Plus Size Brides -- You CAN Find a Wonderful Wedding Gown!

For many women, the idea of being a size 4 or a size 6 on their wedding day is completely misguided. Even the notion of trying to squeeze into a size 10 or 12 is impossible for some. Let's face it-most women are at least a few pounds overweight, and many women have quite a lot of extra pounds on them.

In fact, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm), more than half of all women are overweight. Their statistics (taken from data from between the years of 2001 and 2004) say that of women ages 20-34, more than 51% can be considered overweight. For women in the next age bracket, ages 35-44, the percentage is even higher-it jumps up to about 60%.

Now, think about what that means for a moment. Most women end up getting married between the ages of 20 and 44, right? So we can look at these percentages and conclude that probably around half (or more) of the women who are currently planning their weddings are overweight.

I'm not saying that women shouldn't try to lose weight. I am not saying that every woman should just throw in the towel, forget about trying to become healthy, and just plan to wear a plus size wedding dress. Some women will be able to shed their extra weight during their engagement, meaning they will be able to wear a standard sized dress at their wedding. But, for some women, this task is insurmountable. Sure, these woman may try, and they may lose a good deal of weight-but, if a woman is significantly overweight to begin with (or even obese, though I despise that word), she will be unlikely to drop all of her excess pounds that quickly. That wouldn't be healthy, anyway-weight loss should be slow and steady.