Brides go under the knife

Brides are opting for plastic surgery to make sure they look their best on their wedding day.

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BUDGETING for your upcoming wedding is difficult enough when other couples spare no expense in finding the perfect dress, venue, or wedding cake.

But imagine splurging an extra few grand for something like pre-wedding plastic surgery.

Cosmetic surgery - once considered a pricey luxury among Hollywood's rich and famous - is now a common beauty trend among brides wanting to look their best when walking down the aisle.

The "bridalplasty" phenomenon is said to be helped along by the likes of its TV namesake Bridalplasty, a US reality show where brides vie for plastic surgery procedures for their coming nuptials.

Brisbane plastic surgeon Dr Scott Ingram has noticed a substantial increase in bridal plastic surgery procedures in Queensland over the past few years.

"We've seen a 12% increase in these kinds of procedures in brides over the past 24 months," Dr Ingram said.

"A more interesting development has been the requests for complete head-to-toe surgical makeovers - essentially changing their appearance entirely in the lead-up to a wedding."

Sunshine Coast brides looking to undergo their own bridalplasties, but who may be deterred by the hefty surgery costs, also have been known to organise their plastic surgery overseas.

Sunshine Coast-based All About Me Makeovers organises for clientele to fly to Thailand for low-cost breast augmentations, facelifts, tummy tucks, and dental work by qualified surgeons.

All About Me Makeovers founder Gail Davies said brides spent about half as much in pre-wedding plastic surgery costs overseas.

"For brides wanting breast procedures, they would spend about $13,000 to $14,000 just for the procedure here," Ms Davies said.

"But if you were to do it in Thailand, it's just $5000. That's your airfares, accommodation, hospital visit and breast implants all in one."

Ms Davies said that while going up a few cup sizes was the more popular procedure among brides, others also had signed up for minor facial surgeries such as nose jobs and ear pinning.

"They are fairly young when they're looking to have something done, so really there's no need to have major surgeries," Ms Davies said.

While brides often turn to surgery to look their best for their groom, wedding guests and in photos, Ms Davies said improving self-esteem was the main motivation.

"These procedures are not done for cosmetic reasons as such," she said. "It's about confidence.

"It's amazing what confidence can do when you feel better about yourself and how you look, so then you can truly look fantastic on your wedding day.

"You can have makeup and hair stylists for the wedding but (brides) want to look beautiful without stressing about their insecurities.

"If they're thinking of having it done, I wouldn't tell them to do something unless it's worth doing.

"But unless it's plagued them all their life and it's still proven to be a problem throughout adulthood, and impacts their confidence, then I say just go for it."

For less dramatic makeovers, procedures such as Botox, permanent makeup, laser treatments, teeth whitening and microdermabrasion are just as popular among Coast brides.

Noosa Medical, Cosmetic and Specialist Centre practice manager Ida Kocsis said brides opting for cosmetic surgery were looking for "a quick fix" before the wedding.

"They want to look very fresh, very natural, and very revitalised," Ms Kocsis said.

Ms Kocsis said brides and their mothers came in, spending about $500 for facial peels and dermabrasion, up to more than $1000 for dermal fillers and anti-wrinkle treatments.

As a paramedical therapist, Ms Kocsis said there was no shame in brides wanting to look their best on their special day.

"From my experience, (cosmetic surgery) is still a taboo subject," she said.

"A lot of the time, we get people come through who are not willing to share they have had procedures done.

"Brides just see it as an all-round cosmetic treatment, for touch-ups and feeling beautiful on the day.

"We should accept that since we are living longer, and apart from age, some of us just want to look as good as we feel."