It’s been said that any time a girl gets married an angel gets its wings a group of friends is required to attend no less than five events to celebrate. Of all these events, the bridal shower is probably the most frequently sh*t talked, which is no surprise given some of the traditions associated with it: making the bride a hat she’ll never wear, forcing her to open presents while putting on the greatest acting performance of her life, slowly sipping exactly one glass of rosé and talking about nothing. It’s no surprise that the bridal shower is due for a rewrite.
So when it came time to throw a bridal shower for cofounder and CEO of Betches Aleen Kuperman, we knew we had a chance to do something different. You might remember Andy Cohen’s legendary baby shower from a few months ago, and if we could point to anything as our inspiration, this was it. Idk if we’re still using the word “lit” publicly, but behind the scenes we’ve been referring to it as Aleen’s lit bridal shower throughout the planning.
We threw the shower in the private room upstairs at Dirty French, an amazing French bistro style space in NYC that’s part of the Major Food Group, and we honestly couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect spot.
Like seriously, this bar belongs on some sort of vision board (if you’re into that). They set up both a make your own Bloody Mary bar and a mimosa bar.
Now let’s talk about the custom drinks. When we arrived, guests were offered champagne with a cotton candy skewer on it, something that basically walked out of my insta feed and into this party. There were also drinks named after Aleen and her fiancé, Rusty.
In case these names need explanation, LeenzyBetch is a variation of a nickname Aleen had in high school. (Can you guess? It’s Leenzybitch.) Rusty is a ginger who will be married soon.
The food was unreal and included all the ideal brunch foods for those still enduring their hangover from the night before. Think pancakes, eggs, cheeseburgers and fries, tuna tartare with crepes.
The party was planned by freelance planner Hali Goodman with the help of Betches cofounder Sami Fishbein. We wanted to incorporate elements of things that Aleen loves, from a cookie cake to cookies with a Friends reference to tequila with simple instructions.
Aleen wore the Lyssa tiered ruffle lace dress by Alexis and Rosalind gem ankle-strap sandals by Sophia Webster, and she was styled by Your Soul Style.
We also knew that to get everyone dancing we needed a great DJ. Which is why we went with Prosecco Pete, who was perfect not just because of his name, but because he’s an expert in the basic betch music genre.
Rusty came, and Aleen wasn’t surprised because she told him what time to come.
Of course we did some of the traditional sh*t, like the newlywed game and heartfelt speeches from the moms. Awwww. The bridesmaids shared funny stories, many centered around various boy crushes Aleen has had throughout her life.
We also played a game called the toilet paper game (the unofficial name), where two teams have five minutes to create a wedding dress out of toilet paper, and the bride judges who won. We played adults vs. younger adults (aka moms’ friends vs. Aleen’s friends). None of us had ever played before but it was very fun, especially after two hours of LeenzyBetches.
So should you ever find yourself in charge of planning a bridal shower, feel free to take this concept. Literally everyone will be grateful they didn’t have to ooh and ahh over a salad spinner that’s about to get exchanged for cash.
Even if you’re Lizzo, you have times when your confidence isn’t through the roof and you don’t feel like you’re 100% that bitch. No one can prance around totally ~feeling themselves~ à la Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj all the time. If you’re being real, sometimes your self-esteem needs a pick me up, and who better to give you the tips for how to achieve that than Denise Bidot, who’s truly changing the damn world with her body positivity on social media and through her No Wrong Way Movement, which grew from her always saying “There’s no wrong way to be a woman.” She was the first plus-size model to walk in New York Fashion Week and she is honestly so f*cking beautiful. And she smells amazing. And I’m obsessed with her but that’s besides the point. She joined Sami and Aleen on the latest episode of the Diet Starts Tomorrow podcast, but that’s not all… she’ll be headlining the DST Live Show at the Gramercy Theatre on July 31st, which you can buy your tickets for here. So without further ado, here are her best tips for boosting your self confidence and living your best life.
