Overweight and Scared of trying on dresses

Oh lovely! i had exactly the same worries yesterday! If you don't mind saying, what size are you? I'm a size 18-20 and 5'4" with an hourglass figure. I was terrified of trying on dresses and really thought i was going to look ridiculous.

All i can say is, when it comes to the right dress you will feel fab in it, no matter what size you are. I felt awful in a lot of the dresses i tried on because samples are so small. But I went to a good shop, where i knew the lady owner is a well known and experienced dress maker who is good at giving guidance. She put me in dresses she thought would suit my shape and i fell in love with a dress, even though it was three sizes too small for me.

When you book appointments tell them what size you are and they'll let you know whether you will be able to try their samples on. There are a lot of shops for brides with fuller figures and also shops that can order in bigger dresses when you order it.

Go try them on, you never know till you try them on what they can look like on you or how you'll feel in it.

I feel as though you wrote that about me but relax. i bought my dress at my current size but can still go down 2 dress sizes. im sure you are gorgeous and of course your other half thinks so why not get the dress you love at your current size then if you lose more weight you can have it taken in and thus taken the pressure off yourself that you must lose this weight. stress makes me eat like a horse so maybe you can get back on the diet once the pressure has been taken off. I have also lost 4 stone and am looking to lose another 2 stone over the year. its hard work and have stayed the same for months now but im not putting the pressure on myself that i must lose this my husband to be loves me how i am and if i lose this 2 stone then it will be a bonus. Have fun with the dress shopping and you will feel like a princess

LOL thanks, for that, I am about a 20 just now (I was up at a 28 when I got engaged) so dont get me wrong I am delighted with myself, but just frustrated with where I've ended up stuck.

The other thing is I know I dont get to be a 20 in wedding dresses, they will have to be 1 if not 2 sizes up depending on the style or so I've been told.

I'm just a bit scared that I'll get the dress back and then lose more weight and then find that it can't be taken in for some reason lol - my fears are probably borne from ignorance on that front.

and yes, H2B loves me to bits and always says the right things ?

You know what, the size of the dress on the label doesn't matter. My cousin who is a beautiful size 12 bought a wedding dress in a size 18 and it looks perfect on her. Wedding dresses are silly sizes, because they're made all over the world in different workshops with different ideas on size.

Dresses can ALWAYS be changed. The lady i bought my dress from has said she doesn't want to measure me till near christmas if i'm losing weight to get the nearest possible size. If you tell them you're planning to lose more weight they will advise you on what can be taken in and where.

I'm an 18-20 and this is the dress i bought:

It doesn't look like it should fit me, but i love it and actually it makes me look phenomenally slim in a way that nothing else ever has! A size 20 should be able to try on dresses no problem. Bite the bullet and book a couple of appointments at shops with a range of styles and designers. You might surprise yourself. xx

Im delighted to hear that yours make u look and feel so slim, thats exactly what im hoping mine will do for me!

What the other ladies said.

I am a size 16, and was embarrassed in other dress shops, I decided to go to a plus size dress shop (I know 16 isn't plus sized!) so that I could at least see what dresses looked like done up as samples in other bridal shops were just too small. They are amazing there. I highly recommend The Big Day in Castleford.

I'm a 20-22 in normal clothes and my dress is a plus size dress from the Sonsie by Veromia range and WOW! it makes me love my curves. Becuase its a specialist plus size dress range the internal corsetry of it is amazing! I had dress wobbles but I think that was because its not white or ivory but I worried if my size was an issue - but look at some of the dress pictures in the Sonsie range/bonny bridal uk/alfred angelo etc plus size ranges - the girls still look amazing!

The size is irrelevant as if its the right dress you will feel amazing in it size 0 or size 32! Your h2b loves YOU, the size you were, the size you are, the size you may or may not be .... its YOU he loves not the dress you buy!

Relax. dont be so hard on yourself! you will look beautiful!

As for alterations my dress shop said most dresses can be taken in around 2 dress sizes.

I agree with tracie, I wish i'd been able to try on a couple of plus size styles actually because mine isn't but even then the corsetry is still amazing. I would definitely go for something corseted because it pulls your waist right in! it also holds your norks up wonderfully.

Plus in a corset style they should still be able to lace you into a smaller sample. The sample i tried was a 14 and i was able to be laced into it. with button or zip styles they hold them together at the back for you, sometimes with spacer things to zip it up to show you what it might look like.

Oh wow!! i did not know they could! that would be grand. i do have an appointment made for the 3rd sep i just couldnt stop worrying about it lol.

hehe exactly! and like you say they are sized bigger - my dress is the same dress size as me which is practically unheard of in wedding dress terms. The sonsie dresses have a cool internal panelly bit which fastens seperate to the dress so you held in before the dress even fastens, I want ALL my clothes to have it.

Hehe and yes my norks are even contemplating going un-bra-ed, the dress holds them so well it doesnt need one!

Quick flash of my dress... just cos i love it hehe

on the model

on me

Vix, yep they work wonders in shops! if you have a bad experience in one, don't worry, move onto the next. the assistants might be more experienced, wider ranger of dresses etc The second shop i went into the woman didn't seem to have any experience at all and was just bringing me increasingly daft dresses. I said no to them and left.

Where abouts in the country are you? People on here will be able to recommend good shops with good staff.

Tracie, i love your dress. Very unusual!

