Fashion Blogs

A size-20 bride who went on to lose seven stone celebrated her weight loss by having her wedding gown HALVED.

Joanne Dicken has used the new dress to pose for unbelievable 'before and after' photos, having started to shed weight in the weeks after she tied the knot.

Within eight months, the 26-year-old had shed seven stone and realised she was able to fit into one of her size-10 pink bridesmaid dresses.

Her seamstress grandma Sharron Wilkes then decided to make Joanne's wedding dress SIX dress sizes smaller so the newlywed could still fit into her gown.

Joanne, who works at IKEA, said: "I got so fed up of being overweight and it really started to affect my health, so I couldn't believe how quickly the weight dropped off me.

"I was over the moon when I could fit into one of my bridesmaids' dresses, and then my nan suggested I try my wedding dress on as well.

"It was absolutely huge on me and made me realise how far I'd come."

"I was so excited when my nan altered it so it would still fit me," she continued. "I felt like a completely different person putting it back on a year after our wedding day.

"I showed my husband and he was gobsmacked, he said he doesn't recognise the old me anymore."

Joanne, from West Bromwich, West Mids, put on weight while running a pub with 34-year-old husband Matthew, thanks to the late nights, bar snacks and frequent fizzy drinks such as Coke and WKDs.

When they married in August 2014, Joanne was an unhappy size-20 and weighed 15st 9lb but resolved to do something about her size.

She finally took action later that year when they sold the pub, and vowed to stop eating takeaways every night.

Despite trying numerous diet plans in the past, it was smartphone app My Fitness Pal that finally helped her to shed the pounds.

Joanne said: "I got really upset about my weight, going shopping and not being able to find anything that fit right. All of a sudden I decided enough was enough.

"When we ran the pub, we had such hectic lives, with takeaways every night. It was always just easier to get a pizza from the takeaway next door.

"We ate bacon or sausage rolls for breakfast, crisps and nuts throughout the day, takeaways for dinner and pints of Coke or alcopops in the evening.

"Matthew put on two stone as well but he's since lost that as his new job as a machine operator is a lot more physical."

My weight starting giving me a lot of aches and pains and I would sometimes be awake in the night crying," she added.

"I downloaded the app and it was hard starting a diet at Christmas, but the more weight that came off, the more addictive it was," Joanne continued.

"You set a calorie limit based on your weight and can scan the barcode on whatever you eat and it tells you the calories.

"I allowed myself 1,200 calories a day but it was hard to limit myself at the beginning. I would weigh 30g of cereal and be really disappointed.

"I'd think, 'Where's the rest of it?!' I ate a lot of Weetabix, jacket potatoes and vegetables.

"I ate just 1,200 calories every day until I hit 9st 7lb.

"From then on it was just about maintaining my weight and a healthy BMI. Now I weigh 8st 9lb."

read more:red formal dresses