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SERENITYBRIDE , i am so sorry u r stressed over fitting in ur gown. u do make a good point: always order as close to the event as u can! i did that and i right now i am little below the weight i was when i ordered the gown. at least i know i fit it! LOL :)
i am sure u'll get to ur goal, SERENITYBRIDE. an year is totally enough to lose the extra weight. i lost 25 lbs in 5 months
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JOYFULSERENITY
9/27/06 6:49 A
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I fell into that trap. As soon as we got engaged, I found "the" dress paging casually through a bridal magazine. One look, that was it. It wasn't available in my area, so I flew into New Orleans (two weeks before the hurricanes) to see it. I had called ahead of time to see if this specific boutique carried it, she did... the day I got there, I called ahead to tell her I was coming in. She remembered me right away (who else flies in from New York to Louisiana to pick up her gown? :) She pulled it for me, and when I arrived to the store SOMEONE ELSE WAS TRYING ON MY GOWN!!! I was like... That is SO my dress. Turns out, in anticipation of me actually making the trip there, she had preordered another gown in the exact same color, and same size... BRAND SPANKIN' NEW... still in box, that she let me try on instead of the store model...Long story short, the dress did not quite fit when I was there, but it was at the point if I lost 20 or so odd pounds (which I was "planning" on doing anyway), it would fit like a glove. Fell in love, found a matching veil, bought the gown on the spot.
Fast forward over the next year... GAINED 40 pounds (insert family/work/school/relationship/wedding stress!!!) No excuses, however I am now a LONG way from fitting into the gown...I am back on track though, and have hope. Moral of the story? You never know... I wouldn't change things, because I fell in love with the gown, but I am definitely a little more on edge now because I am worried about the big day. However, a little less than a year is plenty of time to focus on me and my health. Maybe that will be the biggest gift of all.
(Sorry for the novel... I always have good intentions of writing short messages, and it never works out like that...)
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| I agree that the dress sizes should be closer to the sizes you find in clothing stores. It's confusing and frankly depressing to some brides to have to order larger sizes. I read that one bridal store with sew in another tag with the bride's actual size if the bride gets too caught up in the size of the dress.
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| my wedding gown is 48 Romanian but i wear 44-46 Romanian in street clothes. i didn't know how different they are untill the girl frm the salon explain. but being on corset back it can go down a size. :)
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HYDE030307
9/25/06 11:47 P
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| If I had a lot of money to spend, I would open a bridal dress store where the sizes are SMALLER so every bride feels like they are buying a smaller dress. but, I don't, so I am humiliating myself by getting the size I did, but I feel better since I can get it taken in. They always size the dress to the largest part of you. On me, that's my chest. Darn things. Anyway, you are smart to not by a dress too small. A wedding is stressful enough, you don't need to be stressed about fitting into the dress!
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PURPLE_OCTOPUS
9/25/06 11:30 P
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| Oh, when I referred to "two sizes larger", I didn't mean go by your street size and add two. The dress manufacturers always have size charts. And yes, bridal sizing is waaaay different than street (sometimes by more than two sizes!). But the store should take your measurements and compare them to the size chart. For example, let's say a size 10 according to the chart is 37-28-39.5, and a size 12 is 38.5-29.5-41. If my measurements are 38.5-28-39, I'm going to order the 12, because the 10 will be too small in the bust. But I wouldn't order a 16 to get "two sizes larger" than what I needed, even though a lot of unscrupulous bridal shops would try to order it for you. The shops with in-house alterations make big bucks off it.
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| My sister had to buy two sizes larger as they run that small. She didn't have to do any alterations. The same with the bridesmaid dresses.
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PURPLE_OCTOPUS
9/25/06 9:46 P
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I don't necessarily agree with buying bigger unless you have good reason to think you will gain weight (pregnancy, or you know you will binge eat as a reaction to stress, etc). I would suggest you buy the size that fits the largest part of you (bust, waist, or hips). Buying two sizes larger is a gimmick the dress shops use to sucker you into their outrageously priced alterations services.
On the other hand, I agree 1000% with the person who suggested to never buy smaller. It's better to fork out the money to take a dress in than to have to buy a whole new dress because there's no way the one you bought can be altered to fit you.
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MOTIVATION07
9/25/06 9:52 A
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Go ahead and shop now! Its great motivation!
I went and found my dress... I'm waiting just a little longer to order it because I know it will come in after only 4 months (I have 8 to go) that way I have more time to loose weight.
Congrats on being engaged!
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DUBLINROSE
9/25/06 9:03 A
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| I'm not getting married until may 08 but I've already bought my dress. I've gotten around the weight thing by buying a dress with a lace up as opposed to a zip fastening. This means i can loose up to 2 dress sizes and it will still fit
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| I have until next september for my wedding but im going toleave buying my dress until about 6months before, remember to buy bigger and you can have always have it taken in, as its harder to let dresses out.
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HYDE030307
9/22/06 7:40 P
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| I bought my dress off the rack and it was 2 sizes too big! Not that I have intentions of gaining weight to fit into it, but I would rather spend the money to get it to fit tighter than not eating anything but air and still stressing about having my dress let out. My mom just got her MOB dress and the lady at the shop said that SO many brides come in and get their dresses too small, so she has them sign a piece of paper saying that the store isn't responsible for her dress if it doesn't fit since she is not buying the size they recommend, then she asks the brides (or whoever) what size they WANT to be and then sews in a tag saying whatever size they want so they THINK they are getting a dress that is a size 8 when it is an 18 (I am exaggerating!). I would start trying them on now and see what looks great on you, regardless of the size! Good luck! My wedding is in 6 months! Such an exciting time!
