London, December 3 (ANI): A woman from England, who had decided to renew her vows with her husband after seven years and bought a dress eight sizes too small determined to become a size 14, became the bride she always dreamed of being during the second time after losing almost half her body weight.
Rebecca Dobson from Swinton, South Yorkshire, wore a size 20 ivory gown for her first wedding but after shedding half her body weight she was now the happiest she'd ever been.
A year earlier she weighed 25st and had a BMI of 63 but when her doctor warned her she might not live to her 40th birthday, it made her resolve stronger, opting to have invasive gastric bypass surgery.
"We'd always said we'd marry again when we had more money, and back then I was bigger than I wanted to be," the Mirror quoted her as saying.
"When we decided to renew our vows, I was a size 30. It was a gamble buying my dream dress in a size 14.
"But my doctor telling me to slim made me even more determined," she said.
The 31-year-old was just 17 when she met Andre at a holiday park. They were introduced by a friend and hit it off.
Fresh out of school, Rebecca worked in a factory and planned to train in retail, but soon she got pregnant, and began gorging on pasties and crisps.
While Andre worked as a fork-lift driver, heavily pregnant Rebecca stayed at home, but after Lee-Roy was born in November 1999, Rebecca stepped on the scales and realised she'd gained 5st.
When her daughter Skye was born in February 2004, Rebecca weighed 21-and-a-half stone.
As Rebecca got bigger, Andre's devotion never faltered.
"Whenever I felt down he said he loved the person inside - no matter how big I was," she said.
After Lee-Roy started school in 2004, the couple decided to marry. With money tight, the couple chose their local registry office followed by a reception at a working men's club, setting the date for July 2005.
Determined to trim down, Rebecca lost 6st in five months through the Atkins diet and wore a size 20 white dress but soon fell back into her bad ways.
By her late 20s, Rebecca's weight was taking a devastating toll on her health. She struggled to walk short distances as her legs buckled under the strain.
On a typical day, Rebecca devoured thousands of calories from fatty foods like fry-ups and giant portions of pasta.
In February 2010, the couple talked about renewing their vows. They had started their own printing business and could finally afford a special wedding.
But Rebecca was now a massive size 30 and dreaded waddling down the aisle.
In September 2010, after searching online for hours, one dress in particular caught her eye on a Chinese website. It wasn't available in her size, so she clicked size 14 - eight sizes too small.
Rebecca went to see her GP for help, who delivered the wake-up call she desperately needed. Unless she lost the weight, the young mum might not live to see her kids grow up.
When the doctor suggested a gastric bypass, Rebecca and Andre thought seriously about the risks of surgery before deciding it was her best option.
Last October, Rebecca had the surgery and after living off milkshakes and multivitamins, she lost 3st in a month.
Finally, in July 2012, Rebecca's dream came true when she and Andre renewed their vows at St Margaret's Church, Swinton.
Rebecca was a slim size 14 and felt incredible as she floated past her guests.
Now, Rebecca has lost 13st 7lb in total, and is a size 12, and at just over 11st she hardly recognises the woman she used to be. (ANI)
