"like Sarah Jessica Parker or Gwyneth Paltrow"

I am a woman and why would you want to have a body like either of these broads? I think it's a white woman who is too rich to do anything else thing to look up to these two. I've never looked at Paltrow and thought "wow her body is perfection!". I've never thought that about her face, or her style or anything.

White rich women have these weird celebrities they are super into. Jennifer Anniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Parker. None of these women are bad looking, but in my mind they are not spectacular that you have to copy your body to look like them. Every single time I pick up a women's magazine I hear nothing but raves for them. Huh? Am i missing something?

There are so many other beautiful white chicks out there, I mean stunning women and you put Jennifer Annistons body in my face? Yuck.

I...I...can't even...brain...hurts.

My mom accompanied me to David's Bridal to get my wedding dress 5 years ago. Their dresses run small, so I had to get a size 14 instead of my usual 10. My mom commented to the saleslady that I needed to lose 10 pounds, to which the saleslady replied, "No, she does NOT." It was nice of her to defend me, but my mom has been crazy for several years now. Menopause, I think.

This is the same woman whom I called yesterday to tell her that I've lost 7 pounds in 6 weeks due to cutting carbs, so I now weigh 144 pounds at 5'0". She said I should start eating more.

I understand the sentimental draw of wearing your grandmother's wedding dress. But do you think she would want you starting yourself??

You're lucky you even have the dress. MY grandmother's wedding dress was left behind when they fled the communists in 1948.

Two things --

If you're 25 lbs overweight, that's carrying a cinder block around with you everywhere you go. Or, look in the supermarket, a really big Butterball turkey. Nobody wants to think about that, but there you go.

Then, remember what Amy has said before: don't let yourself go just because you got married. You're going to be very unhappy if you do.

This applies to both of you.

Couldn't you use pieces of the dress and incorporate it into a new dress or something? Make a paneled skirt?

From the article:

... [A] music entrepreneur in Brooklyn who got engaged in November, ordered the BluePrintCleanse, which costs $65 a day for six bottles of organic juice ...

BluePrint actively courts brides, even suggesting on its Web site “a cleanse with your whole bridal party.”

What a bachelorette party that must be. Sure beats the Chippendales, doesn't it?

@amy:

> To me, Salma Hayek is stunning beauty.

Amen!

You know what I did when I was choosing my wedding gown (way back in 1989, for the record)? I actually bought one in my size (12, because I've always had curves, albeit in the right places) instead of trying to starve myself into a stick figure! I looked and felt great, and I could actually fit into my dress and move around and dance and all that good stuff you should be able to do at a wedding! Oy, I wonder about people sometimes! :-)

My mom had a bridal shop for 25 years and, more often than not, prospective brides would order a dress far smaller than they were, with a plan to be that size when it came in. This worked out well about 2% of the time.

Rosario Dawnson. Booooiing!

Amy has touched on something bigger here than the girl's weight or the size of the dress. She has focused on the wrong thing. The point of the wedding is the marriage and not the whole "I am a Pretty Princess" party. Women spend way too much time worried about some idealized version of their wedding day than thinking about all of the days that come after.

I have been thinking of this a lot because I keep seeing the advertisements for that movie about the five year engagement. To me its simple, you want to married go do it. No need to wait for the perfect time, size or dress. If you want to be married that is what should come first, the rest is just window dressing. I had a simple wedding that took no time at all to plan. When I hear stories like this, I start to wonder how long the actual marriage will last.

I read about this yesterday... in addition to the feeding-tube diet being only 800 calories, it's also low-carb.

I think some people need to do something "extreme" to feel like it's working. I tend to be that way about my face... I want whatever the derm or facialist is doing to burn, damn it! A facial that's just a bunch of steam and masks is kind of meh...give me an acid peel or something involving lazers or needles!

Although weight has never been an issue for me, I lost weight when I was getting married. Actually, the lady who did my alterations told me that MOST brides lose weight in the final weeks because of the stress of planning the event. I don't understand why someone would buy a dress that's too small, though. Of course, there are even people who will get lipo or a boob job leading up to their wedding, but I think they're the type to end up on Bridezillas.

