Personal Wedding Prep

Ah, self-improvement, and the sick and twisted ways it manifests for brides-to-be. Obviously, many want to lose weight, and two other big ones are teeth whitening and growing long hair. But then there are the smoothing, shaping, waxing, contact lenses, and laser hair removal that live on some people's lists.

For Fiance and I, it's more about getting into good health and resolving some long-standing health issues that we've had be they dermatological,
gynecological, nervous, podiatric, or otherwise. For myself, I am back on my "Australia Regimen" which consisted of sufficient crunches to look extra nice in a swimsuit, though I've now added more regular pushups, since my arms are about the only body part that will show while wearing my gown. I think I've actually gained a few pounds in muscle mass, but I only ever get weighed when I go to the doctor, so I can't be sure. Fiance has a much more intense workout plan (which is therefore more difficult to stick to), but which is intended to set a lifelong habit and keep good muscle tone, rather than losing weight, per se.

The topic arises for two reasons. One, I had some very non-elective dental surgery today which Fiance joked was part of the wedding improvement plan. While this surgery will have no cosmetic impact whatsoever, it could definitely be included in the "get into good health by the wedding" plan. Second, we recently watched "Follow My Voice", a documentary which features the lovely Mey Bun

(via style.com)

and I got this crazy urge to shave my head. Now, I definitely wouldn't do it before the wedding, since my whole goal is really to look like myself, so I'll be keeping my roughly-chin-length hair probably through the very chilly honeymoon. After that, I'm open to experimentation...which is totally different from the relief that so many brides feel when cutting their hair back to its regular length after having grown it out for an elaborate up-do.

It's a fine line between being the best you and being a new you. Is the most photographed day of your life a great incentive to become a better version of yourself than has ever been before? Absolutely. But did you decide to get married to the people you were at the time or to the long-haired, white toothed, slim, muscled vision of beauty that you're hoping to be on your wedding day?

And if you've ever looked at bridal fashion photography, you might have noticed how angry some of the models look. It's because they're hungry.

(Reuters via heraldsun.com.au)