1. Create An Alter Ego
Take a page out of Erika Girardi/Jayne’s book and let your best self live, even if you have to consider it a character separate from yourself at first. As Sami pointed out, this is an actual therapeutic technique. Denise developed an alter ego named Misty in order to turn herself into someone fierce AF who doesn’t give a f*ck. She describes her as “a bombshell sugar mama who’s really badass,” which honestly is what we all aspire to be. Once you’ve acted like your boss betch counterpart enough, she’ll just morph into your personality and become who you really are.
2. Laugh At Yourself In The Mirror
Denise described laughing at herself in the mirror as the first real technique she ever used in order to feel good about herself. She said, “I would stand in front of the mirror naked and make fun of, if not joke about things that I did not love… and I’d be like ‘Oh my god, I love that cellulite’ or ‘Oh my god, I love your uneven tits’… and slowly but surely I began to laugh at them and they became not as powerful over me.” Ummm, this is genius. It’s not hard to call out the parts of our bodies that we aren’t crazy about, so why not just make a joke out of them? I LOVE THIS. It’s like standing up to the bully and taking its power away by not letting yourself be victimized by it anymore. LOL stretch marks, you cute! I see you!
3. Do Whatever The F*ck You Want With Your Body
When Denise mentioned that she was approved by the doctor to get a breast reduction when she was only 16, Aleen opened up about her own breast reduction and how happy she is with the results. Even though Denise never ended up getting one, she said she has major respect for the ways that anyone reaches peace with themselves and happiness with their bodies, whatever they may be. “I do think that there is a happy place for everyone and finding that is what’s really important. It doesn’t look one way or any way. Like, if there’s a girl who wants to get her lips done or a girl who wants botox, do what makes your soul happy as long as you’re doing it for you and not for anyone else,” she so wisely said. She really is that betch.
4. Don’t Retouch Photos
Denise shared that she has made it a point to not retouch her photos on social media, however brutally honest they may be, which Sami bonded with her over because she has stopped editing her own pictures after looking back at pictures of herself and realizing that’s not what she actually looked like back then. Once you start accepting what your photos look like and being vulnerable enough to share them with the world, the more comfortable you will naturally become with yourself. You’re also promoting body positivity to literally everybody else and spreading the message that it’s okay to look human and not fakely perfect all the time! Being honest with yourself and everyone else and owning how you look is a huge step towards accepting and loving yourself.
5. Realize How Fake Everyone Else’s Photos Are
Even though everyone would be following tip #4 in a perfect world, this is reality and Facetune exists. Denise told Sami and Aleen about photoshoots she’d done with photographers that claimed they wouldn’t retouch the photos and then did. Even skincare campaigns that are supposed to show how good a certain product can actually make your face look are totally photoshopped and distort everyone’s perception of reality. Next time you see a totally smooth body on Instagram, consider that it’s literally not possible for anyone to look like that naturally, so it’s just not realistic for you to expect yourself to look like that. Just look at one of our many Photoshop Fail articles and you’ll see.
6. Take Risks
You don’t have to do anything too crazy, like invest all your money or jump off a bridge or anything. Those are a little extreme, but taking risks on things that could bring you closer to your aspirations goes hand in hand with your self confidence. Denise explained that a teacher of hers taught her, “Here’s the thing about risks. You can either take the risk and worst case scenario you can end up right where you are, or you can take this risk and actually reach your dreams.” Ever since, she’s had a YOLO attitude of considering that the worst that could happen actually isn’t that bad and it’s totally worth it to shoot your shot. She said that she never even considered going into modeling because she thought she could never pull it off, until she realized if it didn’t work nothing would change but if it did she’d literally be a model. If you have the balls to take a risk you have way more confidence in you than you thought.
7. Listen To A Song That Empowers You
Denise described the experience of doing her first lingerie photoshoot and being terrified of posing in front of everyone with most of her body showing until she told herself to just listen to the Christina Aguilera and Pussycat Dolls songs that were playing and dance. This is such a great way to loosen TF up and start feeling yourself. Put on “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo or “Flawless” by Beyoncé and THRIVE, BETCH!
To hear more from Denise on Diet Starts Tomorrow, listen to the episode below.
Images: Tenor (6); denisebidot / Instagram
