Planning to lose 30 pounds before wedding, what size dress to order

Current size

Order your current size. Not to say you can't lose the weight but metabolism changes as you age and it might not go as well as when you were 17. Definitely ask your consultant about what to expect from alterations.

You do NOT 'know' you can lose the weight again. Your metabolism changes dramatically over time, and it is very, very different as a teenager vs at 30. In fact, many women experience serious metabolic slowdown precisely in their late 20s and 30s - which may be another reason you've put on some weight. It's natural. The body also actively fights weight loss by slowing your metabolism - if you take weight off and want to keep it off, be prepared to eat less for the rest of your life.

Order your dress for the size you are when you buy it, and figure hefty alterations into your budget in case you do drop some weight. Most dresses can be taken in 2 sizes, but can't be let out more than 1/2 a size. And there are plenty of threads on here from frantic brides who either overestimated how much they could lose, plateaued in their weight loss despite drastic measures, or lost the weight then had a weight re-gain a month or two before the wedding - and suddenly couldn't squeeze into their dress.

I order my dress a size smaller and I want to be 20 pounds lighter..

As a seamstress of wedding gowns, there is always the risk of the seam showing when it's let out, the holes show, the lace stretch etc.. wait as long as you can and order the size your at then.

I'm not sure where the poster got the info about a dress accommodating 40lb of weight gain... Not true in my experience. It all depends on your measurements. My bust measured at size 4/6, waist at a 6 and hips at an 8, almost a 10. I ordered an 8 and it had to be let out the hips and taken in everywhere else. So yes, I could have gained 30 lb in my boobs, but that's not where I put on weight. Order your dress in your current size. And start working on the weight loss sooner rather than later. We started alterations 8 weeks out and I was told to maintain my weight.

Order your dress for your current size for sure. I said I was going to lose 20 and gained 15 instead. I ordered a size smaller and it obviously didn't fit so they had to rip it to shreds.....panicking about the final fitting...

Order your current size. I had big plans of losing 15 lbs and it didn't happen. They also order based on your largest measurement, so they ordered me a 14 bc of my chest... my hips were an 8 and my waist was a 10/12. They took everything in... its always easier to take in than take out. My seamstress said 2 full sizes is totally fine.