An "All Shapes and Sizes" Wedding Show

I would definitely love to see older women in a wedding show. I'm in the 45+ bracket and it would have been good to have seen rather than fished around.

I think this would be a brilliant idea and if I didn't already have my dress this would be something I'd be interested in going to ?

Yes yes yes! I went to a Wedding Fayre at my venue & the shop that did the catwalk show used models from size 10-20. It was brilliant to see the dresses on all different sizes. I actually took the dress off the back of the size 20 model! At the moment it's 'the one' & I'm probably going to order it. I'd love to come to your shop but I'd don't think I'm gonna find the time.

I think it's a brilliant idea- it would be nice to have a range from 6-20+ and all inbetween.

Can I just say that I drive past your shop on the way to work everyday and think it's fab! I love the dresses in the window!

R xxx

If logistics allowed I would certainly go! I'm only 5'2 and a tad overweight, and while I've not tried on any dresses all I see in the pictures I've looked at are tall sinny women. Seeing how the dresses fall on short people would be very helpful

Yes! As a plus size bride I am not looking forward to my dress shopping incase I can only find skinny size dresses. I would love an idea before hand of what type of dress would suit us ladies as all the models are slim.

I think it would be ace! Im terrified of dress shopping if its going to be anything like when we shopped for my sisters bridesmaid dresses. I couldnt try any of them on because they were all skinny sizes, it was so embarrassing.

The term 'skinny' is just as offensive as the term ' fat' as an FYI ladies.

Mini I'm sure nobody meant any offence by using the "s" word and i know for a fact that to use any term that does not relate to a "normal" size woman is very dodgy ground.

im sure you will understand though, as you are probably on the very slender size that if every wedding show, exhibition or fayre that you went to had size 20 plus models only on the catwalk you would feel somewhat descriminated against too. Welcome to our world and also the world of the shorter than average model, older than average model and the less than perfect model. It is a FACT that catwalk models are usually a size 8 or 10 (yes i do know that from experience).

I have had a number of size 6 ladies in the shop any my own seamstress is a size 6 herself. Everyday we have discussions with our more voluptuos ladies about how she doesnt own a full length mirror as she doesnt like the way she looks. In her own words she has no shape and clothes are only to cover up, not be enjoyed. I wouldnt dream of telling someone of her size to "go and get a good meal" than i would dream of telling a bride to eat lettuce for a month and then come back so we can talk about dresses.

Please please lets not turn this into another fat v skinny debate! This thread is about offering women of all shapes, sizes and ages to see what dresses look like on women that we all come across everyday of the week.

I will happily throw out an invitation to dress suppliers who do samples in sizes 6/8 to join us, it isnt about excluding anybody.

Very nicely put Embrace.

I hope that if you do decide to go ahead with the "All shapes and sizes" wedding show you have every success.

Sure no offence was intended by anyone embrace, same as if I posted about being fed up with going to a wedding shops and them being full of 'fat' size 16 dresses or whatever I wouldn't be meaning any offence, I would still cause it though I am sure!

Either way I wish your show lots if success, just wanted to give a reminder that offends can be caused, even when it's not meant too.

I don't mind the word 'fat'. I AM fat! I'm a fatty-fatty-fat-a*se. I think we should reclaim all words like this and take away their power to offend.

The show is something I would go to, depending on where it is; where is your shop based?

EBB - you sound like the modern day wedding shop with an owner who relates to her brides. your FAB.

this is an excellent idea, as bigger lady myself looking at wedding dress's is a horrible thought and going to a show where all the models are stick thin makes me uncomfortable.

GO FOR IT ?

Sounds like a brilliant idea to me. I, personally, was dreading going wedding dress shopping due to a bad experience in a shop that only had dresses in a size 12 and under and it made me feel awful. I wouldn't wish that on anyone no matter what size, shape, height, etc.

Oh Skeptic this did make me laugh! The number of terms that are used to described somebody who is "fat" are never ending but I think my favourite one was when a customer came into the Estate Agents I worked for and called me a "sturdy lass"! He was a broad yorkshireman who I had spoken to on the phone a number of times but never met in person but I will never forget that day!

