Shropshire bride credits Twitter for losing six stone

Alison Perry, 27, from Shrewsbury, was known only as Big Shropshire Lass while she posted on the social media site about her weight loss journey.

And having cut a slimmer silhouette when she walked down the aisle in a size 16 dress, she credits encouragement from twitter followers of her account @lovefood2much for helping her into the gown.

"Twitter was such a huge source of support," said Mrs Perry, of Monkmoor, who used a fat cat as her profile picture.

"Nobody needed to know who I was. But if I'd had a bad day people would encourage me to get back on it tomorrow or congratulate me when I'd done well. I don't think I could have managed to lose so much without it."

And Mrs Perry, who works in internet marketing for Vibe Creative in Shrewsbury, was not the only one who arrived at the church feeling like a weight had been lifted.

Groom Simon Perry, 27, an accountant at Tudor Healthcare in Shrewsbury slimmed down from 20st to 12st when he joined his partner of 10 years on her weight loss mission.

"We've grown up together and we've always struggled with our weight," said 5ft 3 Mrs Perry who went from 18st 4lb to 12st 6lb. "But we were comfortable with each other so we didn't really address it. It was only after he proposed that I realised I didn't want to be a fat bride and I needed to do something about it."

The first step for the bride-to-be was to "confess" her weight online and vow to slim down before her wedding. From then on Mrs Perry posted daily pictures of her healthy meals and updated more than 200 followers on her progress. She now even counts some as friends.

"Simon was the only one who knew how much I weighed," said Mrs Perry. "So the first thing I did was get it off my chest without anyone knowing who I was."

And it wasn't long before Mrs Perry had lost 4st 7lbs and she felt brave enough to reveal her true identity by posting a before and after picture.

"I wasn't going to tell anyone who I was but I was so proud with the results I wanted to share some photos," she said. "Everyone was so lovely about it that I kept updating them with pictures of how I was getting on."

And by the time her big day arrived Mrs Perry had shed nearly six stone to become the beautiful bride she had always dreamed of.

"I felt so happy and confident on my wedding day after I'd finally got down to a size 16," she said.

After their vows the pair even tweeted a selfie in the church to share their big day with her followers.

Mrs Perry still wants to reach her goal weight of 10st but with twitter on her side she is confident she will get there.