Shopping for your wedding dress is such an exciting part of wedding planning! That feeling you have when you find your dream dress is amazing! But the process can be stressful and there is a lot to think about before you even step into that fitting room. The ultimate goal is to find the wedding dress that you will feel confident and comfortable in, the one that you can dance the night away and cherish for years after the big day. Here are tips to find your dream plus size dress:
1. Start Early
It can take up to 8 or 10 months if you are getting a custom dress, and you don’t want to cut it close. If you have a short engagement start looking for your dress right away. If you have a longer engagement make sure you don’t put it off for too long. When you are planning a wedding time can get away from you so fast, there is so much to do, so make sure you make shopping for your wedding dress a priority.
Also if you are trying to lose weight for your wedding, don’t put off shopping just because you want to look slimmer before you start trying on dresses. You can always get your gown taken in if you lose weight, and it’s better just to go shopping as you are.
2. Make an Inspiration Board
How did we even do wedding dress shopping before Pinterest? Before making any appointments start with an Inspiration Board. Scroll through Pinterest and pin any dresses that spark your interest. This can be a really broad search for starters, you don’t have to pinpoint exactly what you want, but it is a good place to start figuring out things that you like and you don’t like.
3. Consider Different Dress Styles
There is so many different styles of wedding dresses, so when you start looking on Pinterest it’s a good time to start thinking about the style of the dress that you want. Do you want a ball gown or a sheath, tea length or long, chiffon, silk or lace… So many questions! Make sure to keep the other aspects of your wedding in mind when you are choosing a style, things like your venue, color scheme, décor, season, etc. If you are having a shabby chic, outdoor wedding, a satin ball gown may not be the ideal solution, but vintage lace would work perfectly.
4. Decide on a Shape of Your Dress
In addition to style of your dress, start thinking about the shape and which shape fits your body type best, and you feel confident in. Fit and flare dresses are a safe option that flatter any figure. Once you know which dress shapes you like, you can narrow down your options. This makes the search a lot easier.
5. Do Your Research
It’s time to start looking at actual dresses that you might choose. It’s a good idea to start looking online and find out which bridal salons have the specific styles that you want to try on when you go shopping. The dresses that you see on Pinterest might not exist outside custom work, and looking at bridal salons’ websites can help you get on terms with actual prices of wedding dresses.
6. Set Your Budget
Before you start trying on dresses make sure to set a budget and communicate that budget to your wedding consultant. It would be heartbreaking to fall in love with that perfect dress, only to realize it’s way out of your budget. Don’t try dresses that are over your budget, only bad can come from that!
7. Glam Up
The day of your wedding dress shopping spend a little extra time on your hair and makeup. You will probably be all dolled up on the day of your wedding so wearing a little makeup will give that full vision when you are trying on dresses.
8. Don’t Stress Out About the Size
Don’t obsess over the size of your dress. Bridal sizes usually run smaller that street sizes. So if you are usually a size 8, expect that you might need to get a wedding dress in size 12, so don’t put much thought into the number. If your dress fits you well, no one is going to even think twice about that random number on a tag inside your dress.
9. Take Pictures
Have someone take photos of you in every single combination that you try on. It will be easier to decide when you can just simply swipe through different options.