Wedding Dress Conundrum

Don't order a dress smaller than you already are! I agree that you should shop around and wait as long as you can to get the dress but don't order a smaller size. Dresses are made to be taken in but letting them out is a whole different thing. Any good tailor can alter it to look prefect on you. Save yourself the stress of having to worry about if it is going to fit or not. I'm sure you will have no problems losing any weight that you want but you don't need the added stress of them trying to take out a dress. Good luck and Congrats!!!!

Talk to the consultants at the bridal salon. I'm sure they see this all the time.

My niece got a gown from David's Bridal. Ordered it when she was a size 12, and was a size 4 by her wedding! They ordered a new gown at no extra charge, since it was too much of a difference to alter.

I wouldn't advice ordering something too small, because we don't often know exactly HOW our bodies are going to lose weight. It's not always uniform, especially if we're exercising, our proportions change. I know my silhouette is vastly different than they were last time I was this weight. I was always pear shaped, now I'm more balanced.

I honestly would not buy a dress that is smaller than what you are now. You are going to become stressed out as the wedding approaches and even though you're on track now, you don't need the added stress of worrying whether or not you'll make your goal weight by May.

I just got married in April this year. I bought my dress at a sale back in July of 2010. It was a size 14. It was tight on me when I bought it. I lost about 20 lbs between then and the wedding. I went in for my first fitting in January. Then, I had a fitting two weeks before the wedding. I reached my goal weight in time, and it helped that I knew the dress could be taken in.

Even then, as soon as I brought that dress home... even though it was only 1 week before the wedding... that last week, I thought I was gaining weight every day. Every morning I woke up thinking, "I'm not going to fit into this dress". You want to give yourself less to worry about. Not more. If you start with a dress that doesn't fit, you're going to be incredibly stressed and obsessed over your weight and it's going to make it harder, not easier to lose.

And a dress can be taken in much more easily than it can be let out. So shop around. Find something that fits you now, but ask about alterations. Find out how easily that style can be altered. If it's simple to do, don't worry. Buy it and get it taken in closer to the day.

Good luck!

I bought a dress 9 days before my wedding.

You can make it work somehow

I'm currently a size 16, getting married in June 2012. I have began dress shopping so that I know what style and cuts look good on me, what I'm really looking for in a dress, etc. I think I've found *the* dress at this point, but there is no way I'm going to know what size I'll be when it comes time to get the dress altered. If you get a smaller size and you don't lose the weight, you will not be able to alter it to a larger size. If you get the dress too big it will cost as much as a new dress (in some cases!) to alter it smaller.

I've been working with one salon in particular (you will find one that fits your speed, vibe, and budget), who has advised with me about the absolute latest date I can order the dress, and the drop-dead date for starting alterations. Basically I will have to order my dress in March, it will arrive in April, and I will have alterations done then. No matter what size I am, I will have to go in to maintenance mode from April to June for the dress to fit properly. (which means I have from now until March, April 1 at the VERY latest to get as close to goal as possible!!).

I really do think it's important to get a feel for the dresses that suit your personality best now, and make necessary adjustments as you go along. I will also be doing fittings every six weeks or so of the sample dress that is "THE" dress so that if I get to a much smaller size, and I really start to feel this dress isn't the right one, I'll have time to refocus.

oh, and start posing pictures for everyone to critique and what-not. perhaps not a good idea for you, but absolutely fun for us

Well, many places it takes a long while for the dress to get to the shop. If you get a size smaller then you can have it altered a bit when it gets too big. If it has alot of decoration (beading, embroidery) near the areas that will have to be changed then it might be more expensive/may look totally different, so keep that in mind.

Keep in mind that wedding dresses are sized much larger than your regular clothing.

I was wearing a 10 in everyday clothes when I got married 2 years ago, but my wedding dress was a size 16!!! Don't let the wedding dress sizing shock you!

I ordered mine about 4 months before my wedding.

I had several fittings and each time I had lost weight! They just kept adjusting!

I already have my wedding dress and I have to admit, it's probably better to WAIT! go ahead and have fun trying them on, and when you find something you love, ask the store to let you know if it's being discontinued, how long it would take to order it, and then go back in about 2-3 months.

OR

Do what I did - I tried mine on IN THE SIZE I ORDERED IT. It didn't quite zip or lace up quite the way I wanted it too, but I knew I planned on losing weight, so I ordered my dress in that size. I'm very close to the exact measurements for it now. However, my wedding isn't until 10/12! (originally it was 11/11, but my guy is in the military, so we ended up having to postpone it - but it gave us a MUCH bigger budget, so I'm REALLY looking foward to our DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM WEDDING next year!)
So I'll PROBABLY lose more between now and then. I picked a style that is very versatile. With the lace up back, I can tighten or loosen it a few inches without needing to pay for expensive alterations. I'm aiming for that beautiful V shape, so I know I have plenty of freedom to lose weight - but NOT gain. So far, it's worked! I've had my dress since April.

Had I known we were going to have to post pone things, I might have waited, but it was a fun experience!

PS - I've found Alfred Angelo was a PERFECT fit for me! The sizes are VERY similiar to street sizings (I wear a 14 top, 16 bottoms, and the 16 was VERY close to fitting very well.) If you end up checking it out - tell them Jaime Darling from vista, CA sent ya!