I'm not normally totally low-carb, but last week I noticed some fat I could pinch on my waist so I've cut most of the carbs and all of the wheat... and I've lost about 4 pounds over the last week. I did have a drumstick ice cream cone and a margarita yesterday, but I don't normally keep that kind of stuff around the house to tempt me. I don't eat a lot of carbs anyway- not a big fan of bread or rice, and don't keep sweets around because I have no self control- but I do have a trigger weight where I'll REALLY go LC. If you let yourself gain "just a couple of pounds a year," before you know it, you've gained 30. Husband's weight has fluctuated a good 30 pounds since we got together about 10 years ago while mine has remained pretty steady, even though he's typically had work that keeps him physically active while I have sedentary office jobs. He just can't get over wanting potatoes or grains at every meal, and he also loves beer. So, he's got middle-aged body and I still wear a 0 or 2.

I don't think men like Gwenyth Paltrow. I KNOW they don't like SJP. I think Jennifer Anniston is super-cute, though... I hope I'm that toned in my 40's. Husband has the hots for Jessica Biel and Eva Mendes.

It really doesn't matter if or how she loses weight before the wedding. Most guys know wives don't get skinnier after the wedding.

A lot of those stars probably eat low carb when they are working but not necessarily high fat.

If I were a guy who saw a serious lack of perspective in a woman vis a vis the wedding, I'd think twice about marrying her

If my intended started walking around with an NG tube stuck up her nose, for no good reason than to fit into a dress for a few hours, I'd run away screaming. 'Course, I'm older now and have had quite my fill of crazy.

"It really doesn't matter if or how she loses weight before the wedding. Most guys know wives don't get skinnier after the wedding." Isomber.

And what leads you to believe that what the guy thinks matters to anyone? /rant.

When looking at this, I thought back to what a friend of mine did when marrying a Japanese woman in Japan... he proposed, and she wanted to do it the next day, which took him by surprise... It shouldn't have, since he had lived in country for a while, but the actually getting hitched part is potentially quite separate from the 'party' to celebrate the wedding, separate from going to temple or church to get some kind of blessing. They had a really beautiful wedding later, where the families attended and such... but the whole thing was a bit different.

I had my wedding dress custom made. Didn't even have to worry about what "size" it was. I have no clue. My seamstress did the measurements, made the dress and it was beautiful. Just celebrated my 14th wedding anniversary. Oh, and I'm trying really hard to de-carb, but as easy as Amy makes it sound, it's kinda hard. On the up side, I LOVE bacon!

Gwyneth has pre-osteoporosis and is pretty upfront about it. Her macrobiotic diet is lacking in calcium, as well as fat and almost everything else a body needs. But she looks skinny now, and damn the future!

I worked in a bridal store a few years after high school. I almost never had a bride get a larger size. It didn't zip? Oh, I'll lose weight!". Yeah, sure. You're just this size right now because that's what you want to be.

I regret my giant, expensive wedding. We could have taken a luxury trip around the world with the money.

>>"And what leads you to believe that what the guy thinks matters to anyone? /rant."

Is that sarcasm? Forgive me for being cynical, but more women today are more interested in the wedding than the marriage.

Before Atkins, in 1964, an MD by the name of Melvin Anchell wrote a book called
"How I lost 36,000 Pounds" It was later updated and called the "Stem Lovers Diet." He was vague on the science; however, he was basing his book on lots of experience as an MD.
His work was based on Dr. A. W. Pennington.

His basic premise is that you will lose 2 pounds of fat a week as long as you strictly limit the types and quantity of carbs, Anything with even a trace of sugar "bacon" is not on allowed on the diet. He allows small amounts of potatoes. The basic carb load is under 70 grams a day,

He has theories why it works, but the science is murky. I know that it works and his claims are accurate.
What is interesting is that during the weight loss period he says not to eat any cheese or eggs. After you get to the weight you want you can add cheese and eggs back in , however, you will immediately gain ~5 pounds and the weight loss will stop. He was about 93 when he died so the diet didn't kill him

"I regret my giant, expensive wedding. We could have taken a luxury trip around the world with the money."

I tried to convince my fiance of this, but he refused to budge. Instead, we're dropping a disgusting sum of money the whole "sunset wedding on the beach in San Diego, followed by black tie dinner reception" thing. I mean, we're paying cash ourselves, but still, I'd rather blow 20K on an around the world vacation and still save money. Whatever, he's happy and I suppose that's what really matters. :)

"I think Jennifer Anniston is super-cute, though... I hope I'm that toned in my 40's"

Can you explain the Anniston phenomenon to me? I just don't get it. Yeah she's sorta kinda attractive in a cute way I guess....and again I guess...and I think without the hair she wouldn't be Jen Anniston.

I mean she's alright in terms of talent and looks so why the craze?

Wedding photos are for ever?
PHOTOSHOP, girl.

