honest opinions please

Honestly.... i don't think you have very large tops of arms. I think you look great in your dress, but... if you are going to feel uncomfortable then i would defo have the straps or bolero thing. The main thing is that you feel happy and if your not comfortable it will spoil your day.

Try your dress on and see how you feel but from what i can see i wouldn't worry. x

TBH your waistline offsets the broad shoulders and I wouldn't say you are out of proportion, and with a hoop it will just look like you have curves.

I've heard good things about 'shakeweight' to tone arms - I might get one myself - and at £30 it might be worth a try. Reports say results in 2 weeks at 10 minutes a day.

Don't sweat the weight issue, you'll look great.

I think you should do what makes you feel comfortable hun.

I know how you feel, no matter how much weight I lose my top half is always 2 sizes bigger than my bottom half due to broad shoulders.

Have you thought of an organza wrap or something like that, ,

xx

Ok - if you are worried about your arms and will feel more comfortable with something covering them then have a look at some of the shrugs that are out there to see if anything goes with your dress. Personally, I'm not sure whether having straps will work but I'm not very good at visualising the effect - maybe ask the bridal shop to put some mock ones in place if they can so you can see for yourself how that will look

two months is still plenty of time to work on your arms - you're just going to need to be committed. I'm not a fitness expert at all but this website seems to include the kind of exercises I've been told to do before. I too am worried about my upper arms and am hoping they will get more toned.

Good luck xx

LOVE the dress.

As for toning your arms, there are quite a few machines at the gym involving weights you could use. Or if you don't want to go to the gym you can use bottles of water or tins of beans.

You could have a weight in each hand, hold both arms above your head and drop them backwards (down your back so to speak)

You can do bicep curls as well.

Oops! Meant to include this

https://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/exercise/body_toning/upper_body.htm

Plus, agree with the comments above about your body being beautifully curvy and in proportion x

Being completely honest I think the tops of your arms look fine in your dress!

If you wanted something to make you feel more comfortable though, I would definitely go for a bolero/shrug over straps.

Hi Kat, love your dress! I honestly think it looks beautiful but if you are not comfortable it will show. From behind, your waist is tiny , are you wearing your hair down, a veil etc...?

Yes you absolutely can tone arms in 2 months - tins of beans/bottles of water - hold elbows into waist and do bicep curls - only moving lower arms. For arm backs hold a tin/bottle behind your head and raise and lower it - keep your neck relaxed and let arms do all the work - as many as you can for as long as you can then repeat as often as possible - hurts!

Never forget that hubs to be loves you just as you are. I'm more worried about your curly, yellow face LOL!

Dress looks FABULOUS from the back. From the front the top looks a little big but as you said it does need altering.

Definitely get a petticoat with a hoop - it will pull the bottom of the dress away from you and will make you look in wonderful proportion. You have a fab figure - tiny waist!

As to arms - I had similar worries as I am very conscious of my upper arms! I personally think you look absolutely fine and your arms and shoulders don't look out of proportion, but if you woudl feel more comfortable, have you considered a wide halterneck? I found this very flattering for me personally and it made me feel a lot more comfortable as well. I got myself a fur wrap which tied with a satin ribbon at the front as well, but didn't end up wearing it as I was so warm all day!

Firstly your dress is a wonderful shape to flatter your figure and I certainly don't think you look broad shouldered. The main thing will always be how you feel in the dress though and if you're self-conscious, you won't be happy. I wonder if a halter-neck strap would draw your shoulders in and make you feel better? I don't know ANYTHING about dress styles and figures though. Failing that, I think a sheer wrap of some kind - lace or organza - would look lovely.

Good exercises for toning your arms are on most exercise dvds. My Davina one just gives you a load of lifts to do with a tin of beans in each hand!

It all depends how you feel, we can tell you you look fine till we all have yellow faces lol, but that won't change how you feel. If you feel you need wraps or a shrug then go for it. Are you wearing a necklace because that will break up the bare area too.

I think your dress is gorgeous and your body is in proportion - but I totally understand its all about how u feel. My back fat & arms have always been a worry for me in my dress too. But I've been boxing (using gloves & punchbag) for 45mins once a week, using kettlebells, press ups etc....one of the best exercises for bingo wings is tricep dips - I do them on a bench in gym & off the edge of my bed when at home! I really think you wud see a big difference if you did some of the above a few times a week - 2 months is definately enough time to make a difference & make you feel more confident.

Love the dress, arms aren't a big problem.

What concerns me though is the custard all over your face. An small issue with an easy fix

I wouldn't say that your arms are a problem and you look lovely in your dress.

If you want to lose some weight quickly, cut out all main carbs (pasta, bread, rice and potatoes) and sugar as well. I've been doing this and the weight is dropping off...

Complete honesty: I actually think your figure looks MUCH better in the strapless dress. It looks gorgeous on you. I definitely wouldn't add straps!

i have to agree.. i think it looks lovely and you will make a beautiful bride

Its an lovely dress and i understand your issues because i had the same. Okay so i'm not loads over weight but its what us ladies are like ay?!?

You still have 10 weeks left to diet....thats 10lb at 1lb a week and it would make a difference so don't give up.

I don't think straps would make a difference tbh as its your arms you have the worry about.

