Your Body is Wedding Ready Just As It is
As we're heading through January and I have seen the annual influx of diet culture posts and goals, I wanted to take a moment to say that you are enough. Your body is wedding ready just as it is. I'm going to talk about this because there are not enough wedding photographers talking about it.
Instagram constantly tells us that a size 10 isn't skinny enough or that our unphotoshopped hips are not the right shape for a sexy girl aesthetic. Every January brings in the reminder that society thrives on telling us everything we need to fix and change about ourselves. These industries thrive on targeting women and individuals with any insecurity compared to the constant social media posts of filtered, unrealistic humans. I am a writer focusing on the wedding industry and intimate body experiences. I am responsible for combating the toxic mess of resolutions revolving around being skinny or aesthetically pleasing on social media.
You do not need to be skinny to be a beautiful bride (or groom).
You do not need to be skinny to look gorgeous in a wedding gown (or alternative outfit).
You do not need to be skinny to be worthy of your partner's love.
You do not need to lose weight to be your dream version of yourself for your wedding day.
You do not need to pretend your stretch marks don't exist to feel sexy for yourself and your partner.
You do not need to break yourself just because that is what you see everyone else doing for their weddings.
You do not have to cover your body up because society finds realness unconventional.
As you're planning for your day, say a big "fuck you" to wedding dress designers who have decided it's normal to size their dresses a higher number than street clothes. Keep in mind that this is not a you problem. Sizes and numbers are a scam made to profit off of you. Remember that you matter in the body you have now. We are not meant to send our bodies into survival mode for the sake of other people. It is not realistic to drastically change ourselves for the sake of aesthetics of one day.
Be relentlessly yourself. The boldest and most nontraditional thing you can do for yourself, especially during wedding season, is relentlessly love yourself. Take up space and demand society to fuck off. Stay hydrated, and nourish your body, but enjoy life. I dare you to embrace everything about yourself. Move your body and care for yourself, but do it from a place of honoring your body instead of punishment. Your body carries you through this life, and your only duty is to love it with kindness and gentleness.
As you're planning your wedding, let go of the expectations for your body. Give yourself the space to exist as you are. That is the you that you deserve to remember as you make memories. Those memories are so much more authentic. You deserve authenticness. You are never going to reach your final form because you are constantly a work in progress. Embrace the real, the messy, and the hard. We were never made to fit into the perfect curated squares of reels of social media.