With more than one-third of all weddings taking place during the summer months, June 1st marks the unofficial start of wedding season. Most of the focus in wedding planning is on the bride's dress, the party planning and the guest list. But Revolution Health's Senior Medical Director, Dr. Val Jones, has a message for June brides: take steps to make sure that your happy day is a healthy day, too.

"As an experienced June bride myself, I can tell you that your wedding may be one of the happiest times of your life, but for a number of reasons, health problems can crop up on and around this special day," said Dr. Jones. "But with some advance planning, you can make sure that you and your guests remember the day for the right reasons, and not the wrong ones."

  1.  Beat the Heat -- Many June weddings are planned months in advance (at
      a cooler time of year), when the prospect of being outdoors is
      inviting.  But when June arrives, wedding guests find themselves
      spending hours exposed to peak sun, heat and humidity.  And since
      weddings often involve older relatives and younger children, the risk
      from sun and heat exposure is higher than many expect.  If you're
      getting married outdoors, keep an eye on the heat, especially for your
      oldest and youngest guests.  Have sunscreen and plenty of water
      available.  Consider moving older guests to a shaded area.  Visit:
      Recognize symptoms and find treatments for heat exhaustion

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/articles/?id=6EA9E9E2-092B-4E95-BF4FBD95708D703F 
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  2.  The Size is Right -- Many brides buy their wedding dress a size
      smaller, with ambitious plans of weight loss -- or perhaps the dress
      fit well when it was bought, but the run up to the wedding (with the
      related stress), has led to a slight weight gain.  Either way, too
      many brides try crash dieting in the days and weeks before the wedding
      to squeeze into that gown -- and find failure, anxiety and health
      problems.  "If you want to lose weight for your wedding, start in
      advance and stick with a healthy, safe weight-loss plan," said Dr.
      Jones.  "Crash diets are fittingly named: you smack into a wall and
      find yourself worse off than before."  Brides also should keep an ear
      tuned to bridesmaids engaged in crash dieting and try to talk their
      friends out of such bad habits.  Find smart strategies for healthy
      weight loss.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/weight-management/choose-diet/ 
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  3.  Sober Dialing -- While many people don't think of drunk driving as a
      "health issue," drinking and driving is one of our county's leading
      preventable causes of death.  A healthy wedding is one where the
      guests get home safe and sound.  Wedding planners should ensure that
      everyone has a designated driver or arrange with a cab company to have
      a certain number of cabs available at the end of the evening.  Or you
      can arrange for transportation to take guests back to their hotel.
      That way no one has to worry about drinking and driving.  And make
      sure you have plenty of non-alcoholic beverages for any guests who are
      not drinking alcohol, including guests who may be dealing with alcohol
      dependency issues.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/addiction/alcoholism-alcohol-addiction
     /treat-overview/stop-drinking-alcohol (copy/paste URL to your browswer)

  4.  Celebrate with a Healthy Meal -- Everyone wants to treat their guests
      to a wedding meal to remember -- but make sure it is remembered
      fondly.  If you're holding your wedding outside, make sure that food,
      like potato salads and shrimp, is properly cooled or kept on ice.  "I
      know of a wedding where five of the guests got food poisoning from
      this type of mistake," said Dr. Jones.  And consider a lighter,
      healthier meal: your guests will appreciate the chance to celebrate
      with you (without needing to go on a diet the next week) and will find
      themselves feeling less weighed down during the celebration.  Learn
      about food poisoning and how to handle food safely. 

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/articles/?id=te4626&section=section_08/ 
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  5.  Get the Glow -- Every bride wants to look perfect on her wedding day.
      But that "glowing, radiant" skin can't be had via makeup:  healthy
      choices make a big difference.  Try to keep your stress under control
      to avoid an acne breakout.  And drink plenty of water the day before
      and the day of your wedding to keep your skin looking great and your
      body feeling great.  Check here for more information on the importance
      of staying well-hydrated. 

