We all have that moment as Brides to be that inspires how we want to ‘look’ on the day.
Whether it is an old photo of your beautiful mum on her day, a picture in a magazine, or a collection of images found on pinterest or in the case of our Graceful Bride Vicky an Instagram picture. Here she explains how one image helped her find her beauty inspiration and put her back track looking after her body and skin ahead of her big day…
I’ve never been a small girl. I’m pushing 6ft tall (and have been for as long as I can remember) and I inherited my Dads shoulders and he used to be a prop! Therefore I’ve accepted that a size 8 I ain’t and never will be!
Not too long into the start of our relationship I moved out to Paris for work so spent 15 months going back and forth between the UK and France. When I was in Paris I spent all my time living off meals in restaurants, junk food, bread and cheese (who wouldn’t!) and crew food, which isn’t great! By the time I’d get back home for my days off I’d be exhausted and again just live off junk and any exercise regime went out the window.
When I eventually moved back I was the biggest I’d ever been and really needed to sort it out. I spent a few years just watching what I was eating and exercising more and eventually got to a weight I’d not been at since I was a teenager but then I stalled and couldn’t lose any more. Trouble is I was still eating a load of sugar (I would live off chocolate if I could) and not really putting good stuff in my body.
A few months after we got engaged an Australian brand called Grace Loves Lace came to London on a special one off with their wedding dresses (well worth a look if you’ve not heard of them but want a slinky/flowing lace boho style dress). I was looking through their Instagram one night and came across one photo and Rob was like, hide it, I don’t want to see you in any dresses. It wasn’t me in the photo though so I clicked on the models Instagram page (good bit of stalking lol), didn’t know how he could think I looked like this stunning girl (granted the picture was from behind) until I got to one of the official modelling ones and discovered we were virtually the same measurements everywhere.
Photo Credit: BREE WARREN https://instagram.com/p/9D74K6xeEi/
She though was toned and looked amazing in a bikini, me, not so much. So she’s become my body inspiration for the wedding, (#belikeBree!) I kinda put myself in a bad position after Christmas as well, we were both ill so just ate whatever was around, mainly out of comfort, and I put on a fair bit of weight. Standard January diet was on the cards until I heard of Joe Wicks and his Lean in 15 book so that is what I’m trying. Although I’m finding it hard to stick strictly to it with my shifts so am half doing it at the moment, the weightloss is going though so I must be doing something right.
As I’ve mentioned before I love a bit of Pinterest but one day was really shocked when I came across a wedding timeline for beauty that involved things like when to get your teeth whitened and top up your Botox!! One good thing about living in Paris was having ample time to try nearly every skincare brand you can find in a French pharmacy.
I’ve always been a bit obsessive about my skin, anyone who’s been on a long flight will know how drying it can be and I didn’t want to end up looking twice my age so French pharmacies are an absolute goldmine! The U.K. is beginning to cotton on to some of these brands and you can get them now online and from certain shops/spas. Well worth a look if you want to treat yourself to some new skincare, it may seem pricey but a little goes a long way.
This picture is the ones you’ll always find on my dressing table, I can’t live without them! Plus, and this might sound a bit extravagant, but I’d also recommend seeing a good beauty therapist for a facial if you want any advice on your skin. I’m lucky where we live and we have a fantastic day spa where I spend way too much time and money but their advice has just been invaluable! But if you can’t pamper yourself and have a little bit of de-stressing me time in the run up to your wedding then when can you!!
