Really nervous about dress shopping due to my size...

Try not to be too hard on yourself BV. With regards to the 'just want to look nice' line, your fiance obviously loves you as he asked you to marry him!! I know that doesn't help with how you feel about yourself though - I'm a size 10 but still have body issues and there's nothing that anybody could say to convice me otherwise so in that way I can sympathise.

Why not post your rough area on here and mybe some other b2b could give you advice on where they have been and there experiences?

Sorry there's not much advice in there but hope someone can help you with shop recs.

I'm in sutton, surrey if anyone knows any shops in the area who are nice to fatties!

For what its worth I was served by a few gals bigger than a size 18 so you shouldnt be worried about attitudes in the bridal shops. Remember they have seen all shapes and sizes, its their job. You are going to look gorgeous no matter what your size. And should any shop make u feel crap - tell them. They need to know insulting a customer in any form is not good business.

Bridget dont worry!

I live in Sutton aswel and have been to every bridal shop in the vasinity and you will be fine!

A size 18 isnt big and the majority of shops i went to the sample sizes were a 14+

Cloud 9 in Cheam Village is lovely and the woman there is really nice, she only allows one appointment in the shop at the time so you dont need to worry about anyone looking and being judgemental.

Also there is a shop in Ewell (all that glitters) where the girls who work there are amazing. When i was trying dresses there there was a plus size woman who was really upset because she didnt think there would be any dresses in her size to try but the girls were really lovely and put her at ease and found heaps of dresses to try!

If i were you i would stop worrying, your first experience trying dresses WILL be fun and exciting!!

Book yourself in for some appointments and let us know how you get on love

x

Thanks Shoegal.

Will have a look on their websites now. A sister of my friend got hers from cloud nine and said they were nice...

Will let you know how I get on x

BV, i totally understand.

At the moment i am a size 20, and have already lost 4 stone! I'm not getting married until next August, and have not even stepped inside a bridal shop yet as like you i am worried what 1) the assistants will think/say and 2) that no dresses will fit.

But at the end of the day i am just realising that if i do have a bad experience in one, then that was just not the shop for me and they obviously can do without my sale.

Let me know how you get on with dress shopping, i am plucking up the courage to go at the end of August (that is when my sisters and mum are free)

Hey. Amazing amounts of 'well done' on your weight loss. I lost a stone at the start of the year and then have put a few pounds back on which is very silly of me!!! But I'm back on track again now (I hope).

I was thinking about the end of august as I could've lost a stone or so by then and might feel a bit more confident.

Am wondering about doing a debenhams/monsoon try on soon to get me over the initial fear before i go to a proper dress shop.

Nice to know I'm not the only one x

I'm not in your area but one of my first posts on Hitched was the same as yours. I'm a 16/18 and was really worried about finding dresses to try on. In the end I had nothing to worry about. You shouldn't worry about what bridal shop assistants think of you, they're just human like everyone else! If they're unpleasant, then you don't give them your business. Your money is the same as anyone elses! Please don't worry about your dress size, just have fun trying to find your dress xx

BV - i was in EXACTLY the same situation. when i made appointments to go dress hunting, i made a point of saying to the assistant that i was a dress size 18, and would only be going if they had dresses for me to try on. all the shops that i visited were fine, and although they were honest and said that some dresses were smaller sized samples, they would find some dresses that i would fit in, and even if i didn't fit exactly in the samples, they'd do their best to show me how it would look. it did involve lots of being pinned into smaller dresses, with additional modesty panels being added, but overall i did OK.

after a lot of breathing in, wriggling and red faces from both me and the dress shop assistant, i managed to (just) fit into a size 12 jenny packham sample! ?

and also another thing to remember is that: all dress designers are evil! there are fewer inches between dress sizes in wedding dresses compared to high st sizes, so the larger you are, the bigger dress size you are, the more depressed you get! i am a size 18 but the dress shop said i *should* order a 24 ? ☹️ but i refused to, so ordered a 22. mildly better, but not much.

hth a little bit x

I am a size 18 to 20 (with no intention of losing weight - quite happy as I am)and was so scared to go dress shopping but when I rung a couple of shops to book appointments I told them my dress size and they said that in actual fact most of the girls dress shopping there are size 16+. They were fab and even though most of the dresses I tried on were smaller sample sizes they put the panel things in and I ended up getting the 6th dress I tried on in the first shop!

Please don't worry , they want your business, you'll be fine.

Happy shopping!

Same here. When I was measured for ordering my dress I didn't know what size they ordered. When I picked it up last week, it had a size 22 label on it, which was quickly removed!

Hi. I went to Love me Do in Kingston. They have loads of dresses in there of all sizes. When I went in there was a woman who was about an 18 trying on dresses - she looked fab. If it doesn't fit they just pin you in so you can see what it looks like. FWIW I think wedding dresses are the one outfit where it helps to have curves, and they really hold you in in the right places!

I was about to recommend them. I work in Kingston and a colleague of mine, who I would say is probably an 18-20, bought her dress there. She was sooo down about dress shopping before she went for exactly the reasons stated in the OP, but came back having found the dress of her dreams and absolutely beaming about it!

Please do not worry about this. I put off wedding dress shopping for the same reason but when I took the plunge I so enjoyed myself!

I went to Love me Do in Kingston too, the girls in there were lovely. Just to say though you do get changed behind a curtain and your cubicle has a mirror but to get the full effect they take you into the main shop to look in the big mirror, stand on a box etc so if you were self conscious then you might not like this. I'm not a small girl and they had dresses of all sizes.

I went to All that Glitters in Wimbledon and they were fantastic and I got my maggie dress from there. You have your own room and within this a little cubicle to get dressed behind, so you can have friends/mum there too and still protect your modesty and you don't have to parade in the actual shop. They were so nice, the Manageress specifically. They made me feel really comfortable and it was a joy to go shopping there. Even when I had a bit of a wobble they allowed me to go and try more dresses on and when I came to the conclusion that my original dress was still the one, they were very accomodating and indulged me!

Thank you ladies. You really have made me feel heaps better and as a result... I rang all that glitters in Wimbledon.

But the dress I really want to try on is in their Croydon store and they are going to call me tomorrow.

And I am allowing myself to be a little bit excited...

Will let you know the outcome x