What size is the average UK bride?

Since you asked Lauren, (no-one else need respond...)

You'll probably find most of them have earnt it through years of experience and qualifications gained after they left university - therefore proving that it's far better to get a job and work for it than go to university and spend 3 years drinking subsidised beer, going to the odd lecture if you can be bothered and taking a few exams at the end of it (which only test memory retention rather than real world understanding and application) for an irrelevant "ology" that somehow makes people think they are superior to others.

I would say that looks and personality are just as important as each other AJ.

I've recently lost nearly a stone in weight and I asked my H2B the other day whether he prefers me before the weightloss or after. He said after. Does that not make him a real man? PS I'm glad he answered the question like that - it shows he is truthful with me, he could have said something like 'I prefer you either way darling'

*bows down to our leader Cricket Bride to offer her my first born child*

I'm not going to take this thread in a whole new direction, nor am I going to rise to this, but I still can't let this go by without pointing out that this argument has so many holes in it you're letting in a draft.

As I like to see the best in people I am going to assume that you are making vast generalisations purely to wind up the highly politicised Lauren.

WSS and to be honest I love being a size 8, I am quite short (or vertically challenged) whatever floats your boat and I know I, too, will probably get lynched for this but I hate it if I put any weight on, I got up to a size 10 and looked and felt awful until I lost that little bit of weight and got back to a size 8.

Ans just to rub the salt in, just a little bit more... I find it very hard to put weight on anyway no matter what I eat.

OH, @ CB... I Lurve You mwah xoxo

As I said, it was specifically for Lauren...

"I prefer you either way" is an equally valid answer, if he genuinely meant it.

As one of the afore mentioned "plus sizes" (and i am a 26 for anyone needing clarification) thought i'd have my two penneth! lol!

Personally i have seen some simply stunning dresses that on a thinner bride would look amazing, but on me would look SERIOUSLY wrong! I am not deluded to the fact that those certain styles just would not suit me. But that doesn't mean that those stylists are wrong for designing a dress for that particular size that wont suit me......!? It just means that I go to a dress maker who do true plus size designed dresses, not a dress that is designed for a size 8 made in a bigger size.... there is a HUGE difference (no pun intended) Just like the dress i am going for designed for a plus size, if it were made into a size 8 is would look ridiculous!

I went through dilemmas galore about my size but in the end I came to the concusion that i weren't unhappy about being big, i was unhappy with other peoples perception about me. My H2B loves me either way and would support me if I decided i wanted to be stick thin (which by the way i don't)

I just thought i'd say whats right for one is not right for another and as long as you yourself is happy, who gives a turd about someone elses opinion!?

From the fattest bride to the skinniest, if you love yourself and your partner loves you........ WHO CARES WHAT ANYONES ELSE THINKS... THEY ARE ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINIONS - WE ALL ARE!!??

CB - i love you! lol

I might be being incredibly obtuse, but that's not what I read AJ as saying - when he said 'real men understand that it's what inside that counts' I thought he meant that a decent bloke will not judge based on your body, big or small but would get to know you and value you based on who you are, not the body you're in.

I agree with what someone said above about both physical and personality mattering, but I think over time (doesn't even have to be a long time!!) once you know a person is lovely, they are beautiful to you irrespective of their physical 'type'.

To be honest - I think the phrases 'real men' and 'real women' have a lot to answer for!

I agree with a lot of what Natalie said...

I did find it odd that the survey only specifies 20plus, not individual sizes. I would have been interested to see the breakdown of 20, 22, 24 etc etc etc....32, 34....I'm currently a 20.

RE the comments ref CB....not sure why she gets "picked on" I must have missed something there....but just my twopence worth...it can be cliquey on here (but it doesn't bother me) I think that's because some people spend more time on here than others. I find it hard to keep up with all the posts! Nothing wrong with either extreme. I find hitched a useful place to find info/discuss ideas...Sorry if I seem harsh but I'm not too bothered about "making friends" I thank you all for your help but I think some people take it all far too seriously!

As I said...just my twopence worth ?

That's just human, we all have our preferences

WSS with bells on. Whoever it's aimed at AJ you will offend other people anyway.

Becci747 Llb LPC (2:1)

Sorry! I know I was stating the obvious a bit in my last post, but I didn't mean it to come across like I was trying to be worthy. I was just agreeing with you in a roundabout way

I have tried to reply lots tonight, but

1) I am now drunk

2) I have eaten tooo Much Ben and Jerrys

3) my K ey doesnt wor too well and it ruins my sentances.

I am a size 8 normally.. I get to a 10 (ie NOW) and I feel FAT humoungous.. my OH doesnt understand this because He loves me how I am ? but you know if I put on 10 stone I bet he wouldnt fancy me!!!!!

And me him... and he has put on weight and he knows I hate it... he tires half heartedly and gets annoyed if I say he hasnt lost weight ... but at end of day he will loo better in ANY clothes not just wedding ones AS WILL I if we loose a bit of weight...

So I have been lucky 3 kids still size 8/10 and I eat whatever I like, whearas others eat nothing and are big.....

So if they loose loads of weight AFTER the weedding where the man says yeah thin woman are not real etc.. then what are they then the previously larger ones that are not not large??

Its perception IT CHANGES all the time!

And please feel free to ignore me as liek I said.. TOO MUCH WINE!

What really annoys me is that i am a size 16/18 in everyday clothing but had to get my wedding dress in a size 22! why??? lol

No worries! All hugs gratefully accepted - fluffy or otherwise!

