Staying Body Positive While Planning a Wedding

Planning a wedding is one of the most stressful things a person can do. There’s a limited amount of time to get everything done, your to-do list feels like it’s a mile long, there’s so much budgeting to do, and on top of everything else, you’re supposed to look like the best possible version of yourself. You need perfect skin, you need to be 20 pounds lighter, and your hair must be gorgeous. That’s friggin’ exhausting….and it’s also bullshit. I honestly believe staying body positive and loving yourself is one way to reduce stress when planning a wedding. I’ve been there. I know how insane it can get. Staying body positive won’t be easy because voices on all sides will be telling your otherwise, but I’m here to say that the body you have right now is awesome enough to get married.

If your hair doesn’t get long enough or it’s not the right color, if you break out or if you don’t lose any weight, what happens? You feel like a failure. You feel like you’re ugly and unworthy to walk down the aisle. That’s ridiculous because how you look has nothing to do with who you are and how much your love your significant other.

Buy a Dress that Fits You, Not One You Want to Fit You

I think wedding dress shopping is one of the best parts of planning a wedding, but I’m also a big fan of clothing, glitter and rhinestones. GIVE ME ALL THE TULLE! When you find your dress, you have to order it and wait months for it to arrive. These months are “make it or break it” for many brides who think they can lose enough weight in that time to fit into a smaller size.

So you’ve found a dress you love, you spent A LOT of money on it, and now you’re gambling with the size so when it shows up, it may not even fit you. Weddings are hard, and there’s no reason to pile on additional pressure to fit into a dress two sizes smaller than your average size. You are a beautiful human. YOU ARE A STUNNING HUMAN. The dress size has absolutely nothing to do with your worth. You’re going to be a beautiful bride no matter what the tag reads. Losing weight in order to fit into a dress can be a damaging priority, both to your mental and physical health. There’s nothing wrong with losing weight. Moving your body, eating food packed with nutritional goodness, or joining a gym is great! Remember, though, that losing weight is a side effect of those things, NOT A PRIORITY. When weight loss motivation stops you from going to dinner with a friend, when it becomes an obsession, when it makes you cry because you didn’t lose enough, when you stop eating as much as you should be, etc., it is debilitating. Do what makes you happy, especially when you’re planning a wedding. And if you do happen to lose weight before the big day, cool. It’s much easier to take a dress in than let it out.

Understand that Your Skin Reacts Differently Under Stress

Planning a wedding is stressful, and everyone’s body reacts to stress a little differently. For some people, skin starts breaking out. This isn’t something to feel ashamed about, but I do recognize that it can be frustrating. I deal with hormonal acne and stress acne, and even though I wish it wasn’t there, I recognize that it’s a part of me and it makes me no less of a person. I’m still worthy of love and acceptance, and I was worthy of feeling like a motherfucking queen on my wedding day. If you break out, you break out. It’s a part of life, and you can still get married! There’s nothing wrong with starting a skincare routine before your wedding to help (it’s always a good idea to care for our skin since it’s the largest organ on our body!), but recognize that even with acne, you’re still wonderful.

My mood walking into my wedding with acne:

Anyone Who Tries to Tell You How to Change Before Your Wedding Can F@$% Off

This really grinds my gears. The moment you say you’re planning a wedding, people want to know what you’re doing to change the way you look. It’s like an automatic give-in that you’ll start dieting, coloring your hair, waxing all your body hair off or whatever. There are millions of search results for dieting, exercise and beauty tips before you get married. Do what you want to do because it’s in YOUR best interest, not because people expect you to look a certain way. If the people in your life are pressuring you to change how you look before your wedding, screw them.

Happy wedding planning, babes! XOXO, Alicia

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