Candice is the saying made true – always a bridesmaid, never a bride.
In the last five years alone she has been a bridesmaid seven times – but now it’s her turn to have her very own big day when she gets married herself.
Her sister, Sherrelle, is delighted her sibling is finally tying the knot, saying “she deserves to be a princess for the day”
However, since her mother’s death four years ago, Candice has suffered crippling cody confidence issues and is desperate to lose weight before her wedding so she feels special on her big day.
She explained: “I like a classy, glamorous style. I kind of want to feel a bit sexy and confident too. I also want to lose weight, a couple of stone.”
Candice turns to celebrity stylist Gok Wan for help Candice who insists she doesn’t need to lose weight to find the perfect dress and look incredible on her wedding day.
He says: “I don’t believe anyone should have to lose weight to find happiness.”
On a mission to help Candice find her confidence Gok outlines a strategy to show her how to feel beautiful in the body she is in.
He starts with a simple, classy gown with a low-cut neckline.
Anxious over showing off too much of her body, Candice’s worries soon fade away.
The emotional bride-to-be says: “I just look so different to what I thought I would.”
Gok tells her: “If you lost two or three stone, it wouldn’t look like this. This is perfect, this is the body that’s getting married, because this is the body that holds the heart and holds the body and holds the soul.
“This doesn’t need to change. You need to change what you see inside your brain, that’s all it is.”
It just the confidence boost Candice needs and she says: “That’s really given me hope, and I think I would have the confidence for other people to see me in this dress.”
Downstairs Candice’s entourage are tearful seeing her looking beautiful and confident.
Sherrelle, who had promised to tell her sister if she “looked like a sausage roll” says: “It really slims you in. There is no meat poking out of the pastry.”
Gok adds: “You definitely don’t look like a sausage roll, you look like a French fancy, I would say.”
But for Gok, it’s time to turn things up a notch.
Whisking Candice back upstairs, Gok presents an equally stunning gown with spaghetti straps, showing off more of her shoulders.
Initially sceptical, Candice is surprised by the results.
She says: “Oh wow. I absolutely love it. I never thought I’d look like this up here. This is where I always feel frumpy.
“It’s not freaking me out like I thought it would.”
Pleased that Candice is starting to see herself in a different light, Gok takes her back downstairs.
Candice says: “I love this one more than I do the first one. I’d never ever thought that I could wear these spaghetti straps. Even though I’ve got more on show, I feel much more confident and sexy.”
Seeing her sister so happy and confident, Sherrelle can’t hide her delight.
She says: “I’ve never heard my sister say she looks sexy in 31 years of my life.”
Gok is thrilled to see Candice finally feeling confident.
He explains: “What’s amazing about this is that your level of confidence is just getting stronger and stronger.”
After building Candice’s self-confidence over a series of dresses, Gok thinks he’s found the one – a beautiful gown with Bardot sleeves and a Mikado skirt.
After growing more comfortable in her own skin throughout the afternoon, Candice is lost for words as she opens her eyes wearing dress three.
She tearfully says: “Oh, I love it. I can’t believe this dress has had this effect on me.”
Without a dry eye in the house after showing her entourage, Candice says yes to the dress.
From an unconfident bridesmaid seven times over, Gok’s magic touch has transformed Candice into the beautiful bride she deserves to be.