@purplepen... I really have no idea. I don't get celebrity worship- Maybe it's because she's not remarkably stunning, but was married to Brad Pitt? She's non-threatening. Or because women who are in their 30's and 40's really liked Friends?

I don't think I've ever heard a guy mention that he thinks she's attractive, though. I don't read gossip rags often, and don't understand the obsession with her. She must have a really good publicist.

It's the Kim Kardashian that I don't understand. I can see why men find her attractive, but it's women keeping her in the news... I don't get that. At least we haven't been hearing much about Paris Hilton lately.

"It's the Kim Kardashian that I don't understand. "

Ah thanks for the explanation. It must be a Friends thing.(I hated that show).

I actually get why Kimmy K gets in the news. They're trashy but wealthy. One thing I find hilarious is that Kim K can't dance and makes a shit ton of money on club appearances (around 100K per appearance). All she does is sit in a bar stool and text message and doesnt even drink.

In addition to the feeding-tube diet being only 800 calories, it's also low-carb.
I noticed that too, when I watched the video at the link.
When I got my dress, I had to order a much larger size in order to fit over my boobs, and then wound up taking in about 8-10 inches in the waist.
My wedding was tiny, and cost about $1,500, including my dress.
Immediate family, in the park, and dinner at a local restaurant afterward. Dinner was the most expensive, hubby has three siblings, and I have five. My husband wanted to have a big wedding with all of the extended families, plus friends. Then we had our son, and he decided that being married was more important than having everyone witness it. The compromise is that for our 5- or 10-year anniversary, we'll have the big reception/party with everyone, when we have something substantial to celebrate.
I didn't lose any weight on purpose for the wedding, (I did lose about 5 lbs in the week or so leading up to it, but it was post baby, and most likely due to that) and I don't understand the obsession with being perfect for one day.

Since so many are sharing wedding memories:

My ex and I spent about 10k for all wedding-related expenses, including all of the rings, the honeymoon, and travel from WA to AZ for the wedding.

I remember little about that day. The night before, I had spent almost the entire reception dinner clinging to a toilet for dear life. I'm sure the wedding was pleasant, but I'm not much for being the center of attention, so it's pretty hazy.

One of the best moments for me was that night, after we had driven up to Phoenix (to fly out for the honeymoon). It seemed absurd to spend a few hundred bucks for a suite we would occupy for about 3 hours, so we cancelled and opted instead for a Waffle House dinner and the luxurious Motel 6. A cockroach crawled out of the drain while we brushed our teeth, and after the initial screams we laughed hysterically at ourselves, eating Waffle House in wedding attire and habitating with cockroaches on what is supposed to be a gold plate occasion.

This attitude is kind of annoying to me. "It's just for the wedding! Then when we're on the honeymoon, I will balloon up like a parade float and my husband still has to love me, otherwise he's a shallow jerk who deserves to be stuck with a fat pig for a wife."

Meloni, eating at Waffle House in wedding attire is adorable. I had my wedding on the patio of a casual Mexican restaurant. The patio was beautiful and they charged us nothing for the space, so I was able to buy my poofy dress and tiara and still come in under budget. What I didn't think about was the bathrooms. After the ceremony I went inside the restaurant to use the facilities and couldn't figure out at first why everyone was staring. What, nothing to see here...just your average, ordinary girl in full-tilt wedding gown, veil and tiara during the Saturday lunch rush.

I regret my giant, expensive wedding. We could have taken a luxury trip around the world with the money.

Posted by: Insufficient Poison at April 17, 2012 10:37 AM
________________________________

Speaking of that, check out the comments in response to Betsy Hart's column on the Citi credit card commercial featuring a female rock climber.

(You have to click on the link within to read Hart's column. As you can see, I threw in two comments of my own. What was surprising was how many negative comments her column got - her blog doesn't get many comments in general, and I'd always assumed most of the readers were fans of hers.)

http://www.betsysblog.com/wordpress/2012/04/06/column-climbing-a-rock-but-getting-nowhere/#comments

Anyway, while I didn't see the commercial, Hart claimed that it implies that having expensive fun with your "partner" is more worthwhile than actually getting married, which is not what "most women" would agree with. Others denied this interpretation, saying: "Nothing says that the two don’t get married, just that they made unconventional, and less materialistic (such as buying a diamond ring) decisions about what to do with their money." Trouble is, from what I've found, the ad DOES imply that the woman rejects a marriage proposal, not merely the diamond.

And, to my knowledge, Hart does not endorse materialism of any kind, whether it's rings or expensive weddings - just the need for women to admit it when they really DO want to get married (soon) instead of blindly following trends, whether they make them happy or not.