Plus size wedding dress + shops in Essex

curlylou1986

Hey ladies,
well i am back from the dress shop... completly nervous the whole driver over there!!
I was a bit overwhelmed to begin with, the ladies were laid back... a little bit too much for me i think as i didnt know what was needing to do. though i got given 4 tags then just had to find ones on the rack that liked and tag them.
thing is i was so nervous and looking at them all i didnt even think about the sizes, so the first 4 none fitted as were all 12's!! how typical. felt like a right fool! Though one of the girls working there went and found about 6 that were over a size 22 so got to try some on.
There was 3 out of them that i liked and have name written down - cant find online to show pictures to you at the moment though
I did feel so much better when the dresses actually fitted on enough to get an idea.
I think i have def decided that i am either going to have to have something to cover my arms... though i thinking i dont want a jackey/bolero out of the same material as dress as dont want to feel restricted. One of the ladies gave me a shall to hold and i felt lookedc better with arms covered up.

so all in all, it didnt end up so bad!! Thankyou all for your advice and help with this, i am going to feel bit more confident with looking at certain styles now and getting an idea from it.
xxx

Jane81

Glad it went OK for you today Curlylou, although you sound a little underwhelmed by the dresses you tried on - because you were nervous and embarrassed by not checking sizes (I think they should have made this clear to you beforehand tbh, as I didn't realise you would need to - I just assumed that you asked to try a particular dress on in X size. Shows how much I know ) or because although you found ones you liked they didn't have the wow factor? If you post the dress names I'm sure someone will be able to track them down - we have a few googlemeisters on this board!!

Do you have any other dress shops you want to visit? It might be worth going back and trying the ones you liked on again when you are feeling a little more relaxed as well.

curlylou1986

Hi Jane,
i just wish i thought about sizes!! i didnt look at the prices on the dresses either as i will be hunting a cheaper version down online so its bit different to buying there.
I thought the same really, my friend the other year went looking for her dress and she got measured roughly first and then they brought her dresses to try on.
the ones i originally picked were all different styles that i liked - big princess style, halterneck etc as i wanted a good idea of different ones. though hopefully other shops will have more.

The one i liked the most was 'Callie' i dont know what make or anything else though as they only had one name on the tags. price was about £675 though for that one.... prob not much help!!
the others were Curaco - £735 and Valentine £475.

I think i will def be looking into going to some other ones - may call shops in colchester and see what they have too in larger sizes, i think i would def want to go back and try it on again though.
my mum asked if i wanted to try it again but by that time there were lot of other people in there - the dresssing rooms were like in a normal shop and just stepped out where other people were sitting and trying on.. though i guess thats because there isnt appointments there.

got few other things in my head at the moment so i guess thats another reason why feeling uncomfortable, hopefully next time be better. am pleased i have done it now though

codemonkey

hey curlylou. I can't give you any advice about shops in Essex but just wanted to reassure you that your feelings about the dress shopping are not exclusively limited to you looking for a plus size dress. Wedding dress shopping is an intimidating experience at the best of times and some of these shops seem to go out of their way to make it a horrible experience by not stocking a range of sizes in different types of dresses. I was nearly in tears with some of the shops I tried and I'm average sized - I was convinced that I was going to have to get married in a sack or a dress that wasn't quite right because they were either wedging me into a dress that was too small to move in or putting me in a dress that was far too big so I couldn't see what I'd look like in it. I also felt that some of them were bullying me to buy the dress there and then.

Finding the right dress is mostly about finding the right shop and trying on so many dresses of different styles so you know which looks the best on your body. I was recommended a shop by a friend that had plenty of samples in the right size for me and took their time to make sure I tried on every colour and style, and eventually found the dress. It was a much better experience. I'd definitely make an appointment so you get some help without tripping over other girls and try some smaller shops in quieter areas because they can surprise you.

Don't always listen to what they tell you in the shops. I was told I couldn't wear white until I went to the last shop where she put me in a white dress to see how it looked and I looked amazing. They also put me in an oyster dress, told me to disregard the colour and then that suited me too. The dress that I went for was the last one I tried and it wasn't what I wanted. We weren't sure until I put it on and it made people cry and I couldn't stop staring at myself in it.

A good shop will make you feel confident about your dress without making you feel bad about your size. The right wedding dress will make you look beautiful and you'll feel beautiful in it. It's out there and you will find it. Maybe phone a few places to book appointments and ask about their size range of dresses to try on.

sarah_elton

PM sent about shops in Colchester curlylou

clearing_out_my_pockets

I know they get a lot of bad press at times but I found Confetti & Lace in Lakeside to be very helpful. They stock Alfred Angelo which goes up to a size 30 (I think). I am a size 14 and they managed to lace me into a size 8. They listened when I told them what styles I liked and then suggested alternatives based on what would 'hide my problem areas' and slim me down.

curlylou1986

Thankyou Sarah for your email - i will have a read through in a few mins... currently waiting for a guy to come round and bring wedding ring samples!

The ladies didnt do anything like that code monkey - was a bit like going into new look or somewhere and just picking things. There wasnt any advice or help really on the stlyes... i think i need that as i dont have a clue as to what is best! just a bit of guidence really to advise and get an idea over things - colour, stlye etc... i am such an indesisive person at the best of times!! lol.

Though - things may be more difficult for me than realising to be honest now with dresses as i have just found out that i am pregnant! 6 1/2 weeks to be precise! Complete shock and very unplanned... got a lot of things going on in our heads at the moment and i do not know what we are doing with wedding things - need to cut budget immensly though! Went to doctors today and need to call tomo and get a midwife appointment.
It hasnt sunk in properly yet, and me and OH feel like we are pretending at the moment! lol. told my mum and sister and one of the girls at work.. neeed to tell OH parents tomo (am scared about that part!) but its exciting and nerveracking and everything at once!!
So with regards to dresses i doubt now i will be able to get one unless we cancel the wedding or push back a lot... so much to consider, we dont want to move it at all thoug (
think will have to be a dress from monsoon or somewhere thats not fitted as such. Not 100% sure of anything yet apart from that we are happy - so thats good!

Jane81

Congratulations Curlylou!! :j:j:j

missknixon

Congratulations on your news! That is a lovely thing to find out!

I found wedding dress shops intimidating - one told me that they didn't stock dresses for fat people like me - I'ma size 16! That put me off! If it hadn't been for my MoH dragging me shopping I would not have bought a dress yet I don't think - and I get married on 30th Oct. I bought my dress in Debenhams where the staff were really friendly and helpful - I ended up with the one dress I would never have dreamt of choosing! I bought a pashmina off ebay for my shoulders - just need to blend my tanned patches now!