When you get engaged, it’s assumed you’re going to lose weight for your wedding. Nearly a third of brides want to lose weight, usually at least 20 lbs, before they tie the knot (or really, before what may be the most photographed day of their lives). This means brides are marketed diets, pills, supplements, and exercise fads as if their lives depended on it.
I’ve already established that I’m not a great bride, and it turns out, losing weight for my wedding has been struck from the list of things I’m going to do, too. With three weeks to go until the big day, I’m still not sure I’m going to fit into the dress I bought when we first got engaged.
But here are the things I’m doing instead:
- Eating whatever the hell I want
- Shopping for fancy shoes
- Throwing a kickass bachelorette party
- Traveling to destinations both familiar and not
- Getting better at my job by studying new techniques
- Signing two new clients
- Concentrating on being healthy rather than thin
- Practicing gratitude by writing thank-you cards for all the presents
- Reorganizing the seating chart for the reception on the daily
- Trying to figure out how I can get all the people I couldn’t invite to come to an after-party after the wedding
- Seeing plenty of live music, theater, and movies
- Writing and rewriting my vows
- Trying several different antidepressant medications until I can find one that works for me
I confess — I’m going to a personal trainer twice a week, but not to lose weight. I’m trying to build on some muscle mass and stave off osteoporosis.
I’ll try my dress on the night before we head out of town, and if it fits, hurrah, and if not… I’ll find a good tailor or buy a new one.