Hi All, I wasn't going to run a
post this afternoon but on taking a break to enjoy lunch with my little
girl, a sea of words came flooding in to my mind and I just had to
share.
I was having a bit of a Twitter conversation with a
earlier colleague today, who will remain unnamed, but who shared with me
that one of her brides was flabbergasted that I wanted to blog her
wedding becuase she wasn't "pretty or skinny enough".
This upset me.
Image Source: Pinterest
I want to make it clear to you all now; I don't have a traditional magazine editors eye. I'm not looking to spread the glossy, sparkly, media idea of perfection throughout these pages.
Of course I love a beautiful dress, gorgeous styling, beauty tutorials {I'm so hopeless at makeup!} and all those detail shots – who doesn't love to be inspired by these kind of images? But really, what I'm looking for in a feature, is 'love'. It is the essential ingredient of any 'real wedding' feature. It is what gives me the energy to write this blog, it is what makes the world go round.
I couldn't care less if the bride is not skinny or skinny as a bean. I'm not going to decline because the bride is a size 18+. Who am I to judge? Why would I not want to feature lots of different kids of brides {something I strive to do anyway} to inspire lots of different kinds of readers – with varying different styles? I truly hope that the content in these pages doesn't come over as too selective or 'beauty inclusive'.
I have read many articles and blog posts in my time on what constitutes 'beautiful' – but I struggle with this. Can you even describe what a 'beautiful' person is? Is beauty arbitrary or biological? Do those with symmetrical faces, unblemished skin and perfectly applied false lashes seem more beautiful than someone with no makeup, 'just got up' hair and a face full of freckles for instance?!? {I love freckles by the way}. Is a woman with long blonde hair and big beautiful eyes, a size 10 slender physique automatically more beautiful than a size 18 lady with short cropped hair, who knows how to work with her curves, dresses beautifully and exudes a beautiful smile and self confidence? I hate the concept of having to make this judgement, but so many of us do. So many of us compare ourselves to others. Constantly. I don't even want these pages to feel like they are promoting the need to look any particular way – it's why I have a body image category, and ran the 'laid bare' themed week a few months back {proud to say, by the way, that some of the features from laid bare week have been picked up by a company who write A-Level and Degree study materials – because my guest writers wrote some wonderful, thought provoking words}.
I know it's easy to fall in to the comparison trap – we're bombarded by media messages daily encouraging us to make our lashes bigger, look thinner, make our hair more voluminous – because we're worth it. But I strive not to make any judgement of that kind via these blog pages.
Bloggers, writers, online Journalists – whatever you want to call us, I
take my responsibility for managing these pages that are accessed by and
influence so many very seriously. When it comes to my wedding features, I'm looking for happy faces,
smiles, laughter, hugs, kisses – that look in their eyes – that thing
called love! THAT is what's beautiful to me. All the rest is a bonus.
I just had to share that with you.
Please feel free to leave a comment below. What does beautiful mean to you? Would you be concerned about having your wedding feature on a blog because of how you look?? {please let us help you reverse those thoughts as of today if so!}.
Annabel
You might want to browse through our 'Body Image' pages…
