A new show brings on television what has been no secret at all. Every bride-to-be is convinced she needs to lose a significant amount of weight to look her best on the big day.
As have most things in our daily lives, this has become a matter of interest on reality TV. So Cynthia Conde will unleash her Bridal Bootcamp workout to whip women into shape to fit into their dream wedding gowns.
Conde says she began the Bridal Bootcamp when she needed to help a bride-to-be lose 100 pounds in seven months before her wedding.
The trainer was inspired by watching her brother lose 30 pounds during bootcamp for the Marines and decided the obstacle course, strength training and stamina building used by the armed forces could help women too.
Cynthia began the programme in 2001 and says she has worked with hundreds of brides, successfully gotten them into shape and given them the confidence they needed for their wedding day.
"Boot camp is just exactly what it is. It is boot camp," says Conde. And it is. Brides wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning to go for their daily 45-minute to an hour run. They come back, eat breakfast and do chores like cleaning their barracks.
In the afternoon there's another workout - a combination of a military boot camp course or weight training. In the evening, another run. And everything is monitored. What they eat, what they drink and what vitamins they taking.
And, says, Conde, there is no coddling. "You know, I'm their drill sergeant. This is no nonsense...We need to break them. Because only until we're able to break them mentally and physically will we be able to build them back up," she says.
On the TV show, the brides are not just working towards their fitness goals but also competing against one another. The woman who loses the most weight will get an all-expense-paid dream wedding.
"Bridal Bootcamp" has all the elements for great TV. It's a combination of "Bridezilla", "The Biggest Loser" and "Survivor," says Conde.
"Bridal Bootcamp" airs on VH1.