Any brides out there with advice about dress shopping?

You should just buy the size dress that you are NOW. Do not buy a smaller size for a weight that you think you'll be in October. God forbid you do not lose all of the weight you want and are stuck with a dress that is too tight! I can't imagine anything worse happening right before one's wedding. The good thing about buying a dress in your current size is that the seamstresses on staff at most bridal shops are able to take in dresses and make them fit you at a smaller weight. It's so much easier to take in fabric than it is to let it out! The real challenge for a seamstress is letting a dress out to accommodate someone at a heavier weight, hence why I strongly suggest you do not buy a smaller size! Also, keep in mind that most wedding dresses run SMALL. On my wedding day, I was a size 6 dress size, but was wearing a size 12 wedding dress (I had lost some weight and had it taken in, but was not a size 12 in regular clothes when I bought it). This is my advice! Enjoy the dress shopping and don't wait too long if your wedding is in October 2014!!! Mine took seven months to arrive at the shop after I ordered it! :noway:

I know some people (like the second response you received) order their dresses from boutiques and stuff, and it takes months to get them and then many fittings and alterations and so on.

I've been married twice and I quite frankly did not have the time, money, or patience for any of that business!! The first time I wore a friend's dress and the second time I did strictly off-the-rack.

I definitely wouldn't buy a size 20 dress when you are committed to losing weight. But I also wouldn't buy a 14, 16, or 18, either. Because you just don't know what is going to happen to your body in the next several months.

Unless you are extremely set on a specific dress or style and really must have the "dream dress" in your mind, I'd recommend waiting until like mid-August (yes I know others will gasp and disagree) to shop for a dress and then you could still err a bit on the large size because as the other post said, it's much easier to alter DOWN a size or two than up (which is nearly impossible).

Good luck!!

I know some people (like the second response you received) order their dresses from boutiques and stuff, and it takes months to get them and then many fittings and alterations and so on.

I've been married twice and I quite frankly did not have the time, money, or patience for any of that business!! The first time I wore a friend's dress and the second time I did strictly off-the-rack.

I definitely wouldn't buy a size 20 dress when you are committed to losing weight. But I also wouldn't buy a 14, 16, or 18, either. Because you just don't know what is going to happen to your body in the next several months.

Unless you are extremely set on a specific dress or style and really must have the "dream dress" in your mind, I'd recommend waiting until like mid-August (yes I know others will gasp and disagree) to shop for a dress and then you could still err a bit on the large size because as the other post said, it's much easier to alter DOWN a size or two than up (which is nearly impossible).

Good luck!!

I died a little when I read this. lol not in a bad way, and you do give solid advice. Just a personal level. I dreamt about my dress - yes I'm one of those annoying girls. I searched for dresses long before I met my husband. I am actually planning to wear my dress again... out with my three sisters... all in wedding dresses lol. I tell my husband all the time if I can get some help getting my corset back tied up he might come home and find me sitting in my dress drinking wine and eating cookies on a bad day lol

Buy the size you are when you get measured for it! DO NOT BUY A SMALLER SIZE!!!! I know some people think, "Well, if I buy a smaller size, I have no choice but to lose the weight". Anyone I know who has tried this has failed, and failed miserably! They end up stressing out about losing weight rather than taking the time to enjoy planning their wedding. The dress can be altered when you lose weight.

I was in a bridal party where one girl ordered her dress 2 sizes too small so she would "force" herself to lose weight. Yeah, it didn't work. She did lose some, but not 2 sizes and the dress looked terrible!! She was uncomfortable all day because the dress had boning and it was cutting into her sides, she also didn't eat all day cause she didn't have any room for it. She left after the first dance cause she couldn't stand it anymore.

I also know a girl who ordered her wedding dress too small, and was driving all over the place during the month before the wedding to find a store that had a dress in her size in stock. She ended up getting a dress that she didn't want, and now hates her wedding pictures.

First, find out how late you can order your dress. Some styles can take longer, require more customization, etc.

Second, find out if there's any give and take in the design. I bought a sample sale dress that was 2 sizes too big for me when I tried it on/bought it off the rack. By the time of my final fitting, it had been taken in 3-4 sizes.

Third, find out if your bridal store has a good alterations department.

