Fear of dress shopping due to weight

I’m in the same boat. I’m dreading wedding dress shopping and I don’t think I want to until I have lost some weight .....

I called around to find out which stores had a large selection of plus samples in stock. If they said they have a few, I didn’t bother going. There is nothing worse than trying to cram into dress after dress after dress to ruin your self esteem.

I thought a line would look best on me, because that’s what they say is good for bigger girls. I had a vision of an a line dress with no lace but some silver embroidery/embellishment. I saw them online. Couldn’t find them in real life near me. They kept trying to put me in head to toe lace. Ick.

I saw ladies on Say Yes to the Dress wearing mermaid dresses and thought, wow that does look good on them but I could never wear that.

was not happy with anything. And finally tried on a mermaid with a corset back that they pulled tight and clipped and everyone went Damn! That looks good on you!

it was too much dress for me, but I could see that the a line was not working. Even when I found the simpler ones, it did not hide my tummy but showed it off. I am short and have giant boobs, maybe that’s why? So just because you may be a bigger girl, don’t stick to what “they” say. Try on different silhouettes. You may be surprised.

I was 15 pounds more than I’ve ever been but found a dress. Find one that looks good on you now and you’ll love it when it comes in and you lose the weight.

This is exactly how I feel!
When my FH and I started dating I was in such good shape, I had to drag him to the gym with me.. I was a gym rat! Now almost 4 years into the relationship I’m 40lbs heavier and I have picked up on his bad habits! God I love this man more than anything but man I wish I didn’t pick up on them. I’m dreading my engagement pictures and have NIGHTMARES of me looking just fat and awful!

View Quoted Comment Great idea, I wouldn't have thought of that!

View Quoted Comment Thanks Jodie! I wouldn't have thought to amp up the hair and make up! I will def be bringing my MoH, she wont sugar coat anything
Feeling a little better about this, thank you!

View Quoted Comment I hear ya! I'm actually feeling a little better after some advice from the awesome ladies on this site!

View Quoted Comment Yes! I was in great shape when I met FH, but after moving in I definitely aquired some "love chub" around my waist and face...I hate the way I look in pictures.
We have our engagement photos Sunday and I'm slightly dreading it..I want to tell the photographer (a friend of mine) to slim me down in photos lol

Don't worry, girl! You will look beautiful to your husband no matter what. I also have problem finding a dress, but my problem is more of height problem. I am barely 5 foot, and look like a kid. Good luck to you! Don't worry too much about the weight. Just be confident! Good luck!

I totally felt the same way! I was dreading dress shopping and engagement pictures so much! I called around to see what kind of sizes they carried in stores which was helpful! I also almost considered going by myself, but i took my sisters (MoH and a BM) and my mom! My mom is actually the one who found the dress i ended up getting! It was a great experience I could share with my family! I didnt have the movie "oh wow this is my dress" moment, but it was so important for me to find something I was comfortable in! Once you go to the first shop it gets easier! Enjoy the moment!

View Quoted Comment If you end up liking a dress that doesn’t have the exact features you want, ask if they can customize it. This is better than alterations after your dress comes in because the manufacturer is the one making the changes and with their reputation on the line they want to make it look great. You may still need Basic alterations afterward but at least you have already factored the price of these changes into the dress.

I ended up with a Casablanca gown. They are very open to customizing your dress. Their Beloved line is under $1500. I was lucky to have a flagship store about 45 minutes away rather than go to a store that had only a handful of the line.

They had to raise the back for me (Catholic church and I don’t want to see my back fat!) put in bigger cups and add boning. I forget the term, but they also adding something to make it easier for me to raise my arms and dance. With all of the changes the total price of my gown was $1498.

I have felt the exact same way!! I ventured out to David’s by myself a couple weeks ago as. Had no idea what would look good on me. I was up front with my insecurities and areas I wanted to hide. I was blessed with a great consultant who made me feel so comfortable. I found a dress that I love and it wasn’t something I thought would look good. I go shopping with my MOH next weekend and I feel better about it. I don’t love my body or my weight but my fiancé does. You are beautiful and will be the woman of his dreams when you walk down that aisle💕

I had the same concern until I looked into plus size bridal salons. The salon I ended up purchasing my dress from (Strut Bridal in Long Beach, CA) was amazing! I wear a 24 in regular clothes and ended up ordering a 30 in my dress and when I went in I could try on any dress they had there! At David's Bridal they had to search to even find a dress I could try on which wasn't a pleasant experience.

I was feeling the same way. I just told myself you’ve got to accept yourself as now and you can always take in.

That being said, find a place that carries plus size dresses. It makes it so much easier on ones brains.

View Quoted Comment We share the big boob issue and I will say it was more of an issue than I had anticipated. One of the current trends is plunging necklines covered with nude mesh. Beautiful, but made me feel like my cleavage was the star of the show & that was not what I was going for(not this time lol). I had all kinds of preconceived notions before trying anything on and once I tried a few on I realized I needed to ditch them and try every style/fabric/silhouette available on to get a good idea of what I really wanted.

Wedding dresses are usually very well constructed, so what you’re used to with normal dresses most likely will not apply. You are far more likely to find one you don’t need a bra with. Not sure it will be a low back though. With a larger chest, I found a corset back is pure magic.

I am so glad that you started this discussion. My wedding is planned for March/April 2021 and daily I ask myself if I should push it back, mainly due to my weight. After having surgery to repair a damaged artery in my leg, I gained about 70 lbs. I am unable to exercise much due to the limitations I have with my leg now; I also did not make healthy choices and have not for the past year now. I just don't want to look swollen face and/or round in my dress. I started working on the weight loss but of course, don't see a change yet, so my anxiety about my dress and pictures is setting in more and more each day.

Reading, through the messages, helps.

What is the general timeframe for dress shopping? 12- 10 months prior to the wedding?

Yes. Exactly the same. Knocking off the to-do list except for shopping for The Dress.

I was completely the same way and the first shop i went to was small and only made it worse since a lot of the dresses didnt fit! I decided to go to a bigger shop David's bridal and was pleasantly relieved when i was told they had all the dresses in every size so there was no limit to what I could like. I did actually like a couple dresses and it helped boost my selfesteme for wanting to try more on. I think as curvy women we tend to not want to embrare our bodies but our husbands boyfriends fiances love us for who we are and we should learn to do the same. my body will never be as I remember it before I had my triplets and that's okay cause I can love this body also! I hope you are able to have a great experience with your shop and stylist I would recomend going to a bigger shop or one that specialized with all sizes that will give you more options that will flatter your body!

I was worried too.

A lot of small boutiques don't carry plus-size gowns in store, so you may run into trouble if you're going to someplace like that. I would just call ahead and ask what the largest size they carry is before scheduling an appointment. If they can order larger sizes, they will just put extenders on the dress to give you an idea of what the dress would look like on you.

I wear a size 20 dress (most wedding dresses will be 1 or 2 sizes bigger than what you usually wear). I went to David's Bridal and they actually had several dresses in my size and price range in the style that I asked for. I went on their website ahead of time and picked out a few dresses I liked in the plus-size section. I showed the girl helping me and she pulled the ones they had in store, plus a few others that were similar and in the price range I gave her. I was impressed with the large selection available. Apparently my locations plus-sized samples were all size 20, so I didn't need clips at all. I also walked out with my dress on the same day because my dress was on the clearance rack and in my size.

View Quoted Comment Awesome thanks for sharing this info!