Wedding Dress Shopping - Plus-Sized Brides

ctraill

Serious question -- I have an appointment at a bridal salon that my friend owns in a week and I'm concerned that I'm not going to be able to fit into anything and I was too embarrassed to tell my friend that when she suggested I book an appointment and go look. I was planning on waiting 3-4 months before starting to shop so I could slim down a bit. I'm a 14 now, if that helps anyone. I really don't know anything about dress shopping, I'm just concerned that I'm going to humiliate myself. That being said, my friend knows what I look this -- she wouldn't deliberately set me up, I assume. Anyone have any experiences with this kind of thing??

SweetSammie

I was a 12 and there were many dresses I could try, even in small, non-chain salons. They want to sell dresses, and the average woman is a 12.

I had a great experience wedding gown shopping. My biggest piece of advice would be to start conservative, with dresses you are sure will fit and look reasonably attractive so you get to have some success before you are adventurous!

mamawend

When I went looking with my daughter, she was a 14-16. Basically the gowns were just stepped into and they used clips to close them in the back or else held them together so she could see what each style looked like, then she chose what she wanted and they ordered her size for her. One thing to remember so you don't get super disappointed right off the bat is that wedding gowns run small!!! If you usually wear a 14, you'll probably wear a 16-20. Just remember, it isn't the number that matters, it's how the gown looks on you. Nobody is going to pull out the tag and comment. Hope this helps.

ctraill

What a relief! I know bridal sizes run up 2 sizes usually from what I've heard so I'm not too worried about having to order a larger size than normal. And I expected that they wouldn't fit right/close completely -- but good to know that I won't completely humiliate myself! That was really my big concern if all the sample sizes were size 6! You guys have really reassured me. I still think I won't buy a dress for another couple of months at least (I'm getting married in July of 2013 so lots of time) but good to know that I can start looking around at styles and stuff before then. You guys are awesome!

MeganMeyer26

I was a 14 when I went dress shopping for my wedding and to my surprise in a wedding dress I actually wore a 12! I agree with the last poster start with dresses you feel like would look best on your for taste and your personalilty. But I also learned through my expierence to try on other suggestions too! The bridal consultatnts know what look best one what body types they are going to be there to find YOU the dress that YOU love and look GREAT in! So don't be afraid to try on something you wouldn't normally think of. That is actaully the dress that I ended up getting and it looked amazing! I had lots of compliments on how it made me look very slim. All of that being said, if you are not ready don't go. Your friend will understand if you explain your reasoning. You don't want to be going into the appointment already thinking it is going to be a failure. You want to be able to go in there confident that you just might find a dress that you love. If you still plano n losing weight and have time to wait before your wedding then wait. Losing more weight just means even more of a great selection of dresses for you on your special day.

Congrats on the wedding btw.

ctraill

Thanks! This is all really helpful. I think I'm ready to go, I just genuinely had visions that everything would be a size 6 and I would be standing around like a fool. I've never been in a bridal store and all my friends who are engaged or married are skinny minnies who wouldn't have thought twice about being able to fit into anything they liked. Honestly, this has been really good for my self esteem.