Something New

Megan Roup on how to truly feel your best on your wedding day

Written by Laura Hupp

Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, but what about you?

Fitness pioneer and creator of The Sculpt Society, Megan Roup is no stranger to the stress of wedding planning. Amongst the chaos of flower arrangements, place settings, dress fittings, and every step in between, it is no wonder the bride’s feelings get lost in it all.

Megan’s Santa Barbara micro-wedding with just 14 guests was not always the plan, but the pandemic had other ideas for her original 150-guest soiree. “Even with that amount of people, I still felt stressed,” she recalls. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Megan and gain insight on what she recommends for brides, after all, she’s the expert on feeling our best mentally and physically.

The Sculpt Society is just that—a community that feels good. This May, she released her bridal fitness program on the app that aims to break the “shredding before the wedding” mentality and remove the pressures of looking a certain way. When preparing for her own big day, she valued “shifting the focus of the wedding to not be about being my thinnest but being my happiest and true self.” The eight-week fitness plan is complete with low-impact sculpting workouts, fueling recipes, and advice from wedding experts across all fronts that focus on how you feel.

“This diet culture mindset sets us up to fail. I always say working out is not for the next thirty days, it’s for the rest of our lives.” The Sculpt Society as a whole and her bridal program offer a sustainable way to get results while still having all “those amazing feelings” of strength and confidence. A former professional dancer, Megan struggled to find workouts that balanced mental and physical fulfillment for her. “I felt like there was a class I wanted to create that was inclusive, that was focused on having fun, that was effective, and that left my community feeling empowered and feeling good in their own bodies.”

Her outlook on exercise is music to a busy bride’s ears. Roup would rather her clients engage fully in a ten-minute workout five or six times a week than do a lengthy intense workout that causes them to feel guilty about not being able to stick to it consistently. “Commit to less so that you can show up more,” she encourages. This is not to say her ten-minute sculpts are not going to have you breaking a sweat. “They are going to get so much in 10 minutes, and they’re going to be able to move on and go on with the rest of the day.”

She resonates with brides wanting to feel their best and most confident on their big day but reminds her clients that this feeling comes from within. “You’re going to want to look back and recognize yourself on your wedding day,” Roup adds that nothing is going to change because you did not get your thirty-minute workout in, and each week is going to be different. In the most comforting and sincere way imaginable, she affirms, “It’s okay.”

While avoiding these pressures is much easier said than done, as are most things in life, Roup’s bridal program offers some direction in the form of guided meditations and advice sessions from wedding experts Elizabeth Fillmore and Jennifer Behr. Asking for help and support is also important to Megan. She recommends all brides ask family and friends to take some of the physical and mental burdens of the wedding off their shoulders.

There is no diet associated with the bridal plan (for good reason), but she does offer some of her favorite nutritious and whole recipes—food that feels good. Another plus for the busy bride? These ideas are inspired by what Megan would actually have time to do herself. “We’re all so busy, so when I’m looking at recipes, it’s what am I making in the kitchen? What am I enjoying?” As an intuitive eater, Roup doesn’t cancel out any food groups. “I allow my body to have what it wants and what it craves, and I am trying to show my community that as well within those recipes.”

As for her own routine to feel mentally her best, Megan starts her day forty-five minutes before her daughter wakes up. She notes that she is surprisingly not a morning person. Creating that time for herself was crucial in her adjustment to motherhood. “Just making my own coffee, journaling, meditating for five minutes…It’s really simple, not complicated,” Roup says of her mornings.

My own challenges with regular meditation pushed me to ask for any tips she had on the practice. “I’m never going to be the girl who can sit down and meditate for twenty minutes,” she relates. All the guided meditations on her app are between five and seven minutes long. Her recommendation: ease into it. There is no pressure to be perfect with meditation. Her motivation is how much better she feels when she stays consistent.

Her biggest piece of advice for all brides? Be present. “When you look back at your wedding, you really don’t remember those small details. I remember dancing and feeling so loved by my family and my husband. I cannot tell you what our place settings looked like. I can kind of remember flowers…If you can feel that sense of being grounded and physically present, you’ll be able to enjoy it so much more.”