely beautiful the way you are. Your loved ones most certainly feel the same way!
Love this post! I did the same thing as you for my wedding 🙂
You are a total inspiration, and you will make a gorgeous bride 🙂 Thank you so much for posting this.
Don’t be scared to apply this same logic to the other aspects of your wedding… There is waaay too much emphasis on weddings needing to be perfect in every way, and it’s complete BS.
I’m sure you’ll be beautiful and have an amazing day full of great memories no matter what. 🙂
YAY! Good for you for accepting you! (Though some days it is very hard) Someone asked me if I was going to wear Spanx under my dress and I told them I wasn’t even wearing a bra and was letting my back scar hang out in glory. I had 2 other wedding I was in out of state and country + my own bachelorette party the month leading up to my wedding, so there was a lot of partying and indulging, and I just kept having to tell myself that this was the only time in my life that this would happen and it’s time to celebrate all this love, not worry about appearances. There are so many more important things to focus on that day like your partner and all the friends and family who have come to celebrate your union. Focusing on making that the focus (for everyone involved), is IMO a top priority. Enjoy the process!
A beautiful and raw post, absolutely loved reading your message! I actually couldn’t do my wedding dress up 3 days before my wedding day, and even though I could on the day, it wouldn’t have even mattered. Our wedding day was one of the most magical and memorable occasions of our lives, and we look back on that day with so much love and joy. It the happiness and love that you experience on the day that matters! best wishes for you planning, enjoy every single minute of it x
Sharing this for the two weddings I have on my calendar in the winter! I’m not engaged, but I’ve often wondered if this would be something I’d struggle with during my engagement leading up to the big day. In truth, it will be, but, like you have said, you’ve grown to love to take up more space, and so have I. It’s a great (and freeing) feeling! 🙂