Well, I am exhausted.

I have traded my traditional Lazy-Sunday for, argh, the gym.
I like to run, especially outdoors, this coming from the girl who had any excuse for not doing PE at school. However, I like to eat food more…
I have never liked anything about exercise. I just had to spell check the word….
Sweating, yuk. Heaving, yuk.
Gym? You mean Jim??
I have never joined one properly. I have paid for one before, been a few times, then just stopped. One hangover too many maybe?

The point is this…. I am doing this.
Last year I lost 10kgs! I was chuffed to bits, but this year- since getting engaged- I have put on 4kgs!!! Disaster.
This is not how its supposed to be!!! Ahhhhhh

Its not just because I am getting married & put on weight or that I want to look utterly stunning for the day, but I seem to have developed a need to raise money for charity, by means of using my body to achieve something.
Weird. I know.
I know loads of people do this, but I have never really appreciated it much before. Though I have sponsored them!

It started with my Prince’s Trust stint- The Tower 42 challenge on 30th September, which I am training for. Now, I seem to be entering runs.
I know!!!
My PE teachers would have a turn.

I also want to help raise money for more local charities.
Maybe I am growing up or maybe I am just ready to do something good with my time??!!! Or maybe I have found a way to stay motivated.

I hear people bang on about it all the time- too much in fact, but I seem to have found it for myself.

So, the thing is, I have realised that I can get Bridal Bodied. I can. I just need to find a better reason than pure vanity!
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good, but I also want to feel good.
Anyway, its like a revelation to me!

I recently got shin splints after running a new track in my new home-town. Ouch. But all this fancy gym equipment gives me a chance to do other cardio instead.
This is all well & good, but I like to have some well-being tossed in. Yoga (love it), Pilates (new to it) & Body Conditioning (terrified of it).

A slight warning to those who are NOT so experienced with their leisure centre gym… the receptionists are worse than useless, there are hidden costs & only go if they have Power Plates!

Right, well I am off to eat : )
Finally.

Got any top tips for us Bridal-Bodied to Be’s? Let us know! We need ALL the help we can get!!

Charlotte xx

I read an article in the Mail online recently (their showbiz column is the best breakfast time reading around!), about a model who had been airbrushed on the cover of Health magazine to make her look  heavier.  Apparently the model had lost so much weight between the initial casting and the shoot, that they had to add inches to her through the photo shopping process to avoid her looking to thin!

The information came to light during a debate over the size zero row, an ongoing issue in the modelling world.

Since I have become engaged, I have probably purchased three times my body weight in wedding magazines, and I have to say, that compared to most fashion magazines I read, the models used in wedding magazines look slightly more real than most (when I say slightly, I mean – at least their ribs aren’t protruding through their dresses. Lets face it, they are still pretty much a vision of unattainable perfection).

This however, has not stopped me from feeling compelled to make myself into a whole new person just for my big day.  With so many things thrown at us – diets, perfect skin, perfect hair, teeth whitening, body wraps, detox’s, facials – the pressure on us brides to look photo perfect for our big day is absolutely ENOURMOUS.  My facebook profile page alone has become a target for every wedding diet plan advert in town! (As I realise that these adverts are targeted at a certain demographic, it had led me to conclude that they assume every engaged girl on facebook is interested in starting some form of weight loss plan).

Indeed, the first thing I did when I got engaged was go on a diet.  I nearly killed myself in the gym (I still am!) because I have convinced myself that I have bingo wings.  Has it worked? Maybe, although no one would ever notice apart from me.  I didn’t have any treats for 3 months and I was pretty miserable.  I was in danger of becoming so hungry that I would be walking down the aisle randomly biting into the guest’s arms, hallucinagenicly mistaking them for cheese and pickle baguettes.

I have now reached the conclusion that yes, exercise is good and eating healthy is very important but as long as you do these two things, your size is was it is.  I am supposed to be this size. I will never be super skinny (it’s easy to write this now, but wait until my next attack of the bridal body blues – then it aint so easy!).

The second thing I did was go out and buy myself a £95 pot of face cream.  This cream is well known and adored by celebrities the world over.  Fresh off a long haul flight, I stared at my haggard reflection and lathered on the cream, expecting to suddenly transform into a Cheryl Cole style glowing vision.

It gave me the worst dry skin I had ever had.

4 weeks later, I switched back to my trusty Olay beauty cream – £4.99? Love it.

My point in all of this is that – yes it’s nice to buy beautiful make up and treat ourselves to a nice moisturiser.  Yes its lovely to go to spa days as a treat,  yes its lovely to eat healthily and its essential to partake in a bit of exercise a few of times a week (yoga? I’m its biggest fan. I am in fact training to become a teacher…)

BUT

At the end of the day, when you walk down the aisle you will look more beautiful than you ever have before, and that’s because you happiness will shine through.

So brides, lets give ourselves a break.  The best beauty treatment you can ever have, where people will give you the most compliments, is a smile.  And you don’t get a smile from eating lettuce 3 times a day do you?

Bring on the cake (and the cheese board… I can’t wait for mine!)

Love

Emma xxx

PS What is your view on Bridal Boot Camps? A quick win or a week of torture? Charlotte and I are currently researching this topic and want to hear your views!

With my wedding dress fitting looming, it was with a heavy heart that I began to think about getting my wedding lingerie.  Why a heavy heart I hear you ask? Surely getting lingerie should be fun and make you feel gorgeous?

Well not for me.  I am an F cup, and while this should be something most girls would be happy about, trying to find nice lingerie to fit has always been an impossible nightmare. I have lost count of the number of stores I have stood in who haven’t had my size or who have said I need to see a ‘specialist’.  The thought of trying to find some underwear to go with my wedding dress filled me with horror.

And then my friend who got married last year said:

‘Why don’t you just go to Rigby & Peller?’

To be honest, I had never considered it. I made an appointment (they give you your own time slot so you have your own assistant and can look after you), and trotted down to Knightsbridge…

 ….and walked into a little piece of heaven.

 Here are some images from their current bridal collection. Hot or what?

The assistant who served me was the sweetest girl ever. She instantly made me feel better by saying ‘You aren’t big. That’s a great size.  Look, I’m an H and I have got some lovely underwear on. I have got loads we can try on you’.  

And you know what? She was right. The service was fab. She tried lots of different styles on me, and was honest enough to say ‘nope, I have seen better’, when they didn’t fit quite right.  I genuinely felt for the first time ever like I was enjoying the whole process! 

I ended up buying several bras, for the wedding and for every day, all of them really reasonably priced (and lets face it, when you are spending goodness knows how much on a wedding dress you may as well get a decent bra to go with it!), and all of them fit PERFECTLY. I have probably lost about 2 inches off my waist just by wearing the right bra! 

And the best bit?…. 

‘Have you got your bikini yet for honeymoon?’ asked the shop assistant. 

Now if you think bras are an issue, you should see the problem I have with bikinis…. 

‘Well no’ I said, trying to push out my head an image of me squashed into a saggy bikini top and too small bottoms.. 

‘Come back in a month or so, and we will get you some lovely beach wear from our summer collection to try on’ 

Yippeeeee! 

So Big Up to Rigby &Peller. I salute you. Enjoy the pictures girls! 

Emma xxx