Image is Everything?

Wedding days often mean that everything has to be just right. The right music, the most perfect-colour flowers, delicious food, the guests all behaving themselves, perfect weather, rings not mislaid, and a groom and/or best man not hung over from the stag do. Most of all, it means a bride who can stand there at the altar in 'The Dress', make-up flawless, hair effortlessly styled, and, above all, looking as slim and beautiful as she has ever looked.

They say that a bride always looks lovely, but it certainly takes some work! With all the magazines, from Cosmo to Perfect Bride, telling us what's in and out of style and how to plan the perfect day, together with OK and Hello full of celebrities showing us how it's done, it's easy for a bride to feel inadequate. Now, I have The Dress, the venue is secured, a string quartet booked, and the days are beginning to speed ever closer to the big day.

With this in mind, but not purely for the sake of the wedding, I have begun using the Nintendo Wii Fit, and have actually lost over a stone during the past few months. Not that I believe that women have to be thin to be attractive, but that is the media-produced ideal in our society, and hard to fight. That being said, I know I could be a lot healthier and fitter, with losing weight being a large part of this, and so far, so good.

I recently published an article on the benefits and enjoyment of using the Wii Fit system. These include the lack of embarrassment and money spent on joining a gym, the ability to exercise in your own time in your own home, and the fun of competing against yourself, your partner, or your friends for higher and higher scores on each exercise-related 'game'. There is a varied mixture of aerobics, muscle toning, balance exercises, and yoga, together with a body test that measures posture, BMI and weight using the 'balance board'. It really is fun and good for you at the same time.

So, I'm not saying that I'm about to buy into the media and celebrity-created ideal of exactly what a bride should look like, but I do know I'd like to look my best on what will be one of the most important days of my life, so I'm sticking to the Wii Fit, and the diet, and come next September I just hope the photos show a welcome truth to all my hard work!