Plus Size Brides! Dress shopping experiences

Forgot to attach a pic of the dress! On the left is what the original sample looked like, on the right was after I had my seamstress alter it and add sleeves.

More pics

I went to two places - David's Bridal an a plus size boutique (Curvaceous Couture Bridal in Columbia, MD). I ended up buying the first dress that I tried on at the boutique. However, I did try on a ton of dresses at the boutique and at DB. My experience at DB was not enjoyable at all. Nothing fit right and I was very self conscious about my body size. I didn't feel special at all.

My experience at the boutique was the complete opposite. They had dresses that fit me and even if the sample wasn't the exact fit, I didn't feel bad about myself because of it. When we left DB I looked at the picture we took of me in the first dress, and knew we had to go back to the boutique and order it.

I LOVE my dress. It's being stored in a closet in my mom's house and I check it out every time I'm at her house I have lost a lot of weight since I got the dress, so the alterations is going to be a little expensive (unfortunately) but I'm healthier now, which ultimately is priceless.

When you go shopping, be open to try on all sorts of styles. You never know what might look fabulous on you. Wear a strapless bra, and spanxs might help too if you plan to wear them on your wedding day. Enjoy the day and follow your heart

I had convinced myself that nothing but a plus size boutique would have anything for me. I'm lucky that one was close to me, so I started my day off there. It was great, and I highly recommend starting your search someplace like that- it'll ease your anxiety a lot. However, I wanted to go to a few places to make sure I had a good selection, so after I nailed down the plus-size store I started calling around traditional stores to find out their sample sizes. I was lucky, because every place I called had dresses in sizes 18 and up, which was very surprising. I ended up going to two of those stores after stopping at the plus-size boutique, and I was blown away by how accommodating they were. There was plenty of variety in plus sizes, and no one was rude or condescending, which was my biggest fear. I ended up getting my dress from a full-service salon. So, my advice is try to start your search at a plus size store because it will ease your anxiety, but also don't be afraid to call around and see if traditional stores have plus sized samples- you may be surprised!

ETA: Also don't be afraid to try styles that you think won't look good on you. I went in saying my must haves were some sort of strap/sleeve, lace and an a-line silhouette. And I ended up with a strapless ball gown with zero lace!

I went to 3 places. David's bridal, Kleinfeld and a small bridal boutique close to my home.

I've had a great experience at all three places and I chose my dress at the last place I went to.

They had a lot of gorgeous dresses in my price range and they gave me a great deal. Also a lot of their sample sizes were a size 16 which is my street size but wedding dresses do run smaller than regular dresses. I went with an allure dress and fell in love with the details of the dress and I haven't seen anything like these details on any other dress. Here's a photo

Here is a front view.

Since you said you're going to a DB in Philly, I just wanted to mention that I had a great experience with the one in Feasterville (outside Philly in Bucks County) and an OK but not great experience at the one near Cottman Ave. & Roosevelt Blvd. in Northeast Philly. I'm sure there are several others in the area, but the location can really make a difference.

I'm plus-sized and found they had a great selection of dresses at both. Good luck!

Hi Karen! I'm scheduled at cottman ave but we were thinking of changing it to feasterville! I'm from Langhorne so it's close, thanks for your feedback! That's a huge help!

Thanks for sharing ladies. I have been feeling so nervous about going dress shopping. I have been putting off trying dresses on but now I am getting down to the wire.

My first try on experience was at DB, and it wasn’t awful but I just bought my dress at a specialty plus size boutique and it was amazing. I liked every dress I tried.

I fell in love with my dress from David's Bridal! (Pictured with my Dad)

Im plus sized also ..i was looking forward to dress shopping and all that went with it. . went to davids bridal absolute horror for me. Left no dress and hurt. Went to local shop not bridal but had choices for it. .fell in love with sample came in hated it not returnable so back to no dress..was given a dress its pretty but out dated way to much.. Given up by this time knowing how long dresses take i knew i was going to be stuck with samples now march date by now this is October. . so last weekend of Oct fh and i are out clothes and wedding shopping i decide to run into local thrift shop looking for milk glass.. I see an entire rack of wedding dresses so i go closer and take a look they all had dress shop tags still on them pull out one no way i could have gotten one boob in it let alone all of me. .so pull thru the simple one and hold it up and look in mirror tear in my eye i hear how beautiful you look so i decided to purchase said dress for the huuuugggeee sum of 30 and cant wait for our wedding. .. Picture is my dress please excuse all the wedding projects going on in back round .

OP, I also wanted to add that you should stay open to trying on things outside of what you think might look good. Every article I read said plus size women should stay away from sheath gowns, but that's what looked best on me. They said A-Line and ballgown would look the best for a curvy figure, but they looked terrible on me. Keep that in mind! Those rules are arbitrary and too generalized to apply to every plus size bride out there, so throw those out the window! Also, different fabrics can change the way your body looks--for example, chiffon can drape over any insecurities, lace can sometimes stretch over wider areas (like the hips), silk might wrinkle, etc. but all of them have the potential to look great depending on the dress. You just have to have the courage to try on gowns that you wouldn't have considered before. That's why it's important to try on various styles in various fabrics. You might be surprised by what looks great (and what looks not so great) and you might even be surprised by what you like best.

I couldn't find any dresses with keyhole in my size that was under $2000. So I ordered mine from Cocomelody. I couldn't be happier. I still need to get it altered since I did order a size up.

Back of mine (had to the it to make it stay up lol)

The most important thing is to go with an open mind. Don't be afraid to try on that mermaid dress! Don't let anyone pin you into the a-line ball gown category unless that's what YOU want to wear. ETA: Since this will be your first appointment, remember that you don't have to buy a dress. Consider this trip as an experiment to find out what YOU like on YOUR body. If there is a dress you really like, sleep on it for a few days. Go back and try it on to see if you still like it. If you are still in love, go for it. Just don't give in to the pressure.

Have an open mind and a little imagination. I was clipped in my smaller size sample. I got a feel for what I'd like and didn't like. And they were really good about commenting and answering questions about alterations. I left with something I'd never thought would look good on me. Truth was it wad the most flattering.

What styles did you all find most flattering? A lot of you seem to have went with mermaid or A-Line and they look just stunning. I am a 16/18 street so I’m expecting to be an 18/20 Wedding. Can’t help but be nervous when almost all the catalog pictures you see are for sizes 2/4.

@LaraLouM -- Many of the dresses on the Rebecca Ingram site include photos of a more plus-sized model wearing the dress in addition to the more typical models. Good luck!

@MOB So Cal thanks so much I’ll check it out!