A Saltney woman shed almost five stone after deciding she didn’t want to be an overweight bride on her wedding day.

Gemma Durcan-Smith, a teacher at Chester Catholic High School, knew she was overweight but hadn’t weighed herself for years.

After getting engaged in October 2012, she set herself a weight loss target of 12 months to be a slim bride.

After tipping the scales at 14st 3lb in January 2013, Gemma embarked on a new way of eating by following the Weight Watchers plan and going to meetings in Saltney with her mum and sister.

She revolutionised the way she ate and starting exercising, which she had never done before, and by her wedding last month, weighed a trim 9st 5lb.

She even had to have her dress taken in to a size 8.

Gemma Durcan-Smith on her wedding day
Gemma Durcan-Smith lost nearly 5st after vowing not to be an overweight bride on her wedding day

Gemma, 26, told The Chronicle: “When I got engaged, I knew I didn’t want to be an overweight bride. The first few weeks on Weight Watchers were an adjustment but the pounds came off steadily and I set mini targets monthly about weight, new recipes or exercise.

“My mum got to goal in the summer and my sister and I hit halfway.

“I felt so much better about my holiday photos that summer and seeing how good my mum felt spurred me on for my goal.”

But it wasn’t all plain sailing and Gemma experienced a few small gains along the way, but learned how to deal with them and move on.

“I always gave myself a time limit to get the gain weight off.

My original goal was 9st 13lb but I decided to aim for 9st 7lb for the wedding.

“Getting to goal on Christmas Eve was an amazing feeling and my fiance framed my Gold Certificate for me.

“I loved every minute of our wedding day but putting on a size 8 wedding dress that day was a great feeling, I felt so beautiful all day and I wore my bikinis with pride on honeymoon.”

Gemma, whose new husband lost a stone just by eating her healthy dinners, added: “I’ve learnt so much from Weight Watchers. I’ve learnt to use food as nourishment, not reward or comfort.

“I enjoy cooking recipes that are good for me but taste amazing and creating my own low fat recipes for foods that are usually high in fat, like pizza, lasagne or curry.

“When I first started I did no exercise and began by using my Zumba DVD which was a saviour; now I will try anything and have even taken up running.

“A year ago I couldn’t run to the end of the road but I’m running 10k for charity in a few weeks and love my two-mile walk to and from work each day.

“My husband has put up with a lot over the last 12 months and his bride is not the same woman he met but in a good way.

“I genuinely was happy before I lost the weight and I didn’t think I’d feel any different after but I do.

“I’m so much more certain in myself now and I love the feeling that if I put my mind to something I can do anything I want now.”

Sandra Lewis, Gemma’s leader at the Saltney group, said: “Gemma is an amazing committed young lady who looks absolutely stunning and is an inspiration to all my members and as her leader I’m immensely proud of her and the fact Weight Watchers is now a way of life for her.”