Wedding Weight Loss

I ahven't bought a wedding dress but I did use to work at a bridal store and did lots of alterations.

Unless the dress has to be special oprdered in your size you don't need a whole year...but it just depends on what you want.

My advice is to reasses your goals and be very realistic. You've lost 22 already....good job btw.... how fast did that happen...now cut that down by 1/3 to 1/2 (b/c the less you have tolose the slower it goes) and do the math to see where you will realistically be in October.....Then when you go dress shopping tell your salesperson you intend to lose more weight be open with them...have you seen a lot more inches gone form certain areas...those kinds of trends usually continue. Also I would say set your goal to be at maintenance by 30 days before...you'll be stressed and it'll just be easier besides that way there shouldn't be big changes after your last fitting.

Usually taking in a dress an inch or even 2 or three in the bust or waist is not huge problem but letting it out...well there's only so much fabric to work with....so be realistic and maybe go with a lace up back if you miss your goal slightly it's easier to go loose on the lacing than to squeeze into something with an unforgiving zipper.

"Unless the dress has to be special ordered in your size you don't need a whole year...but it just depends on what you want. "

^^THIS. I ordered a bridesmaid dress while 9 mos pregnant because the bride insisted - the wedding was not for six months. It took something like a week for the dress to arrive.

I bought my wedding dress six weeks before the wedding. My problem was it was too big and I couldn't afford to have it altered so I put on some weight for the wedding lmao

Hi MFPs! I recently got engaged, and we're planning a wedding for October 2013. I'd like to lose 30-40 pounds by my wedding day on 10/18/13. (I've been on MFP since July and have lost 22 pounds so far this year.)

I've been told that I need to shop for a wedding dress 8-12 months from the wedding, which puts me at buying a wedding dress in January/February 2013 at the latest. I'm a bit worried about purchasing a dress at (or near) my current weight, and then needing significant alterations when it finally arrives, and then as I continue to (hopefully) lose weight.

My questions for you:
-Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Any advice on weight loss/ dress fittings before the wedding?
-How far in advance of the wedding were you told to "stop losing weight" or else the dress wouldn't fit? (IE no time left to do an alteration)

Thank you all in advance!

For my wedding I anticipated losing another 20 lbs before the date... and bought my dress one or two sizes smaller then what I was... eesh.. mistake... always buy bigger then what you are so alterations can be made for it to fit you perfectly.. alterations should be done about 4 weeks before the wedding.

I lost 50+ lbs before my wedding (of course put most of it back on with baby, but that is a different story ) I had final alterations done on the dress 2 weeks before the wedding. Find a great seamstress and it shouldn't be a problem. Whatever you do, don't order a dress smaller than you are when measured. Dresses are easier taken in than let out. A friend insisted she was going to lose 3 sizes before her wedding and didn't. She almost couldn't wear her dress. The seamstress managed to make it fit, but she looked like she was going to bust a seam at any moment.

I just got married in September. I started my weight loss journey about 11 months before the wedding but didn't REALLY get started until after I bought my wedding dress. Between buying my dress and the wedding I lost 18 pounds and about 2 dress sizes (2 inches from my waist and 4-5 inches from my hips). Even though the lady at the bridal store sort of rolled her eyes at me for "losing so much weight" (or, rather, getting back to a healthy weight) they were able to alter the dress (a style that needed to be fitted to look good - in my profile pic) and no one could tell that it had been altered several inches!

Overall, I would say losing much more than 2 dress sizes might make it a bit more difficult and could add to the expense of the alteration - so if you can lose a bit between now and February/March when you should buy the dress you will probably be in good shape!

Also - I bought my dress about 7 months before my wedding but this might vary from store to store so make sure you ask.

GOOD LUCK and CONGRATS!!

I would order it around 6 months before your wedding and get it in the size you are at that time. I had many plans to lose weight before my wedding and with all the stress I ended up gaining - you don't want the added pressure of having to fit in a dress a few sizes too small!

Congratulations and enjoy the next 10-11 months of planning!

I got engaged December 22 2008 and married Feb 7 2009. I had NO time to worry, I bought what fit...and my wedding was 4 months AFTER my daughter was born.


I would agree and go looking...if you find someone you love buy it and you can always get it taken in.
Otherwise I would wait a little.

You do NOT need a whole year. I went wedding dress shopping found a dress and I can pick it up when I pay it off. Unless you are looking online or at a catalog at the bridal store you do not have to wait for it to come in. The only reason to order a dress is for a change of color of the dress or sash, sleeves, or the dress is no where near your size.

My wedding dress is big but nothing that can't be altered. I expressed that I didn't plan on gaining weight and that I have been losing weight and they said I have nothing to worry about. I am picking up my dress this month and my wedding is in March.

I was also told before I found my wedding dress that the average time when ordering a dress is 4-6 months.

My best advice is to go to near bridal shops and ask them yourself, they can clarify everything for you. I was very nervous going in because my husband-to-be proposed in August and we are getting married in March so I thought that I would be dressless and guess what I am not, just have to pick it up. And I told them that I have lost a lot of weight and I am continuing to do so and they said that is fine, it is common for brides to do either or.

Hope this helps

P.S. They are starting alterations about 1-2 months before the wedding and I will go in 2 weeks before and 1 week before. I found someone who has made wedding dresses and has been doing this for 20+ years, she is a God sent. I am not worried at all.

great post! I'm in the same boat as you. I'm recently engaged and my wedding is October 4, 2013. My family and friends want me to go dress shopping now but I want to wait until after the holidays. So I will probably try on my first dress in February. I have ideas of what I like though. Add me if you like as we go through this journey together

Congrats!

I ordered a dress about 6 months before my wedding, not intending to diet. I changed my mind, and by the time the dress came I'd lost 15 pounds. By the time of my wedding, I had lost 10-15 more. Every fitting it seemed like it was being taken in quite a bit. My seamstress said it's never a problem to take it in, so she told me to keep losing weight until my final fitting. Order the dress you love that fits you now. And know that with the right seamstress, there shouldn't be any reason why it can't be adjusted later. Congratulations!

hello, my wedding is also in cotober 2013, sat the 26th to be adsact. I have chosen my dress and it will be orderd jan 15th, they said it will take roughly 6 months to come in so to order it early just incase of any issue's, such as chinease new year. I think it depends on the shop you get your dress from and weather its off the peg or needs to be orderd, im being measured in jan and if im between sizes im going to get the smaller one, its a corset back so i no il be fine adding you to keep me motivated x