By the way ladies if you want a holiday full of flattery you HAVE to go to Egypt, the men out there just LOVE voluptuous ladies. My mum got offered 50,000 camels for me!

My shop is in a small market town outside Peterborough, which has great links to the A1, A47, A52. Ive been incredibly lucky to have people travel some considerable distance with my customers currently coming from as far as Liverpool in the north, Bournemouth in the South, Bath in the West and Great Yarmouth in the East!

Thank you for your wonderful support ladies, Im really very excited about it and ive had an email through Facebook today offering me some premises but Im not sure the location is right. But keep watching this space, and info on my website www.embracebridalboutique.co.uk for updates.

x

Ha! Love that, My Dr called me sturdy.....not sure they are supposed to do that!

Erm I think he may have been on dodgy ground there Mini! Mind you, at least you have a doc with a sense of humour. Im sure if i went to mine with an ingrowing toenail it would be because I had too much fat on my toes! My mother (who has only EVER been a size 10) used to smoke and strangely enough her doctor blamed everything on that, even when she fell over on holiday and broke her wrist because she was lighting a cigarette at the time and didnt notice there was a step going down which she promptly fell down!

Brilliant idea about all shapes and sizes show. I wouldn't start it at size 14 though - size 8 ladies are also included in "all shapes and sizes".

As a fuller figured woman (size 18 so not especially large) I found it hard to choose my wedding dress based on pictures of slim models in magazines, slim models at wedding fayres and shop samples that I couldn't try on properly as most of them were much too small. As I say, I'm not massively larger than average so a lot of women must have felt the same as me when looking for their dress. It is quite disheartening to go into a shop and not be able to try much on or have to squeeze into all the dresses. It doesn't make you feel good, and if you don't feel good you are less likely to buy so ultimately it is not good for the retailers either.

I actually went to Embrace Bridal Boutique in the end as I found them on a google search and I have now ordered the dress of my dreams after a wonderful experience in the shop with great service - trying on things there made me feel great and much more confident about how I would look on my big day.

Thank you so much for your lovely feedback Kat. Its nice to know that Im really getting it right!

We originally thought of a curvy girls wedding fayre but as you rightly say sizes 6 and 8 arent really catered for either. I think these two groups of people, who are in the minority when it comes to the fashion world, are very overlooked. Ive actually had several size 6 ladies in the shop because they say I understand how it feels to be "out of the norm" (their words not mine) and with Julie, my seamstress, being a size 6 herself she also understands what its like. I have even considered having a section of dresses in the shop that would suit the very slim girls but having no experience of EVER being slim it would be very difficult to do.

Im hoping I may be able to encourage another bridal boutique who have some very small samples and models to join us as I think we would all find we have an awful lot in common when it comes to buying clothes. I know something Julie comments on is that she often ends up buying teenagers clothes because nothing else fits but she really doesnt want to look like a teenager at 46!

In reality Enterflora very few people are the same size all over, especially once you get over a size 12. Ive had ladies in that are a 16 bust, 14 waist and 22 hips, and vice versa. The pear shape is actually quite an easy body shape to fit whereas those that are top heavy are a little more difficult. As a lady who has always been busty I havent owned a button up shirt for years! To fit my bust the waist would be so baggy I would look horrific or I would have my underwear on show constantly. Ive had a fair few ladies in the shop who are very busty and it is crucial that the dress fits correctly at the top. Nobody wants to look like Katie Price (or whatever her surname is now).

This is one thing that Im hoping we can cover at the show and have a "shape and style" demonstration on the catwalk, not just a parade of ladies in dresses.

I know its been mentioned before but I agree with the fact that if you are going to advertise as an 'All shapes and sizes' fayre then you really do need all sizes from 6-34+. Otherwise you are just switching the discrimination from one end of the scale to the other.

There has always been a lot of descrimination in the fashion industry which is EXACTLY why my shop caters for sizes 16-30+. I am waiting for the day that someone under a size 12 comes in and tells me im descriminating against them and Im certain it WILL happen. You cant please all of the people all of the time but what you can do is help those that you can help and do it well.

I am more than happy to have sizes 6 and 8 on the catwalk but unfortunatel Im going to have to rely on other suppliers to help me out with models and dresses for those bits so if anybody knows anyone who may be interested please do pass the info on.