With the start of the year upon us that means brides all over will go into their frenzied wedding planning mode. And top on the list is finding the perfect dress. So our guest blogger Tiane, shares with us her experiences as a plus size bride.
The Little Bo-Peep dress
Being plus sized, it is difficult finding clothes on a normal day. For some reason, our society feels that the larger you get, the uglier the clothes should be. How many times have you gone to the store, and found a classic button down top….. but the sleeves are 3/4 long? (I HATE those shirts!) Finding the right wedding dress can be just as difficult, if not worse.From the beginning, I stated that I did not want to spend a lot of money on my dress. I couldn’t justify spending thousands of dollars on a dress that I could only wear once. I chose to go to my local David’s Bridal store and check it out. With the OCD kicking in, I went to the site and printed all the dresses that I liked, so I could give the consultant a good idea of what I was looking for.On the day of the appointment, my small team of girls and myself traveled to the store. Apparently, the store changed locations. (Always double check the address!) We were early, so we had enough time to get to the right location. Our consultant greeted us, and the process began. I had this vision that it was going to be like the show, “Say yes to the dress.” I would try on a dress, walk out and tears would instantly form in my mother’s eyes. I would see myself in the mirror and start to bawl, this is the dress!! But that didn’t quite happen for me.I was told up front that DB could not alter the dresses in any way that would change the design, (i.e. use the top of one dress, and the bottom of another, or remove the lace, etc.) While I was trying on dresses, I felt they looked, “ok” but I didn’t get that wow factor that I was looking for. I started to fear that I wouldn’t find the dress. My mother picked out a dress that she liked and showed it to me. At first I didn’t like it at all. I even named it the, “Little Bo- Peep” dress. My team loved the dress, but I couldn’t see myself in it. I didn’t even want to try it on.After minutes of debating back and forth, my mother put her foot down and insisted that I try it on. I knew things looked different on the hanger, but I wasn’t interested. Finally I gave in and tried it. As I walked out, everyone loved the dress… I was waiting for that teary moment, but never got it. Don’t get me wrong, the dress was beautiful, but it just didn’t do it for me. I loved the top of it, but hated the skirt. It gave me a wonderful hour glass shape and was gorgeous…but I hated that skirt. I took it off and continued trying on other dresses. I narrowed it down to three- one that I liked, one that was plain, and the one my team liked, the little bo-peep dress.Convinced that I would prove them wrong, I decided to try on the plain dress first, the little bo-peep dress second, and then my choice last. The first one was nice, but it was too plain, and I also didn’t like the fabric. I tried on the little bo-peep dress again. Once again, I loved the top, but hated the skirt. As I stared at the dress in the mirror, having my own private moment in the chaotic and loud dressing room, I slowly lifted the top layer of the dress and rolled it asside. There it was. Beneath the top layer was a satin skirt. The more and more I played around with the dress, the more I liked it. I hated to admit it, but the little bo- peep dress kicked all the other dresses out the window. The problem was David’s Birdal already told me they couldn’t alter the design of the dress at all.My mother saw what I was doing an confirmed that it is possible for her to remove the top layer of the skirt. (Of course she can sew, is there anything she can’t do?!) Right then and there, I decided this was the dress for me!! I couldn’t believe that I had chosen a dress on the first visit, and it was under budget!As I got dressed and headed to the front of the store, our consultant began ringing up our purchases. She ordered the shoes, and the veil. As she attempted to order the dress, one of the worst things imaginable happened…To Be ContinuedTianeCheck out Tiane’s blog Converse Kinda Love for more about being a plus size bride to be planning a wedding and everything in between
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Shafonne Myers is a certified wedding and event planner who longed for bridal inspiration that looked like her. She has created a website and magazine that brings bridal inspiration to plus size brides. She does speaking engagements educating the world about plus size brides and self confidence.
