“chicken Cutlet” Bra Pads..?

They can get a little tricky, but if you have them in the right place, you should be good... I do agree with Selena though, try and see if it can be altered to fit you a bit better.

You can totally add some cups to help fill it in!

As for the dress, as long as it is sitting against your skin and not gaping or standing away from your chest, then it is probably fitting as best as it can. Maybe a little can be pinched in at the side seams to pull the bust in a bit towards you, but I really can't say that with certainty without actually seeing it. On the other hand, if the bodice is gaping or sitting away from your chest (like if you're not careful, someone taller may get a free show), then it does need to be altered to fit you better.

But yeah, if the fit is good, and its just empty cups, the actual cup size of the dress itself is very difficult to change, especially when you add multiple layers, embellishments, boning, etc. It's basically something that's decided at the time the dress is cut out & sewn together.

There are the silicone cups like you mentioned, but there are also foam bra cups that can be sewn into the dress for added filler. Or is that what you meant when you said it has a "built in bra"? Back when I worked in alterations, sometimes we even had to do a double-set of foam cups in a dress to help fill in the empty space.

I had cups with a little push-up sewn into the dress because I had the same problem. I didn't want silicone or too much because I didn't want to look too busty but these cups just helped keep me in place more than the built in bra the dress came with, and just enhanced a bit, and filled the dress out a bit more.

Perfect! Thank you!
Do you know much about the sizing guides? I'm usually a 36B, but not sure if I should get my normal size or go a cup size up to make sure I fill this thing out.

I wouldn't suggest using them. They have a tenancy to slide around and get sweaty which will just make you uncomfortable. There is also the risk of you being able to see them out of the top. You can get thicker breast cups to insert into the dress that will be white and won't show or slide around. You definitely want something that can be sewn in. We used to use really thick ones when I competed in pageants. If there is a gap between your skin and the neckline where there would be space visible, you can snag some dress tape (or toupe tape which works even better) at a craft or wig store.

I actually just saw they have the NuBra cutlets at Macy's so I'm going to try that They also have "add a cup" full silicone pads at Davids Bridal, so I might check those out too. My seamstress is from way out of town and we're three weeks out, so I'm not sure I have time to alter my dress anymore than it has been.