Dress alterations

First, I think you look gorgeous in your dress and that it shows off your perfect figure very well. Second, only a qualified seamstress can tell you for sure, but from my perspective your dress is basically strapless in that the drop sleeves are really just a stylistic element -- they do not provide any support for the bodice at all. That means the dress has to have enough internal support to keep it up where it belongs -- that's the function of the boning. The boning and other internal structures (the corset?) are what keeps the dress up on your torso and supports your chest; without that, I'd expect the dress will have a tendency to slip down (potentially resulting in an unwelcome "wardrobe malfunction"), your chest (unless you have amazing natural lift & support in your breasts) with look "saggy", and it's likely your waist will actually look thicker (especially if your chest looks saggy...). If you're hoping for a more defined waist, I'd talk with your alterations person about possibly adding some kind of embellishment at your natural waistline. Also, I'd expect that lowering the back of the dress will make the boning and structure in the front even more critical -- again, unless you just have an incredibly perky chest without any help -- as the back helps keep the bodice tight against your midriff.

Daughter is a very well proportioned size 8, with a 36DD chest. Her dress had very thin decorative straps (that didn't really provide any support for her chest) and a low, sheer back. She needed every bit of the substantial structure her dress came with as well some additional structure/padding the alterations person added -- and they had to make the bodice of her dress as tight as possible -- in order so she could avoid wardrobe malfunctions, her chest looking saggy, and the dress wrinkling against her ribcage. Her dress did have a thin crystal and pearl embellishment at the waistline, that made her waist look tiny and her chest and hips perfectly balanced.

Good luck! A great alterations person can help make your dress look and fit its very best!

Hi! I'm actually sewing my own dress so I have looked into this so much! Boning is necessary for strapless dresses to stay up and not fall down from the weight of the dress. The boning is actually helping to define the waist and it might just be that you need it altered more to fit your body and then it will define your waist more. I would also suggest trying to look at maybe a very nice belt, something like https://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_marquise-and-circle-cut-crystal-band-sash-32013_sashes-and-belts that will draw the eye to your waist and accentuate it.

Regardless, that dress looks so stunning on you and you are going to look very beautiful on your wedding day!

I don't know anything about dresses just wanna say incase you can't do anything . . you look beautiful ! I could see your waist but I get why you wanna define it more.

Don’t remove the boning. I added boning to my std dress to look better, and not slouchy. Talk with your seamstress, but honestly the dress look just fine like that. I wouldn’t change it, but I don’t see it in person, so....

I would speak with a seamstress, but I suspect the boning is necessary to support the weight of this large/heavy a dress. Without it, your dress likely wouldn’t stay up without some sort of sleeves or straps. I would maybe ask a seamstress about replacing the boning with an internal corset, which I think would help keep the dress up and also snatch in your waist.

View Quoted Comment Wow. This makes so much sense. Thank you! I’ve also considered removing some crinoline from the dress but I’d like to see what it looks like after adding a waist embellishment , hemming and other alterations!

View Quoted Comment Thank you for this recommendation. That belt looks lovely! I will definitely get this and see if it makes a difference! Thanks

View Quoted Comment

Good! Again, a great alterations person is your best option for having a perfectly fitted wedding gown. Your seamstress can help you decide what exactly the crinoline is adding to the look of the dress. Sometimes, the fullness it provides in the skirt does a LOT to make the dress look balanced -- resulting in a wonderful, hourglass figure -- and it might actually accentuate the waist and make it look smaller. It's all about visual contrast! Good luck!

You need to seek advice from a seamstress