You've spent the last year not only planning your wedding, but also avoiding second helpings at dinner and watching your office colleagues in envy as they devour thick cut sandwiches loaded with mayonnaise. But your wedding day diet was all worth it, because here you are standing at the altar with your husband-to-be, with a flat stomach and bulges in all the right places.
But hang on, what's that strange dizzy feeling sweeping through your body, and why on earth are you thinking about Kingsize Mars bars now instead of reciting your vows?
As any nutritionist or dietician will tell you, a balanced breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It kick starts our metabolism and gives us enough energy to last until lunch without the need for snacks. This is all very well in theory but what about when it's your wedding day and you've got butterflies in your stomach the size of Frisbees? It's hard enough when you're feeling nervous to hold down a cup of tea, let alone a bacon sandwich!
Unless you want your wedding day footage to end up on YouTube as one of those comedy videos featuring a bride who faints at the altar, it's worth planning in advance what you're going to eat on the morning of your wedding and how you're going to fit it in between having your hair done or applying fake eyelashes!
What do real brides eat?
In an ideal world, we would have an hour to sit down to a freshly prepared continental breakfast, and sip a cup of chamomile tea with our bridesmaids, but in reality, we're lucky if we have enough time to eat a Pop-tart.
On Katie Westwick's wedding day, she found a practical, albeit a slightly less glamorous solution to the problem!
- I skipped breakfast on the day because I had butterflies and also had to get to the hairdresser's pretty early! I do, however have photographic evidence of me eating a wholemeal sandwich later in the morning dressed in a scabby old shirt but wearing my full veil and tiara! (my hairdresser had firmly attached it all that morning)
Although Katie does admit that while she was sensible on the big day, the night before was a completely different story!
- Did I mention that I consumed a WHOLE TUB of Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream the night before, on the basis that it wouldn't have time to add any inches to my waistline before fitting into the dress (and corset!) the next day!? Oh, the shame...
While we're big fans of the ice cream dinner option here at WeddingTV, it might have been better in hindsight for Katie to have opted for something with less dairy to make sure she got a good rest the night before her wedding. High levels of milk taken late at night can over stimulate the brain and have you lying awake for hours (this is also the reason that some people claim they have really vivid and elaborate dreams after eating cheese for dinner) but in all the excitement on the night before your wedding, we're all just as guilty of heading for the sugary delights contained in the freezer!
Laura Halliwell had the best intentions on her wedding morning, but due to a combination of stress and nerves, she opted for an emergency solution:
- My sister in law who was due to do my make up was stuck on the M1, and running over an hour late, which meant calling around to find a professional who could come to the rescue. With all the extra stress, my plan to have a leisurely breakfast went out the window and when my sister called from McDonald's I panicked and ordered a whopping breakfast burger and fries!
Unfortunately, Laura's rash decision had dire consequences throughout the rest of her wedding day...
- Half an hour after wolfing down my McBreakfast, my stomach became really bloated and painful, although you'd never know it to look at my wedding photos, I was in absolute agony and couldn't touch the lovely three course lunch we'd spent the last year planning!
While we can all admit to reaching for the junk food in times of panic, it honestly is the worst thing a bride can eat on her wedding day. High levels of salt contained in most fast food results in immediate bloating and dehydration, so as well as your stomach swelling up, you also risk the chance of a splitting headache by the time you're walking down the aisle.
We consulted several web-based nutritionists and asked for what they would recommend as a healthy, but slow burning breakfast which would provide you with enough energy to last until mid afternoon (the time of most wedding lunches). They suggested such sensible options as wholegrain cereal with soy milk, toast with whole nut peanut butter or an omelette with tomatoes and mushrooms. But then were received an email from a bride who has a long standing, tried and tested breakfast option that three generations of her family have sworn by...
Hazel Fuller's incredible energy packed, non bloating, low sugar rice pudding has the benefit of being made the day before, so you can microwave it in 30 seconds on the morning of your wedding, and it also tastes delicious.
- My mother was made this rice pudding by her mother on her wedding day and I made it for my daughter when she got married three years ago. It's a simple recipe, and has become a rather lovely tradition in our family. I don't suppose I ever really thought about it being particularly healthy at the time I was eating it, but it seems to have worked for three brides in our family, and kept growling stomachs from echoing throughout the church!
After much bartering, Hazel and the Fuller family ladies have agreed to share their recipe with us - so why not make it a tradition in your family, or try it tomorrow morning as part of your pre-wedding health kick? Either way, its blend of slow release, low GI ingredients will make sure you're energized and still smiling after hours in that tightly laced up corset!
Wedding Day Breakfast Pudding Recipe:
1 cup of dry white rice
3 cups of skimmed milk (or soy or half and half or whatever)
Brown sugar or honey to sweeten
1 1/4 teaspoons of natural vanilla extract
1/3 cup of toasted almonds
2 teaspoons of orange zest
Bring 2 cups water to boil in large saucepan (at least 3 quarts). Stir in the rice; cover and simmer over low heat, stirring once or twice until the water is almost fully absorbed. This will take 15 to 20 minutes. Add the milk and your choice of sweetener. Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer, then reduce heat to maintain simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until the rice pudding mixture starts to thicken, this will take about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring every couple of minutes to prevent sticking and scorching. You'll know when it's ready when the spoon is just able to stand up in the pudding. Remove from heat and stir in the natural vanilla extract, toasted almonds and orange zest. Cool and serve at room temperature or chill it in the fridge and serve cold the next day.