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/skin/acne/acne?section=section_05/ 
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http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/fitness/nutrition-supplements
/hydration/how-much-water-to-drink-daily?section=section_06/ 
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  6.  Dealing With Family Issues -- Weddings pose challenges not just to
      physical health, but emotional well-being, too.  Unresolved family
      issues have a not-so-funny way of erupting at a wedding, exacerbated
      by the stress of the event and intensified by the gathering of
      relatives who may not often encounter one another.  Ask a trusted
      relative to try to resolve these disputes before the wedding day, and
      if you suspect they may nonetheless erupt at the wedding, have a
      "designated diffuser" -- a relative who can soften family conflicts or
      at least keep them from ruining the celebration.
      http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/mirakirshenbaum

  7.  Take Care of Yourself -- You can't have a "healthy" wedding with an
      "unhealthy" bride.  Schedule some time to do things that help you
      relax.  Yoga, massage, a day trip, hiking or reading a good book are
      all great ways to de-stress.  Learn about other stress management
      tips.  As you prepare for your upcoming event, make sure you are
      getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night.  Being well rested can help you
      avoid feeling irritable and anxious and can reduce your chances of
      becoming ill.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/relationships/stress
     /stress-relief/stress-overview?section=section_07/ 
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http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/sleep/insomnia/rewards-sleep
     /rewards-shut-eye 
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  8.  Countdown ... Check-up -- Maybe it's not romantic, but a comprehensive
      physical exam is a good idea for couples preparing for marriage.
      "Before you ask someone else to say that they will love you 'in
      sickness and in health,' you owe it to them to know just where on that
      spectrum you stand," said Dr. Jones.  "Together you can plan to
      support one another in the long term with healthy lifestyle goals."
      Get a complete check up a few months before the wedding, so you can
      understand and address any health issues before you are at the altar.
      Both women and men need complete and regular physicals.
      http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/reproductive-health/body/
      http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/mens-health/

  9.  A Healthy Honeymoon -- Ok, you've made it all the way through the
      wedding in good health, and now comes "the fun part:" the honeymoon.
      But a surprising number of brides and grooms wind up too sick to enjoy
      this first taste of wedded bliss.  Key tips:  make sure you don't
      overindulge in food and drink at the wedding; plan for the honeymoon
      like you would any other trip (with sunscreen for warm places and
      precautions about drinking safe water and eating safe food); and make
      sure you've had all necessary vaccinations well in advance of the
      wedding so you aren't suffering from vaccine side effects on your
      wedding day.  Learn more about health and travel.
      http://www.revolutionhealth.com/articles/?id=immun&section=section_04

  10. Waiting to Exhale - Take a deep breath and remember that in the end,
      marrying the person you love is more important than having a perfect
      ceremony or reception.  The wedding is just the start of the marriage
      -- and hopefully, not the end.  "The happiest and healthiest wedding
      is the one that leads to a happy, healthy marriage," said Dr. Jones.
      Check out some great tips for keeping your marriage strong long after
      the wedding's over.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/mirakirshenbaum/the-ultimate-best-ev-2214 (copy/paste URL to your browswer)

"These seemingly small details could help people remember your wedding for all the right reasons," said Dr. Jones.

Dr. Jones is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist with expertise in obesity and exercise physiology. She attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York and also holds a master's degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. An award-winning medical writer and cartoonist, Dr. Jones worked on several biomedical imaging and vaccine research studies at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and she was also Chief Resident of Rehabilitation Medicine at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan and Principle Investigator of two diabetes and metabolism trials. Dr. Jones founded the Clinical Nutrition and Obesity e- section of the Medscape General Medicine journal and is a member of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Pain Society, American Council on Exercise and American Obesity Association.

For more information on healthy weddings, as well as general health and medical information, visit: http://www.revolutionhealth.com/.

About Revolution Health Group LLC

Revolution Health Group LLC was founded in March 2005 by Steve Case to create products and services that empower people by putting them at the center of the health system. Revolution Health's other founding investors and board members include Colin Powell, Carly Fiorina, Jim Barksdale, Frank Raines, Steve Wiggins, Miles Gilburne, John Delaney, Jeff Zients and David Golden. The company is based in Washington, D.C.

Source: Revolution Health Group LLC

Web site: http://www.revolutionhealth.com/