WORDS: JANET REEDER

BRIDALWEAR professionals with a trained eye will be able to sum up your shape in a flash which makes finding your dream dress much, much easier.

Of course there are lots of brides out there who vow to diet like mad to achieve as near as possible perfection for their big day, however, aspiring to such levels of excellence can sometimes be a bit unrealistic and even if you're slimmer the way your body is proportioned will stay the same, so a pear can be a size 8 or an 18.

What is rather comforting however is the fact that it's possible to shed pounds just by dressing to suit the basic body shape, so just follow these few pointers and you too will look fabulous on your wedding day.