No one wants to see plus size women in wedding dresses.

I went to Alfred Angelo, they had about as many plus size mannequins showing off plus size dresses as smaller sizes. I honestly felt like I had a great selection, and I didn't feel self conscious. Same thing with DB, no issues there, but there is this chain called Wendy's here in Ohio and they are less than accommodating with the larger ladies. (and rude about it to boot) Good article, thank you!

Did anyone else experience that David's Bridal dress sizes are more true to street size than other designer dresses?

I actually tried on dresses at DB before I was engaged and I fit perfectly in the size 4s that I was pulling from the racks, which is the size that I normally wear in jeans and dresses.

When I went to a more boutique bridal salon in search of my dress when I was seriously looking, I ended up being more of an 8 or 10. Now I have probably gained at least 10 lbs since I tried on dresses at DB but it was still a big jump in sizes.

I've read in lots of places that bridal sizes are 2 sizes up generally, but that didn't seem to be the case at DB.

When I realized I'd be ordering a size 10 dress, even knowing that it was 2 sizes more than street size, was just plain depressing. I'm sure that is even harder for a self-conscious plus-sized girl who has to add 2 more sizes.

@ FutureMrsOhler - my dress is from DB, I normally wear size 18, my dress is an 18 and didn't need any alterations (other than the bustle). We let it out 1/2" around the torso just to make the dress a little more comfortable since I'll have it on for 10+ hours.

I know lots of ppl have had bad experiences at DB, I tend to think your experience totally depends on your consultant. Mine was busy w/ 2 of us at the same time, but was still very attentive, and they had more than enough dresses for me to try on, all well within my budget. I had a kind of bad experience w/ them 10 years ago, but I think they've definitely made amazing strides in sizing, having dresses that don't look so "bridesmaidsey", and in the plus-size for sure.

@ FutureMrsOhler - They asked me my jeans size and brought be dresses smaller then my jeans size..im thinking this is not going to fit..well it did....so DB dresses (for me) size was smaller then my normal size.

I didn't like db at all. But that was my experience. I found the smaller boutiques were more personable and actually carried a great selection. Both Mori Lee and Allure carry lines specifically for full figured women. I love them!

Judgmental ignorance is everywhere. I had a small talk conversation with a thinner lady at a grocery store and she had the nerve to tell me I was too fat to be a bride and needed to lose the extra lbs. SERIOUSLY??? I wanted to hit her. Im not thin or plus, my gown is a size 12. My best friend went to a bridal shop in north IL and they told her that she had and this is a direct quote "too much back fat and stomach rolls for any dress in her shop". She is a 18. She cried and i got very upset...

So glad I didn't experience that!

Soon-to-be Mrs. Clark - that's absolutely appalling! I'm so sorry you and your friend had those experiences. I've never been treated that way and probably would be arrested for punching someone if I were treated that way, or if they treated a friend of mine that way. Or I would've said something really tacky like, "Well, my FH loves me and my rolls, so you can go to hell".

I hope she found a store that embraced her figure instead and made her feel beautiful! There are many out there - it's just unfortunate that some people don't get that plus-size women are beautiful and have every right to feel gorgeous on their wedding day.

@FutureMrsOhler: I wore a DB dress in a size 18. It had to be taken out a little, but not much. And I'm a size 18 in normal clothes.

Well, she didnt leave quitely. I believe her comment was "well i have extra fat and muscle to pound on skinny bi***s like you" At that point I quickly ushered her out, but then she did cry in the car. It was horrible. (She ended up finding one at DB and loved it)

When I saw the runway model in my dress, I about choked - they weren't REALLY trying to sell this dress, were they? She looks like crap, this dress was NOT meant for a stick figure! When this pic was taken I was about 35 pounds overweight. Here's the print model, the runway mode, and me.

We short girls understand how you feel. Every model I've seen is an amazon. Half the dresses I tried on were at least 6 inches too long and those were labeled "petite" sizes, and there were problems with the bodices fitting funny. So, apparently a lot of designers and "people in the fashion industry" believe only 6 foot tall bean poles get married. I'm 5'2"(my drivers license says 5'3", but that's cuz I rounded up) and 125lbs. So I'm not overweight, but still had a hard time with finding a dress, because apparently if you are my height you are expected to weigh less than 100 lbs. Otherwise you can't wear your street size, and the waist part of the bodices will not match up at your actual waist. I tried this one on and was laughing, because it looked so bad we all knew it was not the one right away.

@Pan X.: I know what you mean. While I'm relatively tall (5'9"), NotFroofy is only 5'1". She wore 2" heels on our wedding day. But she still had to get her dress hemmed so much that part of the design was lost.

Gotta agree, DB sizes seem more true to street sizes. Street size 18, dress size 18.

After hearing what other people have gone through, I'm SOOO glad I didnt try on dresses somewhere that would've put me in a bigger size. What a punch to the ego. =/

@ Pan X. I'm 5'2" also, and that's another thing that I like about Alfred Angelo, you can order the dress short, regular or long, and they even adjust the bodice so that it fits your torso right, it's not just the skirt length that they change.

I got a Vera Wang White dress, and it fit perfect other than the length ;D There weren't any Alfred Angelo stores near to where I live. Persistence is the key to shopping if you're not a 6 foot tall 110 lb model!

Back to the original post: I don't know why they would think that no one wants to see a plus sized bride. Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss does fine with ratings. And I can't really believe that the majority of plus sized brides don't want to see a plus sized model. I think the problem is that the styling for magazines when there is a plus size model is usually hit or miss. Sometimes they are styled great and really celebrate curves, other times the clothes and setting are terrible and you can really tell whoever is doing the shoot doesn't know how to style or shoot a plus size figure. If the outfit and photo are bad than plus size or not no one will like it.

I am plus size and I had a pretty wonderful experience trying on and purchasing a dress. I will agree that they need to make a bigger selection in the model dresses, especially if the average size has gone up.

On my day I felt beautiful....

Celia-Great point! Vanity sizing has us all messed up. I watched something on Dr. Oz where they say a size 12 woman today wouldn't be able to fit into a size 12 20 years ago. They also went and bought 3 pair of size 12 jeans from three popular stores and none of them had the same measurements. I think they said one pair was 6 inches bigger than another pair! That's craziness. So I believe bridal dresses are actual sizes and everything else we buy are vanity sizes to make us feel good. I wish we could adopt the UK system and do everything by waist size. Men's clothes are like that. Why can't our jeans be 32 inches/inseam instead of size 14? Ugh.

I was scared to try on dresses. With some of the stories I read a bout how plus sized women are treated in the bridal stores I was scared. I only tried on one dress. I saw the dress and knew it was mine. Couldn't wait to try it on and was even told by everyone to try on others. I put my dress on and knew it was my dress. IT was at Alfred Angelo and my consultant Yolanda was very nice. She made me feel comfortable and beautiful. I was always a big girl (usually size 10 now size 16). I'm not built to be skinny and wouldn't want to be smaller than a 10. Had to order my dress in a 20 cuz I was blessed with huge boobies so I imagine my dress needs a lot of altering since the 16w I tried on fit but wouldn't zip around my boobies. Its hard but and people try to make you feel bad l but I feel like as long as you love yourself and realize you're just as beautiful as these smaller ladies then you're good.

It scares me to think that I would not be able to fit in a dress...