Your wedding makeover

Being a bride can be a stressful experience. There’s the venue to organise, guests to invite, not to mention good weather to cross your fingers for. But with all eyes firmly trained on you, weddings can also prove daunting if you’re not feeling your beautiful best.

With the prospect of posing for photographs that will forever be framed on your mantlepiece, it’s not uncommon for women to become self-conscious ahead of their big day, focusing on their diet and exercise in order to slim down and shape up. But what if it’s not hundreds, but millions of people tuning in to see your nuptials?

Before her wedding to Prince William in 2011, insiders estimated Kate Middleton lost around two dress sizes thanks to a regular workout regime and her commitment to the Dukan Diet. Katy Perry also reportedly made changes to her diet before her nuptials to Russell Brand, opting to follow the advice of Harley Pasternak, author of The 5-Factor Diet to get in shape.

But these days it’s not just diet and exercise that brides are focussing on ahead of their big day. In 2010, a reality TV show drew worldwide attention to the emerging trend of the more ‘extreme’ bridal makeover.

Bridalplasty filmed brides competing against each other in a series of challenges for a chance to win cosmetic surgery procedures before their big day. Winners were able to choose their most desired procedure, before revealing their results to friend, family and – most importantly – the groom.

Whilst the show proved controversial, the series’ resident plastic surgeon Dr Terry Dubrow believes the series was an accurate reflection of what happens in real life.

‘It’s very common in a plastic surgeon’s office for a bride-to-be to come in and want to take a bump off the nose, pin her ears back or maybe make her breasts a little bit larger for her wedding dress,’ he says.

A year later and bridal makeovers were making news once again, with a bridal expo in the US hitting the headlines for raffling off US$400 worth of anti-wrinkle injections to prospective brides.

Whilst the popularity of cosmetic procedures in general has boomed, one explanation for the growth in surgical bridal makeovers is the fact women are putting off marriage until later in life. Whereas we used to wed in our late teens and early 20s, in Australia the average age for women to marry for the first time is now 29, and an increasing number are leaving it until their 30s before settling down. Indeed, the number of second weddings, later in life, is also on the up.

So, what are the popular cosmetic treatments being considered by brides?

According to the American Association for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), procedures such as Botox or Dysport injections, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion and chemical peels are quick ways for brides and their bridesmaids to improve their appearance for a wedding. However, often, they’re opting for more invasive procedures, too.

Body-contouring procedures such as a tummy tuck, arm lift or lower body lift as well as procedures such as breast augmentation and breast reduction may help brides achieve their desired wedding day appearance – putting the finishing touches to the dream dress.

‘Many prospective brides – and grooms – get liposuction so they can look good in their gown and on their honeymoon,’ an Atlanta-based plastic surgeon said.

‘If you are planning to undergo liposuction before your wedding, do it about a month before to look great in your wedding gown. If you want to put on your bikini and show off your new figure, you need a month for bruising to go away.’ csbm