Need Plus Size Wedding Dress in Chicago

Sorry, I'm not from your area but I know that most bridal stores carry some sort of plus size gowns. Usually not too many though. Call some salons in your area and ask if they have a selection of plus size gowns, if they do then set up an appointment. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

House of Brides is the WORST!!! David's Bridal wasn't bad. I went to the one in Oak Lawn. There are also some boutiques in the Oak Brook area that are really good. They may not necessarily have the plus size samples, but they are very accomodating and helpful. I went to Bella Bianca and had a great experiance...the dresses were just a bit steeper in price than I would prefer.

Thank You! Bella Bianca has PS dresses?

When I was shopping for a plus size gown in the Seattle area, I called the local bridal boutiques and asked them whether or not they had a decent selection of sample sizes to try on. Some did, some didn't, some semi-dodged my question (we can work our sample dresses for any size!)

I ended up having a great shopping experience, never went near a David's Bridal or other chain-store. Just call ahead and tell them that you're looking for plus-size samples.

I'm between a 14/16. The dresses were all clipped in the back, but fit well enough for me to have a good visual.

Are you willing to drive out to the burbs? I got my dress from Here Comes the Bride in Addison, Illinois and they were AWESOME! Granted the shop is small and the strip mall is a bit run down but do not let that stop you. Diane and Rose are topnotch and they have a really large selection of plus size dresses and much cheaper than other places.

Alfred Angelo carries a line of plus size gowns. CHeck out their website for styles. Also, there are 26 AA boutiques in the Chicago area. http://www.alfredangelo.com/stores/storelocator.aspx

After you choose the style you would like, call them to be sure they have it in your size.

Eva's bridal in Tinely Park or Bridal Elegance in ottwa il. Bridal elegance has over 5 rooms with nothing but bridal gowns. Only bad thing is its too far. I bought my dress from Eva's in Tinely park. Sales associates were great. Warm friendly atmosphere. They only do appointments. You will have boutique to yourself. Can't wait to see my dress. ood luck

Diva bridal in glen ellyn is owned by house of brides,but the WHOLE STORE is plus sized samples!!!

DAVID'S BRIDAL IS A NIGHTMARE!!! because they ate a big chain their focus is not on customer service. You will not feel as special as a new bride should when shopping for her wedding gown. The bathrooms look like truck stops, they allow children so parents rarely control them. Little kids running around bumping into you. Customer service is better at ur local burger joint. They have a "corporate office" which is really a call center for customer complaints because they get so many. ALL THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS ARE TRUE!!! if u can avoid using them do so. They make you "register" this is only to send you TONS of junk advertisement from them, men's warehouse, their invitation company, photographer etc. I have a dress on reserve with them but am rethinking it for the reasons above. You are just a number and dollar sign at David's bridal.

I am on the search for my dream dress as well.

PLEASE NOTE *** I have not been to these salons yet but have emailed them and get great responses. ****

I recommend emailing the salons what you are looking for and your estimated size so they can tell you what they have. I am finding out I may have to travel but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and my dream experience can be a reality and not just a dream that does not come true.

SO HERE ARE MY UPDATES ON MY RESEARCH. (Please comment if you have been to any of these stores) I am probably going to start looking and visiting stores after the new year, my wedding is not until April 26th, 2014.

So I hear there is this great store in a little town that has over 200 dresses all in sizes 16 - 34, MISS PAMELA's Bridal Salon. AND THOSE ARE ACTUAL sample sizes, so they claim.... so I emailed them. They are very responsive. I am going to look through the designers they carry and email them back a list of dresses to s

...... see what they may have.  But here is there website.  I hope to get more feedback from them on styles that I am leaning towards. 200 dresses in plus sizes if this place is true to form, it maybe the dress mecca.

http://www.misspamelasplus.com/

On another wedding site they have great reviews, see weddingwire. 

Now I also heard that Here Comes the Bride in Addison has a good selection (lower numbers they sent me 5 -6 dresses to look at that were in my style preference.  I emailed they  have a smaller collection but they already just from my email, had an idea of my style. 

Then I took the recommendation of Vera's House of Bridal in Madison, WI.  they responded with lists of dresses and the sample plus size so I could get an idea before going.  http://www.verasbridals.com/  they have it appears a lot more then stores in the Chicago Area, and are very responsive.  

Also the Crystal Bride was very responsive and has quite a few dreses also. It is in Geneva, Illinois.  

 I am looking for a corset so they (The Crystal Bride) emailed me a selection of Maggie Sottero to look at. 

 I promise to update you on my search.  Wish me Luck!!  - C

I am also on the hunt for a fabulous curvy gown. I visited Here Comes the Bride this past week in Addison, IL and was disappointed with the service I received. The associated never brought me out the room unlike other brides were able too, she didnt offer to put a veil on to complete the look and then towards the end I felt rush. I plan to check out Miss Pamelas in Rochester, IN and Davids Bridal gowns in the plus size section just seem to be cheap quality to me.

