bridesmaid dress dilemma - what do i do?

godblessourhome

my sister is getting married october 1. i'm her matron of honor. i stopped up to grab my dress from her 2 weeks ago and it was huge on me! i needed at least 2 inches on each side of the bodice and waist taken in.

fast forward to today. i went and saw a seamstress to take it in - and nothing needed to be altered (maybe a half an inch on each side). the problem is that i have been on a heightened dose of progesterone for the last 12 days and i know i am bloated from that now, but i won't be in a week.

i leave for the wedding wednesday and have no one to alter my dress after i leave. what should i do? my dress might fit now but it won't in a week! i am freaking out just thinking about it.

suggestions? advice? commiseration? anything?

kellyscomeback

I'd leave it as is unless you a bloated an extra pant size.

JanetTerry

leave it - a little too big is WAY better that too small!! Quit worrying over it Itll be fine!!

TNAJackson

Too big is ALWAYS better than too small!

ivyjbres

Safety pins are your friend. The morning of the wedding, flip the dress inside-out, put it on and pin it, remember to leave a 1/2 inch breathing room for the extra fabric. Flip it back right-side-out and put it back on, check to make sure it looks OK. You can pin it from the sides or the back, either one depending on what looks best with the design you've got.

Or just let the diet coast so you can fill it out.

kbrogan78

Unfortunately, it's virtually impossible to tailor a dress unless you can either try it on once the bloating goes down or know what those exact measurements will be to use a dressform. Unless it's a strapless dress that will fall down if it's too big, I'd leave it be. By the end of the night you'll probably be happy to have had a little more breathing (oand dancing!) room in your dress. I was in a wedding where my dress could probably have come in a full size but I was SO MUCH more comfortable than the other two gals whose dresses were skin tight through the bodice! I could eat, dance, etc without worrying about ripping a seam. If it is a strapless dress, take lots of big safety pins so you can at strategically pin it to your bra if needed.

Amo_Angelus

Can you get it laced down the back instead of zipped/buttoned/whatever. Laced back are perfect because they can pull a dress in a bit extra or let it out a bit extra as needed. So if you can get it laced, get it altered slightly smaller than your current size.

questionablemethods

Safety pins are your friend. The morning of the wedding, flip the dress inside-out, put it on and pin it, remember to leave a 1/2 inch breathing room for the extra fabric. Flip it back right-side-out and put it back on, check to make sure it looks OK. You can pin it from the sides or the back, either one depending on what looks best with the design you've got.

I think this sounds like a plan. And besides, you know what they say, "everyone will be looking at the bride anyway." :happy:

godblessourhome

leave it - a little too big is WAY better that too small!! Quit worrying over it Itll be fine!!

two weeks ago, it wasn't a 'little' to big. it was huge and falling off me. i'm honestly worried that it won't be fine.

godblessourhome

I think this sounds like a plan. And besides, you know what they say, "everyone will be looking at the bride anyway." :happy:

not if my dress falls down while walking down the aisle. the dress is strapless.

godblessourhome

Can you get it laced down the back instead of zipped/buttoned/whatever. Laced back are perfect because they can pull a dress in a bit extra or let it out a bit extra as needed. So if you can get it laced, get it altered slightly smaller than your current size.

it's zipped.

godblessourhome

Safety pins are your friend. The morning of the wedding, flip the dress inside-out, put it on and pin it, remember to leave a 1/2 inch breathing room for the extra fabric. Flip it back right-side-out and put it back on, check to make sure it looks OK. You can pin it from the sides or the back, either one depending on what looks best with the design you've got.

Or just let the diet coast so you can fill it out.

how do you get the extra material to lay flat? four inches is a lot of extra material.

robinpickles

Bring a good deal of tape to the wedding, and if it does not fit, just STICK IT ON at the top strapless part...it can only flow down from there....

the more you worry the more you will swell .. =(

good luck!

catcrazy

go for halfway between what you were 2 weeks ago and what you are now...it might still be a tad big but at least it won't be massively too small if the bloat takes longer to go down

Amo_Angelus

Can you get it laced down the back instead of zipped/buttoned/whatever. Laced back are perfect because they can pull a dress in a bit extra or let it out a bit extra as needed. So if you can get it laced, get it altered slightly smaller than your current size.

it's zipped.

Means nothing, most zipped dresses can be converted into laced without altering the design or being visible in any way. My wedding dress is zipped, but ince it's getting altered anyway to fit me like a glove, I'm asking for it to be laced to so I can eat and not worry about bursting the seam as it's almost corsetted, as far as it can be with a zip :P Ask the bride and ask the alteration person, 90% of zipped dresses are easy conversions. And since it would make no difference to the dress itself...As a bride I wouldn't mind. I'm actively encouring my maids to alter the zip/lace of their backs. I want my sister laced and my cousins zipped even though their dresses are the exact opposit, but a laced back would be more flattering to my sisters figure as you can take it in where needed and let out where not needed and even though it's tailored to her size, the option of letting it out at meal time would be better because like mine, it's a close fitting dress and may pop, whereas my couins are all under thirteen and laced, so I'm getting them zippedfor pure ease. Because...ever try lacing three children under the age of thirteen into dresses? I have, it took forever and they don't stand still long enough, and there's not that many people who know how to lace properly. Me and my sister and my dad are posibly the only people in the room able to do it.

I honestly think it's the best plan and something to ask about. It's cheap too, I think it's only going to cot about £200-£300 for me to have five dresses converted to the appropriate back, and one of those is my wedding dress.