Kirsty Thomson, 26, from Callander, Stirlingshire, weighed nearly 17 stone when she got engaged to sweetheart Lindsay McEwan. 

She accepted and the couple became engaged but Kirsty refused to get married until she could wear her dream dress.

Her weight was a constant struggle as she worked as a waitress in a hotel, where Lindsay was head waiter, and food was always available in the staff accommodation.

She later left the job and started working in a pharmacy and this proved a massive turning point.

Kirsty said: 'Lindsay and I both worked in the hotel and our shifts were all over the place so we never really had the chance to cook.

'We were surrounded by a fish and chip shop, Chinese and Indian takeaways, so we just ate conveniently. It was all the wrong stuff.

'Being a waitress was an active job. I could do it but I ended up a sweaty mess and you don't want somebody like that serving your dinner.

'I've worked in a pharmacy for the past three and a half years and I have to promote healthy eating.

'I was massively obese and I was supposed to give advice about that. I felt like such a hypocrite.

'Some of my friends went to dance classes but I couldn't go - even if I could do the moves, I couldn't wear the outfits. It was mortifying.'

Kirsty was determined to lose weight before she got married to Lindsay

The 26-year old’s diet meant that at one point she weighed 16st 9lbs but a year after joining Scottish Slimmers, she began shopping for her wedding dress.

Kirsty reached her target weight of 11st 9lbs just two weeks before her big day and even had to have her dress altered - because she was still losing weight.

The proud bride enjoyed numerous compliments from family friends on the big day at Doune Castle, Perthshire, where she finally married Lindsay last month.

Her proud husband was full of praise saying: 'Kirsty's transformation is fantastic, she's looking good. I asked her every year to set a date but she would always just say 'not this year'.

'I managed to stay patient because I love her and she was definitely worth the wait. The wedding was great and Kirsty looked fantastic in her wedding dress.'

Hat-tip to the Daily Mail