This thread really helped me so I thought I would post my experiences so far even though the OP has been married for over a year! I am a "plus-size" bride with a street size of about 20 and I am older (39) and getting married in a garden setting. I am looking for simple elegance and sophistication, not princessy poufs or blingy trends. I am also a city girl who grew up in the south/southwest suburbs. I prefer shopping in the city because those are the places I prefer. Because of my size, however, I have had to venture out into the suburbs and I am pretty sure that I will wind up buying my dress at a suburban shop. I have not yet purchased my dress so if anyone has any updates or other suggestions, please post. I have basically written a blog post which is really long so I will post separate messages for each of the following bridal shops: Here Comes the Bride in Addison, IL; Macy’s on State Street in Chicago; Brides by Demetrios in Schaumburg, IL; Haute & Co in Chicago; Eva’s Bridals in Oak Lawn, IL; Nordstrom Wedding Suite in Chicago.

Coming up in my adventures… a first visit to Reddington Bridal, another visit to Brides by Demetrios, and a possible day trip to Miss Pamela’s in Rochester, Indiana. I also plan to go to Sally Ann Corset Shop in Chicago to get some better undergarments (bustier, shaping shorts, etc).

Stop #1: Here Comes the Bride in Addison, IL was a great experience. I recommend that any bride who is looking for a budget-friendly dress includes this shop on her list. No frills but the owners have a lot of experience and I appreciate the low-key vibe. I worked with Rose who I found excellent. Found a Mori Lee dress there that I like but Mom does not like it as much as I do. Honestly, I was dreading the whole dress-shopping experience but finding that first dress that was so flattering made me excited. Totally unexpected.

Stop #2: Macy's on State Street was an ok experience. The associate helping me was average to below average. A lot of time spent alone in the dressing room in my underwear waiting for her to return. However, this is where I saw what may become my dress. It is Demetrios IL-3150. I also really like Demetrios 126-900WP but the sample size was too small to get a good idea. This was my first experience with Demetrios dresses and at this point, I believe that they are still my favorites. The Demetrios dresses look to be of pretty high quality compared to Mori Lee and possibly even to Alfred Angelo.

Stop #3: Brides by Demetrios in Schaumburg, IL was a great experience. Since I developed a liking for Demetrios at Macy's, I figured I should go to a store that had a better selection of Demetrios. I was able to try on the same two gowns I liked at Macy's in better sample sizes for me. Still like both of them. Also found another couple of dresses that I like as well. Am headed back there this weekend with Mom.

Stop #4: Haute & Co in Chicago was painful. I was really looking forward to going to this upscale plus-size only boutique to see what the more expensive dresses are like (2K-6K) and not have to worry about sample sizes being too small. This is a pretty new establishment and is in need of a lot of fine-tuning. The following comments are meant to be constructive and I hope that the owner finds them helpful.

First off, I was asked by more than one person why I was dress shopping so early. I still find this a bit odd because no other shop has asked me this question even if they were thinking it. If you try to Google this shop, the website has been catalogued incorrectly (too many Ws in the url) so the link does not work and actually suggests a different company altogether. The dress selection is very limited - there seemed to be about three basic styles and then variations of those three styles. I would estimate that they had between 30-40 dresses in the shop and honestly, the quality did not seem worth the prices. I still think that the Demetrios dresses are of higher quality and they are cheaper.

A second issue was the associate. She needs a lot more training and I was getting so frustrated with her lack of skill that I just wanted to leave. She kept putting dresses on and taking them off over my head instead of having me step in and out of them. I can't describe to you what my hair started to look like after three dresses or so. She also had no idea how to clip the dresses properly to make them look flattering and this is a "plus-size only" boutique! Also, the corset back dresses were not laced up, she attempted to clip them instead which was a disaster. After telling her that I did not want a lot of bling, she brought in a dress with a top full of bling because she wanted to break the pattern of the silhouettes that I had been trying (mostly A-lines). I found this strange because the dress she brought in looked to be A-line as well. Maybe it was ballroom but it was obvious by then that I did not want anything with a lot of pouf. At any rate, I saw the bling, refused to put the dress on, and could not wait to get out of the store. At some point, I also heard, “Well, if you had to go with something right now, what…”. That is a huge pet peeve of mine regardless of the intention. The associate did not seem to be trying for the hard sell which is good but I found that kind of questioning annoying and not helpful.

The store itself is nicely appointed and has a good setup but the associate was not very good and the dresses, in my opinion, are not worth the prices. It was also strange that there were three employees in the shop when they only work with one bride at a time and one of the employees was seated in a back office looking out at me when I walked back into the dressing room.

Stop #5: Eva's Bridals in Oak Lawn, IL was a good experience. I didn't really want to go here because I grew up near this area, never fit in very well, and assumed the same would be true of wedding dress shopping. I did want to go to see if I could try on some different designers and I am glad that I went. I did not find much but the associate (Jana) did find an Alfred Angelo 1148W that I really like. That dress is still on my short list. When I was there, another bride-to-be, who appeared intoxicated in the middle of the day, kept trying to get me to try on these super-blingy dresses. I politely tried to explain that my wedding will be in a garden setting so I am going for a more simple look. She then exclaimed something like, “It doesn’t matter, I am getting married next to a pond!”. Yikes.