plus size brides, curvy brides

{Wedding Tip Thursday} Dress Shopping as a Plus Size Bride….the salon

plus size brides, curvy brides

Whenever anyone thinks about looking for a wedding dress, people always cringe because they know they will be trying on a ton of dresses which to some might seem like a good time but come on, the thought of having to get dressed in a room between 5-10 times and then having to come out and show off the gown and listen to the reactions doesn’t rank high on anyone’s list, plus size or not. BUT as a plus size bride none of us get all giddy inside when thinking about this because usually there is so much more that goes into dress shopping for us.

Today we are going to go over some dress shopping tips for plus size brides as it pertains to the salon you choice.

1. Call Ahead

This is a MUST for any bride but especially a curvy bride because you want to ensure that the bridal salon carries your size. It should be no shame in your game to call a salon and ask flat out what sample sizes they carry. It’s going to be a whole lot easier to call on the phone and find out they do or don’t carry your size as opposed to showing up and being disappointed. Trust me, it needs to be a must. And if you go with a plus size bridal salon, chances are they will have a whole store dedicated to you. We’ll address that in #4.

self love handbook for plus size brides, self love for plus size brides

2. Make an Appointment

It is always advised to make an appointment for any dress shopping appointment and once again especially for a plus size bride because if you are looking for certain sizes with we usually are they can be pulled and ready to go. Also it makes it so much easier for your comfort level because if you have an appointment there is no waiting around for someone to help you, you are able to work right in and get started. Some times if you are giving the chance to sit and wait then you see everyone else in the salon, get a little anxious and might even decide to leave with the thought of not even coming back. PLUS, who wouldn’t want to have a designated sales associate to help make the process easier.

3. Visit the salon before your appointment

This is something I know is hard to do some times but it can be so beneficial. If you are able to visit the salon ahead of time, do it for sure, and honestly it doesn’t have to be in person you can visit the salon online. The main reason for doing this is to check out the layout, ambiance and feel of the place. It’s funny because so many people say that they have had such bad experiences at certain salons and especially for plus size brides because of size factors but if you would have visited the salon ahead of time either online or in person in most occurrences, and I use most loosely because there’s always the outliers, you would have noticed that the associates don’t have experience working with curvy brides or that their rooms aren’t accommodating to a larger bride. Which trust me is a definite deal breaker, once again we’ll address this more in #4. This is why visiting beforehand will just give you an idea of what to expect. Plus, if you find that it is not the place for you, you’ll have time to find somewhere else. One thing that can make or break whether you stick with a salon or not is the customer experience. We all know how important this aspect of any business is, which is why companies such as Salesforce explains good customer service. Some places need to take a leaf out of their book.

4. Run, don’t walk to a salon that caters to plus size brides

HELLO, definitely the most obvious but I know it’s not always an option for some. But I have to admit hands down that my dress shopping experience wasn’t bad, I went to a big chain salon and it was OK but if I would have had the opportunity to go to a bridal salon that catered to me and my size I would have run the whole way there. There is such a huge advantage to going to a plus size bridal salon, they know your size, they know your body, they know how to talk to you and know your language. It’s so funny to even write that but it’s so true. Salons that specifically work with certain sizes, know exactly what’s going to look amazing on those sizes and shapes and that goes a long way for a bride who is already discouraged and nervous to be there in the first place.

I also have to put it out there, that their facilities are equipped for handing larger sizes. When I got my wedding dress 10 years ago I was cramped in small room trying on 8 dresses while I was in there with the associate trying to come in and help me put the dress on and having to shimmy past each other, not one of my highlights of dress shopping for sure. But at a specialized salon, you won’t have to deal with that, it’s all taken into account for us. And the business of coming out and having to show off my dress in front of the whole salon, not my idea of a good time either. Definitely something that most plus size salons take into account with only dealing with curvy brides which means that’s all that is in the salon. And some even have exclusive appointments where no one else is in the store, even better.

So in conclusion, you can see that there are so many things that go into finding the perfect wedding dress as a plus size bride and one of them is finding the right salon for you. Next week we will be talking about tips for finding the right dress as a plus size bride.

Here is a list of some of our favorites that we have personally worked with:

Strut Bridal {Arizona}

Glass Slipper Bridal Salon {Minnesota}

Belle Bridal Boutique {Ohio}

Curvaceous Couture {Maryland}

Let us know some of your favorites that you’ve worked with

 

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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.
plus size self confidence