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PALOUSEPONY13
9/22/06 7:14 P
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In general, one buys the gown many months (6 to 8) in advance, and has fittings done closer to the wedding. Very few gowns fit 'off the rack'. I purchased a forgiving style (corset back), and had the alterations done closer to the wedding.
Bear in mind that bridal sizes are not good for the ego. I wear a size 4 or 6 pant, and just barely got into a size 8 gown.
Another note: David's Bridal takes several months to get a dress in, then charges you a 'rush' fee if there are under 3 months to do alterations. If you purchase a gown from large 'chain' bridal stores, try to have alterations done elsewhere.
Just don't set an unreasonable weight loss goal, buy a dress two sizes two small, and have a minor emergency when it doesn't fit one month out from the wedding. I've seen that really stress a lot of women out.
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Very pretty dresses!
I'm probably going to go for something a lot simpler because we're planning a very small beach wedding. I'm probably going to go for something with a halter top (I like how I look in halter tops). But, we'll see.
In any case, I'll give it up to six months before the wedding before I start considering a serious purchase of a dress, then. That gives me all the way until March at the latest to start looking for real. That also gives me six months to hit my goal weight, too. (Although I'm actually shooting to hit goal by the end of the year, then start concentrating on some serious strength training to increase lean muscle mass and decrease body fat).
Thank you very much for the suggestions!
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PURPLE_OCTOPUS
9/22/06 11:39 A
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Thanks Cristina! I just looked at your profile -- your dress is a lot like one I tried on in the store! It's beautiful. Unfortunately, I can't have strapless in my church (very conservative priest). It was so hard to find a dress, because it seems like strapless is *all* the stores are carrying!
I also got my dress in my current size. I've lost the 6 lbs I gained over the summer (which was *after* I was measured for the gown), and then some. So I'm mainly trying to stay where I am until December. But if I lose 5-10, I'll be cool with that. I'm too cheap for alterations! KELLYRO, you're smart to try and lose the weight *before* you buy the dress. I got the dress, and *then* thought, "Hmmm... wouldn't it be nice if I could drop a couple pounds?" Oh well!
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CALIGIRL33
9/22/06 11:27 A
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| i ordered my dress 8 months out in the size that i was at the time. it came in 4 months out and my first fitting was 2 months out. i thought i would've lost tons of weight and would just get it altered, but she actually only took in the bust part. nothing around the waist! :-(
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CRICKETRO
9/22/06 11:22 A
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PURPLE_OCTOPUS, wow, i love ur dress! it's the "pricess" kind. (mine as well, hihiihi)
i'm 5'2" and u r right, 10 lbs makes a huge difference on me! i've compared photos taken 8 lbs away and wow , it's a lot of difference.
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PURPLE_OCTOPUS
9/22/06 9:44 A
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In the states, it can take 4-6 months to get a dress in. So I would try to order by the 6 month mark if you can. I had my dress custom made, and got it in 2 months, so you could always get lucky.
Like Cristina, I got a corset back on my dress, which should help if my weight fluctates within 5-10 lbs or so. Honestly, if you lose more than that, you will still need alterations. It depends on how tall you are. I'm 5'9", so my weight is fairly well distributed. My sister is 5'2", so 10 lbs on her is a much bigger size difference than it is on me. The corsets are generally about 4 inches at the top and go down to a "V" at the bottom, so you only have that to work with. And of course, you don't want it cinched all the way closed. I'd say the corset gives you maybe an inch bigger or an inch smaller before it just doesn't look right anymore, IMHO.
You're so close to your goal weight and you have a whole year to go, I would try to wait a little longer to order. But that doens't mean you can't start trying on dresses now. I personally suggest trying on as many dress styles as you can. What you love on a model in a magazine, you may not love on you. And something that you aren't really crazy about in a magazine or on the rack may turn out to be "the one" once you put it on. You just never know. I had an idea of *exactly* what I wanted, and I ended up getting something completely different.
BTW, here is my dress (not that you might care!):
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b44/purple_octopus/MyDressFront.jpg
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well i started looking for salons and gowns when we set the date (that was in mid-April this year, though we r engaged since 2004). they told me i could buy/order it even 1 months b4 the event (that's on Nov 4th). so i waited and in mid-Sept i went to "order" it. But a ready-made one fitted me. it's on corset back and i can lose some more weight and it will still fit me. as for the skirt, if it's getting too loose i can always move the button and that's it.
as for you, look up dresses and ask when u should buy it , but as close to the event as possible. also a good idea is to get corset-back dress. if u want something else, ask how much the alterations cost and if they do it.
ps: there's a photo wt me in my gown on my page if interested.
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I just got engaged back on the 6th of this month (yay!).
I think my biggest concern aside from the guest list is what to do about buying a wedding dress.
I have an entire year yet until the wedding - I'm 14.5 pounds away from my goal weight, and I know by really sticking to a plan, I can make it happen within that year's time.
So, what do I do when it comes to buying a dress? How far out can I extend getting one? Obviously, for my piece of mind for a right fit, the closer to the wedding I buy it, the better.
What's the norm? Do I start looking NOW regardless, and just get it at my current size and hope if I happen to drop two or so dress sizes that it'll be easy to take in?
The thing that scares me is buying one that's already too small, because there's no guarantees - no matter how determined I feel at present - that I'll definitely lose that weight by the time of the wedding.
What are all you brides doing??
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