Please take a moment and read Lindy West’s piece about her wedding in the Guardian today, which includes great advice from both Lindy & her wedding planner Alithea O’Dell.   Some favorite quotes:

“When I think back on my teenage self, what I really needed to hear wasn’t that someone might love me one day if I lost enough weight to qualify as human – it was that I was worthy of love now, just as I was. So I’ll be fat on my wedding day. Because being fat and happy and in love in public is still a radical act.”

“I skipped the bridal boutiques altogether. My friend, artist and designer Mark Mitchell, and I conceived of the most beautiful dress we could imagine, which, according to the old orthodoxies, just happened to be the least “flattering” dress possible for a fat chick: a strapless, skin-tight mermaid gown exploding with silk flowers. The flowers – my god, the wisteria! – added extra bulk in areas I’m supposed to try and “slim”. The silhouette accentuated my stomach instead of camouflaging it. My arms looked like what they are – strong, and big. I didn’t wear Spanx. I was beautiful.”

“…remember that you absolutely do not have to “fix” your body, chase after “flattering”, be somebody’s dark secret, or beg for permission to be happy.”

“The strongest conflict I navigate is the one between feminism and the capitalism that is so deeply interwoven into weddings. Capitalism is not feminist – it is built on preying on cheap labour, by literally enslaving people to manufacture things so other people get rich. The wedding industrial complex has convinced us that the only ‘good’ weddings are the weddings that cost the most. But I see weddings as a tradition, a ceremony, and those things are important in all cultures. So I work with my clients to strip away the gross stuff that doesn’t feel right, the stuff they’re told they ‘need’, and rebuild a wedding into a ceremony and a party that is reflective of their values, something that they are proud of and feels like an honest celebration of their love.” – Alithea

More Lindy West Posts…

• Lindy West – The Witches Are Coming
• Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman Paperback Cover
• Guardian G2 Cover Feature on Lindy West
• Newest New York Times Columnist Lindy West
• Lindy West Cover of City Arts Magazine
• Lindy & Aham Get Hitched
• Lindy & Aham in A Practical Wedding & Buzzfeed
• Lindy West & Amy O’Neal: City Arts Interview Issue