When do you start looking at dresses

Hi & welcome, I'm also a newbie.. Still getting used to the site. I'm getting married June 2014 and have just put my deposit down on my dream dress at Easter. It takes 8 months come in so then it will be December it gives me 4 months to sort our alterations as they need to be done 8 weeks prior the wedding :-)

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Pressed enter before finishing ... Oops! There isn't really any time limit as different designers have different designs but it depends what you want, i was stuck to my guns about having an A-line dress I found one I loved and I put a deposit down on it couple months later it was being discontinued I didn't want to order it though so got my deposit back and looked around with an open mind, tried on A-lines again and none suited me. A lady in the shop pointed a dress out I would have never looked at and wollaaaa that was my THE dress :-) you don't really know what your style is till you try on. Hope this has helped a little..

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Hello and congratulations!

The general consensus is that it's never too early and dresses can always be altered when you lose a little weight.

I'd start to have a look now with the view of getting something sorted by the end of the Summer, then you shall have plenty of time to fit the rest of the wedding around the dress.

I love to see an 'older' bride in a full length wedding dress, done the right way it can look stunning.

I got mine from the Wedding Factory Outlet in Hinckley, about 6 months ago. It didnt have to be ordered in, it was off the rail and I took it home there and then. Been sat round my mum's since then and I still have to get it altered as its too long. Don't think there's too early a time to start looking, but if you're planning on losing weight you might wanna wait until a bit closer so you have a better idea of what it'll look like on ? my weight doesn't really fluctuate too much and my dress is corsetted so has a bit of give still if I do! I did find that the ones I looked at on the Internet and in the wedding mags looked absolutely ridiculous on me haha, trying them on was the best way to see.

I don't think it's ever too soon to try if you have a good idea of what you're looking for. The only problem then is if you fall in love with one, put down money, then realise you have changed your mind a bit or not lost enough/lost too much weight.

I bought mine with about 15 months to go but knew I was unlikely to stray too far from a size 14.

Hiya

I'm also a plus size bride but bigger than yourself. I couldn't be bothered with the whole dress shopping stuff. Hardly any shops would stock my size and I didn't wanna start looking and getting upset because I couldn't find anything! So, I went on ebay (brave/stupid) :/ I found my perfect dress! It's being made by someone here in the UK using my exact measurements and it's costing £230 all in. I wanted deep red too so finding that would have been impossible! I used to dress in gothic dresses so had an idea of what kinda thing suited my pear shape figure - something bust and waist hugging but fairytale style bottom to hide my hideous bum and hips! My wedding is in September this year and my dress is being delivered in May I'm on a diet now and have so far lost 8lb, because my dress is corsetted it should still fit even if I do manage to lose more weight... fingers crossed!

If you've stayed the same kinda size for more than a year then I don't think there's any harm in looking now - it may take you a good few months to find the ONE but also wedding underwear plays a big part on what the dress will look like in the end. Are you opting for a stunning 2 4 piece - bra, panties, suspenders and stockings? Hold me all in giant lady condom? etc etc xXx

Hi

I am a plus size bride and when I went to nosey in the dress shop the woman told me that most dresses can be taken down 2 sizes or up 2 sizes which was really useful as I want to lose alot of weight before the day.

Good luck dress shopping.

Sam

Hello and welcome

If you are planning on losing weight, don't worry, because dress sizes can be taken down or up two sizes I believe.

You can go looking whenever you want, it's never too early! And you won't know what it looks like on you until you try it on. Just because you can't imagine yourself in it doesn't mean you won't look beautiful in it. Experiment a bit and find what flatters your shape best.

Have a peep at our infographic... "When Should I Order My wedding Dress?"

Hope this helps.

Thankyou to everyone who's answered i've lots of time, so need to stop wanting to plan everything right this minute....

Firstly welcome to Hitched, you will find all sorts of interesting stuff on here. Some of it will be very useful, some will make you smile and some will make you realise that whatever your feeling your really not alone.

To answer your initial question, I have brides who already have their dresses for weddings in November/December next year and others who have just been in to get something off the peg as they get married in 4-5 weeks. When I got married the 2nd time I was a size 16 (now a 20!) and 41 years old and had a disaster of a time. Did find something in the end but not what I had envisaged, so when I decided to open a bridal shop of my own I took the somewhat risky decision of sticking with size 16+ wedding gowns. All of my samples are above a 16, with the majority being a 22/24 but I have had brides up to a size 36.

The average age of my brides is currently late 30s with one lovely lady getting married for the first time next month at the fabulous age of 54! I think our shape changes as we get older, we have probably had children and realise that life isnt all about eating lettuce

On a practical note dont dismiss a dress because it has a train or is strapless. A pair of scissors and a good dress maker can take care of both for you and there are a whole range of jackets, shrugs, shawls, boleros etc out there to "customise" your gown.

I would start to look at shapes and styles now so that you get a good idea of what is actually out there. I think you will be amazed just how good you could look at this very moment in a well fitting gown. As you lose weight your figure may change but your height, frame etc wont and if you are pear shapes im afraid you are likely to remain pear shaped when you lose more weight, the same if you carry weight on your bust, so although you may change a little the same kind of dresses will still look good on you.

Good luck and dont be put off by your shape or age, ive had terrific responses from more mature ladies who really didnt envisage themselves wearing a wedding gown "at their time of life" but who have been amazed at how wonderful they look.

Embrace I am very upset now just googled your shop and your 3 hours from me! Was nearly ringing to book, it would be so nice to try on any/most of the dresses you see and like instead of just being brought the ones the shops have in your size (which was only 3 at a shop I recently went to).

If you're a plus size bride, it really pays to find a specialist in larger size bridal wear.

There'll likely be a much larger selection of dresses (and accessories) available and the staff will be accustomed to meeting the needs of larger ladies.

Elderberry Brides Plus has a private bridal room dedicated solely to plus size brides.

We also have a dedicated sale room with gown sizes up to UK 30+ for brides who's budget either doesn't stretch as far as they'd wish - or just love a bargain !!

Congrats

As a few of the ladies have said you really want to start looking early as it takes 4 months to order a dress and from 6 months to have one made for you.

You can also check out Carolyn De La Drapiere - she makes lovely Plus Size gowns for a mature bride www.drapiere.com

I think a 3 hour journey would be worth it to try on dresses in your own size and possibly find The One! You could perhaps get any alterations done by someone nearer so you don't have to make a few trips. Embrace Bridal seems very helpful, so I'm sure she'd help you find a solution!

Have a peep at this...

A bride's guide to timing the purchase of her bridal gown

Discover the best time to buy your wedding dress and why

Hope this helps !!

I know 3 hours sounds an awful long time to travel to find a dress but I think it may well be worth your while. I have brides at the moment from as far as Liverpool in the north to Southampton in the South.

One of the reasons they travel so far is that I am a stockist of Justin Alexander in plus sizes, the Mori Lee range in plus sizes and I have some even more exciting news..... I am going to bne the UKs FIRST stockist of Pronovias! I was in Barcelona 2 weeks ago and have placed an order for 20 of their amazing gowns in size 20 upwards.

Im planning on doing the National Wedding Show in Birmingham again this year so its possible you could come and see us there if it is closer.