Chub Tropicana

Weddings are awesome. Well, all the ones I’ve ever been to have been awesome at least. Earlier this month, my excellent friends Michael and Francesca got married at Brockwell Lido, and it was an utterly perfect day. The sun shone, the booze flowed, there was a mariachi band, my best friend and I danced in a remarkably ’emotional’ way to ‘Yes’ by McAlmont & Butler and everyone looked fantastic.

I thought I scrubbed up pretty well considering that less than twelve hours before, I was crying uncontrollably while drinking prosecco out of a pint glass (it was my last day at my old job – there were mitigating circumstances!)

DRESS: Paperdolls at Simply Be

SHOES: Primark

EARRINGS: Topshop

SUNGLASSES: Topshop

LIPSTICK: All Fired Up by MAC

Lets all take a moment to appreciate this gorgeous dress from Simply Be because I very nearly didn’t buy it. I’d originally opted to go with something from ASOS until – horror of horrors! – they sent me the wrong item. By the time they’d realised their mistake, the dress I wanted was out of stock. As it turned out, I was quite happy that ASOS screwed up, because this dress is a real stunner. The floral pattern is bright, bold and beautiful, it shows the perfect amount of cleavage, and it clings to all the right places. Plus, it’s stretchy enough to allow you to throw yourself around on a dance floor, which should be a key attribute of any good wedding outfit.

What I like most about this outfit though is that I look very visibly chubby around the middle – even though I was wearing some pretty heavy duty shape wear. A few years ago, this would have depressed me mightily (‘I spent all that money on Spanx and I don’t have a flat stomach?’) I’m not going to lie and say that I’m 100% comfortable with it, but when I look at these pictures now, I see a happy confident fat woman wearing a fantastic dress. (And, may I add, looking pretty good while doing it.) That new found appreciation of my body – as an ally I should take care of rather than a foe to be defeated – means far more to me than a bit of pudge and a double chin.

Living that 24/7 selfie life with Mr. McMc

Start Wearing Purple

If there’s one thing my family like, it’s a wedding. After all, it’s the perfect excuse to get dressed up AND get drunk. What’s not to love? So, when my brother Daniel got married to his wonderful fiancee Kathy at Manchester Town Hall last Saturday, it was bound to be one hell of a party. I was honoured to be asked to be a bridesmaid, along with my sister  Charlotte, and Kathy’s sister, Karen, and we carried out our duties with aplomb. We danced, we drank prosecco, we cried and (most importantly), we all looked really bloody good.

What a bunch of beauts, eh?

Kathy kindly told us that we could choose our own dresses, so long as they were purple. While it’s a bit of a cop-out for a fat woman to wear something in a 50s style when she wants to dress up (seriously plus sized designers, we’re not all femme!) I wanted to wear something simple yet swishy – if only so I could swirl around pretending to be Kate Bush in the Wuthering Heights video at some point during the wedding disco.

This ‘Grace’ dress from Lindy Bop was adorable without being too fussy (even if I’m not a huge fan of the black piping on it.) Plus, it has just the right amount of stretch to accommodate my mega boobs. You may laugh, but this is no mean feat.

Picture by Claire Legg Photography

DRESS: Lindy Bop

CARDIGAN: Collectif

PETTICOAT: Vivien of Holloway

SHOES: ASOS

EARRINGS: Etsy (vintage)

Doesn’t my make-up look good too? Praise be to professional make-up artists, MAC’S Russian Red and the dark arts of contoring. There’s something a bit gutting in the knowledge that this is the best I’m probably going to look all year. Maybe I should just wear false eyelashes more often.

Picture by Claire Legg Photography

A charming picture of me and my sister

Picture by Claire Legg Photography

It was a wonderful, beautiful day, and I was so happy to be a part of it. Congratulations Dan and Kathy. Here’s to many many years of happiness.

Picture by Claire Legg Photography

 Many of the pictures in this post were taken by the amazing wedding photographer Claire Legg.