I'm an 8 and had to get a dress a size bigger - the shop lady wanted me to get a 12 but I refused. Cynical me says it's so they can charge EVERYONE for alterations, cheerful me says it's so they allow for the bride to change size in an upwards direction and they don't have to have an awkward discussion......and can fix it!

Oh crikey mini, don't get me started on bl00dy shop sizes - in Oasis I find I often have to try different sizes for different clothes. I was trying some dresses on in there the other day, am normally a 12 in there but of three dresses I tried on, one fitted perfectly in the 12, one was too small and the other too big. I know there can be a difference with different fabrics etc, but that much variation in similar style dresses within the same shop just seems daft!

It's the same for guys too - I can try on a pair of trousers that fit fine, yet the next size up I can't even do the button up; same with shirts.

Some very interesting comments and thoughts on here so hope you don't mind a newbie adding some thoughts.

I agree with CB - clothes generally look better on smaller models. That's not to say in the slightest that larger models shouldn't be used, but if you're running a business to sell clothes and make a profit, you're going to use the models that sell the clothes.

I am a size 10 on top, with small boobs, but, at the moment, a size 14 on the bottom. I'm tall and dress for my shape, so I generally carry off the pear-shapedness. OH loves the fact that I have a big bum, but I don't. It's great that he loves me whatever shape I am, but it's the way I feel that's the most important.

I ticked size 10 on the poll, because, even though I am certainly not a "perfect size 10", I buy the style of dresses that suit my shape (fitted at the top, loose at the bottom) and they are usually a 10.

My bottom half will never be a 10. Many years ago, after a break up, I lost 2 stone. Whereas my face and top half were pretty skinny, my bottom half wasn't - that's just the way I am (I call it a Welsh bum!).

Having said that, I do want to tone up a bit before my wedding and lose a bit of the bingo wings/double chin. That's not for OH or for anyone else, that's for me, to feel good about myself and to look better in the photos.

Am I the only one who doesn't care if some men think that larger ladies are "real women"?

1) Everyone has preferences (myself included, I am attracted to hardly any men cos I am so fussy)

2) We are all engaged and and planning our weddings to our soul mates (or are married) so why are people on here so bothered about what some random stranger thinks?

3) I don't like how some people appear to be boasting about their appearance ("I am size 8 and eat whatever I can get my hands on, I simply can't put weight on"- so what's that got to do with the price of fish?!?).

I agree with whoever it was who said that the male poster wasn't saying that he liked a certain type of woman, he just said that real men know what is on the inside that counts.

I agree that what is on the inside is very important, I do also have preferences for what is on the outside...

FYI I like tall, handsome, well dressed and funny men. Kill me now.

I voted 12 but fingers crossed bu the wedding i will be a ten and have my dress taken in he he

If you were in their shoes or have seen someone struggle to put weight on and heard the comments made by others about their appearance you would know they were not boasting.

This is a thread about all different sizes so people that are a size eight are entitled to post whatever they want about their size.

The comments that people make about their size are irrelevant to the discussion in my opinion. Why is it relevant that they can eat whatever they want and not put any weight on? If they are slim, they have no idea about how it feels to be overweight and live in a society where thin is best. Perhaps their size is relevant, but not the fact that have a fast metabolism. They weren't complaining about it either, they were saying how great it is.

I suppose it sounds like I am picking on specific people, I am not. I just dislike it when people boast and some comments seemed boastful. I am not naming names, just go through and read what they said- perhaps you will see why it comes across that way.

Oh, and I am not jealous, I am not going to add to the comments in this regard, but I will say I am slim and always have been.

They are "entitled" to post whatever they want, I am "entitled" to comment that it comes across as boastful. It is my opinion.

I still don't really see the point of the poll.

It's been noted already, and not just by me, that the average UK woman today is a size 16.

Women of all sizes are going to be getting married during the next 12 months.

Therefore, the 'average woman' - whether getting married or not - must still logically end up being the same - size 16.

The more accurate question really is "what size is the average UK bride that happens to use Hitched and feels like voting in this poll" which, if the results come up with anything but a size 16 as the biggest percentage of response, only shows that female Hitched members are not generally representative of the average demographic in the UK.

and also those who want to slim down for their wedding- most brides want to for some reason

I've just re-read this and I must say, I think some of you are absolute darlings and I appreciated you making me smile (after what what was a particularly tough day for me, personally, rather than in purple world).

However, to the ridiculously vindictive and unpleasant woman who emailed me directly following yesterday's exchange, I find that I am unable to say the same about you. Quite why you felt the need to project your own unhappiness and insecurities on to me, I don't know. I shan't name you on here but, suffice to say, should I ever hear anything from you directly again, I shan't hesitate to do so.

Really? Oh dear....

Don't worry about that! Whoever it was should get a life. This is an internet discussion.

At risk of being labelled a CB worshipper, after your horrible day yesterday I think this is bang out of order and cowardly.

Hope you feel better today.

?

I'm not worried about it. I have more important things in my life than to spend time worrying about something so stupid. I have said my piece on it and will let it rest.

I'm not a worshipper of anyone on here - but would agree it's a bit pathetic.

If I've got anything to say to someone, I'll post it openly - if I don't believe what I'm saying enough to let everyone see it, I won't post it.

The only exception would be private information such as address or email, or if it was a really sensitive issue that I didn't feel comfortable posting openly (but that would generally be about me, not the other person).