Author: Olga Pomeransky

Six months to the big day, and one two three – panic!

No, it doesn’t have to be like that!

It may be tempting to fling yourself into a crash diet, join a gym, buy brand new gym wear and flog yourself half to death on the treadmill, or even opt for the surgeon’s knife in an attempt to get into shape for that big day, but unless you have allowed yourself to develop seriously bad habits, it’s hardly essential.

Instead, with a generous six months to play with, there’s plenty of time to tone up. Start by taking a long hard look at your current diet and level of fitness. It may be that simply cutting out cigarettes and alcohol, or at least, cutting down, can make an enormous difference to the overall level of fitness. Worried about having bingo wings or a less than flat tummy? There’s still plenty of time to do a spot of toning and exercising to pep up those areas of the body that you may be less than proud of.

This doesn’t even need special equipment – doing arm curls with a bottle of water in each hand, or a series of sit ups and stomach flattening exercises can make big changes to your body shape with little real effort. In between booking the reception and choosing the bridesmaids, a few brisk walks in the fresh air really help to boost circulation and get that peaches and cream complexion. Try a deep muscle massage or a body wrap to improve the look of the skin – with no effort at all required on your part!

Do bear in mind, though, that making any kind of drastic changes to your body shape once you’ve chosen your dress will probably mean a few extra trips for additional dress fittings. Better, then, to tone up sooner rather than later, and you’ll walk down the aisle looking and feeling a million dollars.

As a groom, would you buy shirts and rent the suits for your wedding?

The cost of a wedding these days can be £15000 and upwards.  With church, reception, cars, bridal gown, along with bridesmaids, ushers and all the accessories, the price is just too high for many couples.  It is tempting to compromise on some of the costs involved, especially for formal wear, which tends to be packed in the loft, gathering dust for many years following the happy event.

However, brides tend to be sentimental over their choice of gown, lots of time is spent choosing materials, styles and cut.  Different shops and boutiques are visited before any decisions are made.  It’s a major part of the event and enjoyed by most females.

Males, on the other hand, tend to be more practical and concerned with cutting expense where possible.  Most grooms would be happy to hire their suit and accessories, especially considering the difference in costs between hiring and buying.

The first name people think of when hiring suits is Moss Bros.  If you hire four or more wedding outfits from them, the groom’s wedding suit will be free!  The price for hiring a three piece morning suit, plus shirt and cravat averages between £70 and £80.  The quality of material and styling is generally superb.

Many hire companies offer lower prices that this, depending on quality.  Most towns have specialist hire shops, many conveniently situated on the High Street.  The groom, best man and ushers can visit the shops, feeling the quality of material, style and cut.  They can try on various styles and check which suits them best.  Hire firms will also do alterations where necessary and deliver to the home, all at little extra cost.
A designer morning suit of similar style and quality would cost anywhere between £600 and £800 to buy.  There is such  a huge difference in price for a suit which would be probably never be worn again, that it’s no surprise that more grooms than ever before are choosing to hire!