Nervous to shop for wedding dresses...

NikkiSixGuns

The suggestion to have them not tell you the size is a good one, but if you're like me you're going to look for it at the first chance you get.

I'd suggest that you focus on the dress and not yourself. If you find one you love but you're not satisfied with the way you look in it(yet), know that you've got time to work toward your goal and that your dress WILL have to be fitted when you get closer to the date. It doesn't have to be perfect at this point.

Congrats on your engagement, and I hope your appointment goes well today!

lilRicki

Thank you everyone

Our wedding will be October 4, 2014. We are recently engaged. I will be dress shopping with a small budget at David's Bridal. From what I understand, they stock many sizes in the store, so I should hopefully be able to try on something that fits or is at least close to my size.

I really like the idea from the poster above about asking them to not even tell me what the sizes are.

mine is from david's bridal...actually I bought 2 :blushing: One to trash in Mexico, and one to wear to our reception here and still came under $800

4themoney

when i went all of the dresses were available to try on in ONE size.... sometimes it was TOO big and sometimes it was TOO small. when too big they clipped it when too small we simply didn't zip it. my measurements were taken and the dress was ordered per MY measurements. try NOT to worry about it fitting or not! and remember they size up ALL wedding related dresses. basically, once they are over a certain size, they can charge more for more fabric. so, an 8 is actually a 6!

good luck!!!!!

WMLizard

I was engaged last June, bought my dress in November, was married in January. I first went to David's Bridal - I liked that I could look online, get some idea of prices, etc. It was not a great experience. Not because of my size, just because of the store. The consultant was split between two appointments, so sometimes there was a long gap just waiting around or trying to find my own way into/out of a dress. I had a large group with me, so they did help some. I wasn't looking for strapless, just didn't like the look on me from the past. She took that to mean I was modest and kept bringing out ideas for "covering" this or that or raising cleavage, etc. Totally did not get that I just didn't think it would be flattering.

In the end, I found a dress that was okay, but since it was my first stop, I didn't have any intention of buying anything. Then came the hard sell, about the fact that it was already October and they couldn't promise to have the dress in my size if I didn't order that day, and on and on.

I didn't buy it. I had promised to go shopping again with my mother-in-law closer to my home (instead of my mom's home), so I wasn't buying anything. I ended up stopping by a bridal shop that seemed out my price range, but they had a whole floor of dresses upstairs that were discounted. I brought my mother-in-law and some others to that store, had a great experience, found two dresses I loved, and in the end, I bought the strapless one! My budget was $500 (including alterations) and this dress cost less than that. They were able to do more specialty alterations than David's, and the consultant kept insisting that I try on ANY size, they could make it fit.

So....all this to say...don't feel locked in to David's, or that another shop won't have the choices or budget that you need. And have fun! I'm not normally a girly-girl, but I totally did cry when I saw my mom tear up about my dress.

DanielleH1213

When I went to try on wedding dresses I had a handful picked out that I wanted and the woman got them all. After I tried on all of them I told her based on my reactions to the ones I had picked out to go find some other ones. I ended up picking one of the ones she chose. And I would definitely not take the size to heart. I was wearing size 12 clothes at the time and they wanted me to order a size 16 women's (aka closer to plus sized). I ordered a size 16 regular and it need just a few alterations. If you go in with the right mindset then it will be a fun experience. If you go in dreading it and expecting to have a horrible time then you will. If you aren't ready then you aren't ready. Just don't wait too long. The last few months before a wedding fly by! I barely remember last summer let alone september and october leading up to my October 19th wedding last year. Get as much done as soon as possible.

fg8585

My budget is $500 or under for the dress, plus more for the cost of alterations.

I've been scoping out some of the sale dresses... I hope I end up being able to snag one of the $99 dresses.

With that price range you should be ok! Actually one of the great dresses I saw was 500 dollars. Ended up finding my current dress though for 99 dollars.

By the way OP you look super thin, I don't know why you're scared. You shouldn't be. And you're on the taller side so you should be more than fine.

fg8585

Get as much done as soon as possible.