Fourth, order the dress in the size that you are on the final date that you can get your measurements taken. Do not get it smaller than you are unless it is impossible to take in at all. Most dresses can be taken in. Usually they take them in at the sides to preserve the detail in the back.

Wait for the last possible minute to order. Make sure the dress can be altered. If you like the ones that lace up the back that can be a good option to allow yourself some room.

I joined MFP to lose weight for my wedding. I didn't want to order my dress too small in hopes I'd fit in it later (generally, that doesn't go well) so I ordered it to fit me, but I ordered it too soon. By the time I got to the week of my wedding I had lost 3 sizes and my dress just couldn't accommodate that much altering so it looked pretty bad.

If I was going to do it again, I wouldn't order until it was close to the big day, and then I'd switch to maintenance after final alterations to make sure the dress still fit the day of the wedding.

I ordered my dress smaller than what I actually was wearing at the time I placed my order. It motivated me to lose the weight so I could fit into my dream dress. I lost about 30 lbs over the course of 9 months and my dress fit perfectly. I ordered a size 12, but dresses do run small. By the time my dress fit, I was wearing a size 4-6 in real life.

hi! i got married last october! congrats btw! october is a wonderful month to get married! i have 2 giant pieces of advice for any bride willing to listen. 1. make sure you get a really great photographer... do not hire a friend unless they have a photography business. 2. do not order your dress in a smaller size. i can't stress that second thing enough! my experience: i bought my dress in January (with my wedding happening in october) from david's bridal. the day i went in to try dresses i was bloated from the holidays and had already lost lots of weight the year before and was continuing my weight loss "journey". the dress i ended up falling in love with was a plus size dress... size 14. it looked amazing on me and had the perfect amount of coverage for my chest and everything else. i was dumb and couldn't get over the fact that it was plus size... when i had worked so hard to not be plus size anymore. at the time, i was wearing a size 12 from non-plus size stores. and i thought my plus size days were behind me! so i looked up the measurements for the regular size 14 dress in the same style and decided to change my order to that. the measurements were only an inch or so smaller all over. i could surely lose an inch all over before the dress fitting in august! ugggggh!!! such a dumb dumb dumb idea. i was stressed out already about having to plan a wedding... but then i added the incredible stress of having to lose weight in order to fit into my dress!! it drove me insane. luckily... i just barely fit into the dress... and it looked fabulous... but... my chest... the amount of fabric used in the chest area for the non-plus size dress is way less! i ended up having massive cleavage and felt slightly uncomfortable about it the whole day. it didn't at all ruin my day... not even close... but it's one of those things i could have easily avoided by just ordering the dress in my size that i was fitted for. and then i could have gotten it taken in if i ended up losing more weight. anyway... please don't make my mistake. don't put that stress on yourself. dresses can always be taken in... but can only be taken out a small amount. i hope this helps!! plus size clothing is made for curvier ladies... i shouldn't have cared so much about the size on the label!

I went dress shopping three months pregnant and bought several sizes bigger to accommodate what the shop attendant and I thought would be a big pregnant belly, and I made arrangements to have a fitting two weeks before the wedding (which is apparently not the norm...see if you can get special arrangements too). Our daughter was stillborn a month before the wedding, and the seamstress did a great job taking in the huge dress. If I had to do it again, I'd still buy big and get it altered as near to the wedding as possible. If you go that route, it might be worth it to check out which dress styles are easier to take in (I'm sure strapless are easier than sleeves, for instance) and see if your tastes run along those lines. Congratulations on the engagement!

I was between sizes and opted for the smaller size because it was the size they had in stock and was half price! ALSO, I got a corset dress so really, I can go up or down a size very easily in that dress and it looks great. I got the dress a few months ago and it was a bit too small..... but the dress fits perfectly now and It can simply be laced tighter in the unlikely event that I lose 10 more pounds in the next 16 days.


Oh yes, and I went to a boutique that specializes in plus sizes so I was actually able to try EVERY dress on. Smartest thing I ever did.

I know some people (like the second response you received) order their dresses from boutiques and stuff, and it takes months to get them and then many fittings and alterations and so on.

I've been married twice and I quite frankly did not have the time, money, or patience for any of that business!! The first time I wore a friend's dress and the second time I did strictly off-the-rack.

I definitely wouldn't buy a size 20 dress when you are committed to losing weight. But I also wouldn't buy a 14, 16, or 18, either. Because you just don't know what is going to happen to your body in the next several months.

