You’ve finally found your perfect dress and you cannot wait to have everyone’s eyes on you as you glide down the aisle. As you spin around in the wedding shop mirror, you envision your hair done beautifully, your flawless makeup and the flashbulbs of all the cameras focused on you. However, as you turn sideways you can’t help but focus in on your trouble areas, and you vow to lose those five to 10 extra pounds before you wear your dress again.

Abigail Swan has been a wedding dress consultant at Beauty Bridal in Minneapolis for the past 20 years. She has helped brides of all shapes and sizes find their perfect gowns, and offers the following advice for brides to be.

Crash dieting

“The most common problem with brides that I encounter is crash dieting,” Swan said.

She said that is very common for brides to purchase their dress many months before their wedding, and then wait until about two months beforehand to get the dress alterations done. Within those two months, she has noticed that brides tend to crash diet or do extreme cut backs to try to fit into tighter alterations and to look their best for their weddings.

“Crash dieting is not only dangerous, but counterproductive for brides,” Swan said. “Brides who crash diet don’t get the nutrients or energy they need for their big day.”

As a wedding dress consultant, she has attended many of her clients’ weddings and witnessed first-hand what crash diet brides go through.

“They do it to look their best, but they really end up looking tired with baggy eyes and sunken cheeks, and they don’t have the energy for all the excitement,” Swan said.

 

Over-worked

Besides crash dieting, Swan said that many brides become “work-outaholics” in the final months before their weddings.

“Brides who work out too much after alterations can also cause problems,” said Swan.

When you work out, you can lose inches off your body, but you can also gain some in muscle mass, which means dresses won’t be altered to the right form.

“Girls come in all the time for their final fitting with shoulders and arms that are more toned than before and we have to re-alter their gowns,” Swan said. “Yes, it’s a positive change for them, but it’s another alteration we have to do, which means more money the brides have to pay.”

 

Doing it the hard way

“The only way to get the results that most brides want is to do it the hard, classic way,” Swan said. “Brides just need to be conscious of what they eat and make sure they are getting plenty of exercise.”

She said many brides use nutritionists as consultants or join a gym to work with a personal trainer to get specific advice about the area they want to work on most.

“This type of change doesn’t happen over night, but it’s the healthiest and safest way to look your best,” Swan said.

 

It all comes down to the dress

“The most important lesson for brides to learn about dresses is to buy one that fits them just the way they are,” Swan said. “The perfect dress will make you look fabulous whether you think you need lose that extra 10 pounds or not.”

She said many brides will order down a size with the hope that it will be motivation for them to lose more weight.

“Brides need to order dresses that fit them and they feel comfortable in,” Swan said. “Adding more pressure to yourself to fit a smaller size is only going to make you more stressed and not excited about your wedding, which misses the whole point of getting married altogether.”

Whether you have your dress or are still looking, keep in mind that smaller isn’t always better. Pick a dress that you can be comfortable being you in. Remember to be healthy and smart about your dieting decisions and to not add any extra pressure to your already stressed agenda.