Couple shed a whopping 19st after wedding pictures shocked them into losing weight

LOOKING at her wedding album should have made Jill Whitham blush with joy.

Instead she flushed red with embarrassment.

The newlywed refused to diet for her big day as her fiancé Jack assured her he loved her just the way she was.

She had felt like a princess, but was mortified seeing the pictures of herself in her size 32 wedding dress, while husband Jack struggled to squeeze into his XL suit.

Jill tipped the scales at 24st while Jack weighed 18st, and the former receptionist realised they were eating themselves closer to their vow “til death do us part”.

Now a healthy 10st, Jill says: “I was excited when our wedding photos arrived, but the first thing I thought was, ‘I look like a giant meringue’.

“It was upsetting as I had really enjoyed the day.

“In the run-up to the wedding, my mum Anne had asked if I was going to drop some weight, but I just wanted to enjoy the day.

“As soon as I saw the wedding album, the penny dropped — we were killing ourselves.”

So the couple from York signed up to Weight Watchers.

Jill lost 14st and dropped 11 dress sizes, while Jack lost 5st and now wears medium-size clothes.

Jill, 37, met Jack, 35, at a nightclub while studying at York University in 2002.

She says: “After introducing ­himself as Jack I couldn’t stop laughing, thinking of the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill.”

They dated for four years and Jill, now a Weight Watchers leader, says: “He proposed on a romantic weekend away in Scotland for my birthday and of course I said yes.

“Even when we were planning the wedding we’d curl up on the sofa, gorging on takeaways while looking through bridal magazines.”

Dress shopping was hard, but Jill’s mum Anne, 61, always told her she looked stunning.

Jill says: “We found a brilliant boutique in town that catered for larger ladies.

The former receptionist says wedding dress shopping was hard, but her mum always told her she looked stunning

“Mum would gush about how beautiful I looked, but at a hefty 24st I felt anything but.

“She reminded me I’d said my weight wasn’t going to get me down and I knew she was right.”

When Jack and Jill married in York in April 2014, the day went without a glitch and the ­newlyweds headed to the Lake ­District for their honeymoon.

Jill says: “I felt like a princess. Looking back at the photos I realise I was kidding myself.

“At first Jack had quite fancied a honeymoon abroad.

“I kept saying it made more sense to stay in the UK as it was closer and cheaper, but he knew ­something was off.

“I finally came clean — I couldn’t face not being able to fit in the plane seat.

Jack was more than happy for us to go to the countryside.

But I soon ­realised that a walking holiday wasn’t the best idea when you’re 24st.

“I’d be huffing and puffing yards behind Jack. It was an eye-opener as to how big I’d got.”

Back home, when Jill saw her wedding photos she knew she had to lose weight.

She says: “Jack was great and said we were in it together.

“The first weigh-in was the most daunting as I only lost 2.5lb in one week. But I didn’t give up.

“Jack and I went on long walks, swimming and to the gym, and swapped takeaways for protein-based salads.”

In 18 months the pair lost a total of 19st, with Jill now weighing 10st and Jack 13st 2lb.

Jill says: “We almost don’t recognise the couple in our wedding photos, but one thing is certain.

“We’ll love each other, through thick and thin.”