Finally someone can agree with me on that.
I'm glad I got my dress now as opposed to next year, a month before my wedding.

mkozmik

Great point! Also, keep in mind that they are not vanity sized. I usually wear a size 8, but my wedding dress was a size 12.

My daughter found lots of dresses she liked in the bridal magazines, but when she tried them on, she knew right away she didn't like them at all. The dress she decided on mirrored her personal style (and many of the dresses in her closet) with a very elegant edge.

Good luck! Don't get discouraged the first time you go try on dresses if you don't find the right style at first. Sometimes it takes a few trips to several places to find what you want.

MK

The first thing that you have to remember is that wedding dress samples come in incredibly small sizes. If the consultant ends up saying that she has to grab the dress in a bigger size, as much as it sucks to hear, just remind yourself that it isn't only you. Most women do not fit into the sample dresses.

You also have to know that just because a consultant says that, that in no way shape or form, is her calling you fat. That is her simply trying to find a dress that fits properly so that you can get a better visual as to how the dress would look once you have it properly fitted.

And besides, looking at your profile picture, I think you look great. Wedding dress shopping is about finding the dress that you want to marry your partner in. It's meant to make you feel good and just take a deep breath and relax. Take it all in and try your best to enjoy it and stay positive.

willrun4bagels

Thanks to all for offering advice.

I went to the appointment last night. With me were my mom, two of my sisters, and one friend.

I showed the consultant pictures of the dresses I liked on the website. She asked me my pants size (juggling between a 10 and a 12 right now depending on the brand of pants), and went to grab some samples. I was hoping to snag one of the $99 dresses that are part of their clearance sale, those were limited to what was in stock at that time, not anything special order.

She brings some size 10 and 12 samples out. None of them fit, at all. Not even close. WTF BRIDAL SIZING???

She goes and gets other sizes. I mention that I am 6'2" (not that it wasn't obvious that I'm really tall) and tell her I intend to wear flats with the dress, no heels, but if the dress is supposed to be floor length, I'd like it to be long enough for me. She can already tell after I tried on one sample that the standard length was not long enough, so has to find out what dresses can be ordered with extra length AND be delivered in time for alterations before my 10/4/14 wedding. I was left with a handful of options, only 3 of which were available in stock in the store in a size close enough for me to try on.

I found a dress. It was the first one I tried on, and I wasn't happy with myself in it when I first saw it. I felt like my arms looked enormous, and my back looked horrible too. The lighting in those stores SUCKS... fluorescent bulbs make no one look good. I just felt like I thought I'd have looked a lot smaller than I did in that dress. Like when I stand in front of a mirror at home, I feel like I look okay, and not that big anymore (see profile pictures for "before"). But standing in that dress, I felt like I was still 281 lbs again.

Given the fact that I need a dress with extra length, and couldn't be guaranteed anything long enough unless I ordered within the next week or 2, and had a small budget, I purchased that dress. My family and friend loved it. I hope I like it as much as they do when it comes in on 9/18... I also hope I feel a lot better about myself in it when I go to try it on. My sister took pictures of me in it, and looking at those pictures today, I still feel like I look way bigger than I do in recent pictures of me in "normal" clothes... The sample I tried on was a 16W (I was very upset that I needed a plus sized wedding dress...), so that is the size she ordered for me.

geekishgirl

I know it can be discouraging. My wedding dress was an 18W and my jeans are a 14. It really is true that wedding dresses run small. Try not to think so much about the size.

I do hope that when your dress comes in and you try it on again you love it and feel beautiful in it. I felt that way when I bought my dress and the first time I tried it on after it came, but when I tried it on 2 weeks before my wedding, AFTER losing 20 pounds I just felt fat. I was really scared to put it on the day of my wedding because I didn't want to feel that way again. I can happily say when I put it on day of I didn't feel fat. I didn't feel skinny either, but I did feel beautiful.

You've got some time. Keep working at your goals and try not to worry about the dress for now.