When to start dress shopping?!

Hi Samantha congratulations. You really do need about 12 months if you are buying from a boutique , so now would be a good time to be thinking of going and looking . I was on a weight loss journey when I got married the first time , so I went against the advice of the assistant ordered a dress in a size down with the intention of having it taken in 2 sizes , which I did and it was actually still too big but looked ok . Dresses can be taken in so you could enquire when you go . Another option is delaying and buying off the peg

I’m also a march 2025 bride! I purchased my dress at the end of 2023! I’m also on a weight loss journey but having a dress fitting at the end of this year in December so I was told that any alterations that need doing will be fine x

Even if buying from a secondhand shop or sample sale, you'll need to have bought it and sourced your dressmaker who can do alterations - this can take a couple of months depending on what needs done and detailing on your dress.

Ok I'm getting married December 2024.
I got my dress this month but was told up to june/July is fine for a made to measure dress. X

Hi Samantha - I'd start as soon as you can. If you fall in love with something that needs to be ordered in, it could take up to 10 months from placing the order to delivery (and then budget another 2 months for fittings and alterations).

I appreciate you're on a weight loss journey and you want to be closer to your final weight before you start. However, rest assured that it's MUCH easier to tailor a too-big dress smaller than it is to make a small dress bigger. Also, when I ordered my dress (8 months ago, and it's still not here!) the Bridal shop took my measurements, and ordered my dress from the designer in the dress size that matched the largest part of my body (for me that was the chest). So they'd say, for example, "on the size chart your waist is an X but your chest is a Y, so we'll order a Y to fit your chest, and take it in at the waist". They will be reluctant to order a dress in your 'goal' size because of how much harder it is to make a small dress bigger vs a big dress smaller.

Try making a few preliminary appointments and start getting to know yourself in a wedding dress. You'll be surprised how quickly you start to discover what features you like, or which designers you just can't get on with. It'll help start to narrow down all those possibilities. No matter your size, if you find that you don't like sleeves, you'll never like sleeves, you know?

Ultimately it's about finding a dress that makes you feel beautiful, whether you lose any weight or not. For me, my dress was the one I was excited to try on again, I didn't want to take it off. Dip your toe into dress shopping and see how you feel