A Great Imagination Can Make Anyone Beautiful

I always imagined what my wedding day would be like.  It would be my own fairytale.  My day would be PERFECT!  I would marry a wonderful man, there would be a full length church Mass, a beautiful reception with the most amazing food, and a relaxing fun-filled honeymoon.  My wedding was all this…my dream wedding came true!  How often does that happen?  I am so blessed.

How did I picture myself on my wedding day?  I imagined I was a princess.  Everything about me was perfect.  My hair, my dress, my shoes, my makeup.  A beautiful veil and the loveliest bouquet of flowers ever created.  But I always imagined myself thin…a thin beautiful bride.

I looked in Bride magazines for the perfect dress.  I found a few and went to a bridal shop with my family and friends.  It was so discouraging and upsetting not to be able to try on a dress because it wouldn’t fit.  To this day I cry whenever I watch a TV show when women are trying on wedding dresses until they find the right one.  What a magical moment it is when they walk out of the dressing room in their perfect dress.  Everyone is crying tears of joy.  I wish I had that moment.   I missed out on an amazing moment.  But I had a moment that those ladies didn’t have…I got to get measured, like everyone else but we had to figure out how much extra material we had to order to add to the dress I wanted.  We had to order six yards and the dress had to be re-built.

As the wedding neared we began major re-construction on my dress.  I found a great seamstress with lots of patience.  My friend Faye was there with me for the fittings.  I was so grateful I had her there with me since my mom wasn’t because she lives in NY.

After quite a few fittings and much work the dress was complete.  It was the day for the final fitting.  I was excited, Faye was excited.  I had my moment…it wasn’t what I imagined but it was mine and I had a special friend there to share it with me.

After my wedding I had my dress and everything that went with it preserved and packed so it wouldn’t ruin as if I would ever wear it again.  It would sit in my closet for 11 years before I would even consider pulling it out again.

In December of 2008, my friend Valerie asked me to play Bunco with a group of ladies. Someone in their group couldn’t make it and they needed a sub.  Sure, why not.  It was a blast!  We had lots of fun.   A couple of months later I was asked to join the group as a permanent member.  I was so excited!

That December they had a holiday party with the Bunco group and their husbands.  It was wonderful group of girls and all the husbands got a long so well.  There was so much peer pressure at this party I couldn’t believe it.  I wasn’t exposed to such peer pressure in 20 years. It was the BEST peer pressure and only peer pressure I am truly thankful for.  Stephanie, my friend who first inspired me and started me on my fitness journey, was talking about planks…what the hell is a plank?  So, she started doing planks on the floor…haha.  It was funny. 

Soon the conversation became very serious.  I stood on the sidelines as they all talked about working out and eating right.  I was interested, I wanted to do something.

This is where we first learned about the Boot Camp…Stephanie was telling us all about it.  SOLD!  I was joining.  One of the best decisions I ever made. 

In June of 2010 it was Stephanie’s turn to host Bunco.  She decided to have a wedding theme.  How fun did that sound.  We were all trying to figure out where to get a dress, if we had one hanging around, or if we should wear our own wedding dress.  I decided to wear mine.

My friend Janell, who was also in our Bunco group, was at my house the day I pulled it out of the box.  It was huge, it was so funny, we laughed about it.  I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to pull this off but I was determined to figure out how to keep it on.  TJ suggested we use clamps for the dress, the same kind you use for construction. ..LOL!  I love the way he thinks sometimes.  But that gave me an idea.  We had real big binder clips at work so we used those.

The night of Wedding Day Bunco I did my hair and makeup as best I could.  It wasn’t easy trying to figure out what to do with the veil and my hair, but I managed.  TJ helped me dress.  He rolled the back of the dress as tight as he could and used the binder clips to hold it in place.  I looked as good as I could and I felt great about it.  Mission accomplished!

That evening was so much fun!  Stephanie, Mary, and I were the only ones who wore our wedding dresses.  We all looked damn good to!  Valerie and I took the “clamps” off the back of my dress and she climbed in it with me.  Who would have thought that 2 people would fit in one dress?  I knew I was big but I never realized how big I was until that night we met for Bunco.

I’m so glad we were able to do this.  It truly was my “aha” moment.  That was the day I recognized how far I’ve come.  I was even more excited to share it with the group of ladies who placed that “peer pressure” on me.  I am thankful to all of you especially Stephanie, Valerie, Angie, Janell, Mary G. and Mary A. for your understanding, support, and encouragement.



Before-1998





After-2010