Unless you are extremely set on a specific dress or style and really must have the "dream dress" in your mind, I'd recommend waiting until like mid-August (yes I know others will gasp and disagree) to shop for a dress and then you could still err a bit on the large size because as the other post said, it's much easier to alter DOWN a size or two than up (which is nearly impossible).

Good luck!!

I died a little when I read this. lol not in a bad way, and you do give solid advice. Just a personal level. I dreamt about my dress - yes I'm one of those annoying girls. I searched for dresses long before I met my husband. I am actually planning to wear my dress again... out with my three sisters... all in wedding dresses lol. I tell my husband all the time if I can get some help getting my corset back tied up he might come home and find me sitting in my dress drinking wine and eating cookies on a bad day lol

aww nothing wrong with loving your dress!!

When it comes to the whole bridal gown situation....I think a LOT of women are like you, and a lot of women are like me, and still others are somewhere in between :-)

I am instead a little bit obsessed with colors...super informal elopement type of ceremony when I married my husband last October but it was extremely important to me that everything was matched shades of cobalt and orange and we had decorative stuff galore even though it was just the two of us! We all have our things.

I do think some women are kinda "shamed" into getting a more expensive dress or going to a very fancy boutique etc, just because it's "the thing to do"...kwim?

You should just buy the size dress that you are NOW. Do not buy a smaller size for a weight that you think you'll be in October. God forbid you do not lose all of the weight you want and are stuck with a dress that is too tight! I can't imagine anything worse happening right before one's wedding. The good thing about buying a dress in your current size is that the seamstresses on staff at most bridal shops are able to take in dresses and make them fit you at a smaller weight. It's so much easier to take in fabric than it is to let it out! The real challenge for a seamstress is letting a dress out to accommodate someone at a heavier weight, hence why I strongly suggest you do not buy a smaller size! Also, keep in mind that most wedding dresses run SMALL. On my wedding day, I was a size 6 dress size, but was wearing a size 12 wedding dress (I had lost some weight and had it taken in, but was not a size 12 in regular clothes when I bought it). This is my advice! Enjoy the dress shopping and don't wait too long if your wedding is in October 2014!!! Mine took seven months to arrive at the shop after I ordered it! :noway:

This. Get what you want and then have them take it in if it is too big.

idk if this helps, but when I ordered my dress, it came in within a week! so you can definitely put off dress shopping for a while, while you learn how and where your body is losing weight from

It really depends on where you are shopping and what you want. You can buy a dress and walk out the door with it or it can take several months to come in or anywhere in between.
Where I live, you don't have the option, you try on a sale model and order your dress, which takes months. Or shop online, which again can vary. We don't even have second hand options, with the exception of classifieds. Larger cities will have more options.
I would put ordering off as long as possible, but I would definitely investigate what my options are based on what I want first.

I agree with so many other who are saying DO NOT buy a dress that is the size you hope to be, or even a dress that is smaller than the size you are when you purchase it. I'm sure you will be successful with your weight loss, but bodies are unpredictable in the way/speed they lose weight. Also, life is unpredictable--who knows what could come up between now and wedding day that could have an effect on your weight loss journey?

A lot of your decision will depend on where you buy your gown. Larger bridal outlets will often let you buy a gown very close to the wedding date, so if you're planning to purchase a dress from a place like that, that will give you some time to get closer to your goal before you buy. And then if you lose more weight before your final fitting, good for you! Let the seamstresses take it in, as many times as they need to! Smaller boutiques, on the other hand, may require you to purchase much more in advance, but you'll still be able to have alterations done. In fact, I think alterations of one kind or another are fairly standard.

I think someone else mentioned this, too, but corset-style gowns often allow for a little bit more wiggle room, in terms of sizing, if that's a look that appeals to you.

I'm going to echo a lot of these responses. Buy what fits now, corset back if you like that style, and just let the weight thing fall where it falls. Because as much as you want these goals to be met, life happens and wedding planning is stressful! You don't know what may happen in these next few months, and you certainly don't want to add to your stress or ruin the fun of it because you're worried about fitting into a dress that you ordered too small. And yes, it's SO much easier to take a dress in than let it out.

Also, remember that no matter what, you will be absolutely beautiful on your wedding day! Best of luck