I also made sure i sat down in my dress as i didn't want to look awful when eating my dinner....and i was bothered about the fat under my arm at the side of my boobs. I bet it wont bother me on the day!

WSS! I think you look great, but I know sometimes no matter how many people tell you, if you doubt it, it will play on your mind - and you dont ant anything to ruin your day. I think an orgnaza wrap would look lovely. Its too lovely a dress to cover up too much xxx

I genuinely think it looks lovely on.

If you want to tone up quickly, I would suggest body pump classes. My shape has changed so dramamtically just going twice a week, and I don't lift weights that are all that heavy, you pick your own weights based on your capability. Everyone has commented on, not weight loss, but how my shape has really changed. It has a bicep, tricep, and shoulder track in the class. I can definitely see a huge difference in my arms, as they're all anyone will see on the day, I want them to be really toned.

Like I said, I think you look lovely, but if you want to tone up quickly, body pump classes are the way to go.

Oh fab suggestion! My arms are my bugbear too and as you said they'll be on show the most. Our gym does body pump classes, hope it's as good as yours sounds!!

Oh and FWIW to the OP I think you look fine but I agree that if you're feeling self conscious then a lovely lace or organza shrug would be really nice.

I think straps will actually do the opposite effect of what you are hoping for so I'd stick with the strapless top. As for losing weight if you were really good then I think you could lose quite a bit of weight in 2 months just by eating well and exercising. Are you going to the gym? Even by going swimming you could notice a difference, I certainly did when I went swimming 4 times a week for half an hour and my arms were mega toned.

I agree with sange that a bolero could look too fussy.

Being 100% honest- I think you look bigger in the picture of you in a normal dress. The wedding dress is very structered so I think it brings you in at the waist and balances you out. Persoanlly I wouldnt have straps added- i think it would make you look wider.

I had a very similar problem to you. I never thought I would choose a strapless dress as I really don't like the tops of my arms but the one I choose had just little decorative straps so I was a bit concerned and I'm not used to being so 'exposed'. I didn't want anything which would cover the top of my dress too much as it had lots of detail on it that I didn't want covered up. So, my dressmaker made me a really clever cover up. It's basically a tube of material (a bit like a snood) which you slide up your arms and then it covers the the shoulders and tops of the arms. I've attached a photo as I'm not very good at describing it. The top of your dress looks a similar shape to mine so I think it would work well. And I think it gave the dress quite a sort of 50's look which I really liked - even if I do say so myself!

WSS! Your wedding dress is doing exactly what it is meant to be emphasising your curves & drawing the eye away from bits that you aren't so happy with. I think straps will bring more attention to your arms & shoulders & make you look wider than you are. I also think some boleros/shrugs/pashminas etc also draw the eye to the area you want to cover up. You look fab in your dress already but if it makes you feel more comfortable on your big day, you can still shift 1lb a week over the next 10 weeks without being too strict with food/killing yourself with exercise & 10lbs will make a big difference to how your dress fits. I've just joined Slimming World & after just one week am noticing a big difference - thank god!!!

Less than £20 at Amazon at the moment

Kat, you look beautiful in your dress!

If you are worried about your weight and arms (I am exactly the same!) I can highly recommend Slimming World, Shake Weight and Body Pump classes.

xx

I'm on my phone so please excuse formatting. Just wanted to say, your arms look fine in your dress. If you did want to consider straps I'd agree you'd be right to go with simple normal straps. I know Everyones different so you'd need to do a mock up and see What suits but my stepsis is quite wide and halterneck draws attention to it as neckline is thin but emphasises how far her shoulders are from her neck.

Thank you everyone for all your comments.

I am going back for a fitting in 6 weeks so will ask to try out a bolero or wrap I think to see how it will look but all your kind words have helped me see it doesn't look as bad as it does in my mind, thank you.

For now, gyms and classes are out of the question due to lack of transport but I am now cutting out carbs, have printed those arm exercises and have ordered a shakeweight, so wish me luck!

Thanks again, you have made me feel more positive and that there is still time to do something more!

p.s - I will get a better face scrub to get rid of the yellow!

ETA: I am wearing a veil to my waist length as well but my hair will be up

Cutting back on carbs is a great idea if you have your fitting in 6 weeks then realistically if you wanted to you could lose around 12lbs at a safe rate of 2lbs a week. Lack of transport is a good thing as you could do dome extra walking of even jogging. I like the idea of a little wrap, x

I think you look fine in your dress, and once it has been altered at the front it will look bettr.

What about a veil, this will give you a bit of comfort.

I had a veil and planned to take it off after the ceremony but I felt a bit uneasy about the boobage I had on show, so kepy my veil on all day, was my comfort blanket

Have a look - https://www.hitched.co.uk/Chat/forums/t/240308.aspx

I did lots of swimming before the wedding which really helped to tone my arms and back

I agree that veils are great. I'm not as slim as I used to be and my arms no where near as toned and whilst I'm still slim (or was 2 years ago) my arms were a bit of a sore point with me but my veil was fab without even realising it and covered the bits I didn't like perfectly.

You should try it with how you would have your hair on the day. You may feel more comfortable then; seeing the bigger picture. Also, if you're still not happy, maybe just a sheer/lace shrug to help you relax and it'd look lovely with your dress.