That dress is lovely, I love the colour.

I live in the far north of scotland so theres really very little choice of where to go. I'm actually travelling about 100 miles south to go to the one on the 3rd. I've already decided I'm buying online anyway so its really just a sneaky wee look to try on styles to make sure it will suit me. Just hoping to find one similar enough in a big enough size.

Im also an 18- dress is a 20 and by the make bonny.. it has an inner corset/boning and it makes me look 2 size smaller than what i am with the way the dress is shaped- and i got the size 20 off the peg in a lovely little bridal shop in chester ?

What types of dresses and styles were u looking at?

Well the dress i have my eye on online is apparently discontinuted, and i have never seen another dress like it in a shop if im honest, but surely if i can find one a similar shape around the waist and down that will do the job...heres a flash

Oooh thats gorgeous! am really into dresses with shoulders at the moment.

Love the details around the bottom train too.

I am sure you will look amazing in that - or any other dress you try. i would advise going to a couple of shops even if you are going to order online just so you are sure of the style you want. The dress I chose is totally different to the one i had decided i wanted!

Where online are you buying yours from? im in glasgow and got my dress from berketex. love my dress hope i love it still in my size though...really worried about it

I am planning on getting it from http://www.weddingdressonlineshop.co.uk

Have heard they are pretty good...fingers crossed anyway. Lets face it at that price its worth a try.

I know what you mean stacey, not all dresses convert that well to a bigger size but surely to goodness on a wedding dress they use some common sense.

Just been reading this thread and its made me smile. How lovely it is that somebody feeling really fed up can be perked up by the kindess of other people. Im sure all brides feel concious about on thing or another (I know I do) But to have nice people giving you lovely compliments and saying they have the same issues and are not on your own, is so nice. Glad I joined hitched? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just browsing Hitched and this thread caught my eye, as I am *so* nervous about going wedding dress shopping (I am a size 16) and finding that nothing fits/suits me! I am due to go looking at wedding dresses this week with my MoH and this thread has really settled my nerves! Thank you all so much.

xx

Very pretty dress. i saw a couple like that yesterday. and if you see one you like don't be put off buying it just because you can maybe buy another one online. You can have stuff like straps added to a strapless dress!

Sparklybride is right though. You're totally not alone!

Hi, if you can try and get to a specialised plus size dress shop. You can get high street shops with plus sizes in but the service at a dedicated boutique is really second to none. Along with another poster I can highly reccomend The Big Day in Castleford. I went there on friday and was utterly shocked to find I could try on a tea length dress and it's now almost certainly the one I'm going to get. I'm a high street 24 and didn't ever feel like I was too fat for the dresses, even one which was a bridal 22 felt comfortable as they have special inserts for the back. If you're really after a certain dress it might be worth ringing the shop and asking if they know of any dresses they have which are similar so you can get a better idea.

You're so right girls this thread is fabulous i already feel so much better and am now actually excited rather than scared. even better that its helped others too. sadly theres no such thing as a dedicated plus size shop anywhere near me, but it sounds like I'll be able to the the 'gist' of some regardless in 'normal shops' lol I love hitched too xxxxxxxxxx

Where abouts are you?

I am In Caithness (on the north coast)

Another point I want to make about the fab responses you girls have given me is that not one of you mentioned getting back into dieting or taking up zumba or going to the gym, you all just reassured me I'll get a dress with no problem and i will look gorgeous in it. thanks again xxx

Over here (northern Ireland) there is a lovely bridal shop blissfull and they have a (hate saying this) plus size range.

She gave me a list of websites that may be helpfull to look at. Then if you see a collection you like, you could find the stockist and make an appointment there?

www.callistabride.com

www.veromia.co.uk (sonsi range)

www.sinceritybridal.com (sincerity range)

www.bonny.co.uk (unforgettable)

HTH and I am sure no matter what you pick, you will be raidient and your fiance loves you no matter what!

Please do not worry! I am a size 18-20 and I was really worried at first too because of my size (especially because of my belly!) I tiried on so many dresses, some just looked plain awful, some ok and a couple which fitted amazingly and managed to make me feel so comfortable and confident! Here is me in my dress, it's a forever yours dress with an added halterneck on.

Wow charliebird you look amazing, im not just saying that, you have a gorgeous figure in that dress!!

if that was me id want to wear it every day hahaha xx

Thankyou. ? I must admit I feel amazing in it and I have a real issue with clothes! I never know what to wear and how to wear it so this was a pretty big step for me. x

You do indeed look fabulous charliebird!

Vixj83- I'm a larger lady too- well very large to be perfectly honest. I have my first dress shopping appointment booked for 7th September. I've specifically booked a plus size specialist shop but I still feel really really nervous. I just keep remembering that the ladies in the shop will have seen many ladies my size and are experts in dressing women of all shapes and sizes. I'm hoping that on the day the adrenalin willl take over and I'll loose my nerves. Probably not much help but just want you to know you are not alone in your fears. Also, well done on your weight loss, thats fab! I'm rubbish, have no will power what so ever, not even with the prospect of dress shopping and then a wedding can shock me into sticking to a diet!

xxx

Thanks Tracey. I have claimed for years through failed diets etc that I just dont have the willpower - however I quit smoking after 12 years on the 9th of April this year, and I've never looked back....

Crazy thought that my addiction to food is more powerful than the addiction to the smokes was!?!