March 2009 wedding, Wedding dress dilema!!

[miss_unknown]

Hi all,

I have recently posted on the lipotrim forum when i joined last wednesday and have only realized that there is a bride to be section as well. Yippee!! A great place to share all of our ideas and of course the ups and downs during our weight loss.

Well the big day is 14th March 2009 so not long now and to be honest I still havent got the dress yet and im to embarassed to try them on. I hate the thought of going to try on dresses and wondering "do they have my size in that"? The other day I rang a bridal shop and once I told the lady that I was a plus size bride, she said "oh my god, (laughed) we don't stock anything bigger than a size 14 and ya are going to have trouble getting shops that does!! Well I am just thankful that I was talking to her on the phone as I was extremely upset when the call was finished. So now disheartened I dont have the confidence to look at anymore bridal shops until I at least lose a stone or two. Has anyone else had problems with bridal shop owners or even to get a plus size dress??

Upon doctors orders I am going to start the lipotrim programme on wednesday so ideally I would like to lose 3 or 4 stone by the time the wedding comes around, this would obviously make me feel terrific. However I have a long way to go as my start weight is 20 stone 4lbs.

Hoping to hear from ya all soon.

 

[wannabslim]

Hey honey, I went to try on dresses yesterday, feeling just as you do. OK so I have come a long way on my weightloss journey but inside I feel just as fat as ever and wanted to wait til I was at goal before going dress shopping. But I decided to go anyway as my chief bridesmaid said it would be a good idea.

Can I just say, I found THE DRESS and it was incredibly slimming. They had sizes all the way up to 32 so as long as you pick a good store hun I am sure you will find many dresses that fit you!! If you get one with a lace-up back and detail on the waist these types of dresses are INCREDIBLY slimming, and you will be amazed at the figure they give you!! I never knew I had a waist until yesterday!!

Seriously you should go hun, it will make you feel a million dollars! Also its getting close to the date now and ideally you need to order your dress at least 6 months before (ideally 9) to make sure its perfect and arrives in time. Have a nice shower before you go. Doll yourself up, make yourself feel nice. Then head straight out and try a few on. Ask the ladies what they think would suit your figure and make sure you check what dresses they feel could be easily altered for when you have lost a lot of weight. The right shop should be extremely helpful and supportive, I am only sorry you have had a nasty experience with this particular lady!

Hugs to you hun!! You will be a slim and beautiful bride!
xxx

 

[miss_unknown]

Hiya wanabslim,

Many thanks for your encouragement, Do you mind if I ask what shop ya tried the dresses on. My mum has been ringing a few places as well and she has got the same saying that its going to be difficult to get dresses thats going to fit me. Unfortunately ya wont get the same perspective of a dress of a size 12 or 14 especially when my dress size is a size 22. So ideally I would like something that would fit. To be honest its not just the thought of trying on the dresses its the reactions that I am going to get as well from the assistants. The lady I was talking to said she doesnt get many plus size brides in which makes ya feel 10 times worse.
But gosh yea by the sounds of it I dont have long left to order one, cheers for the tips babe, heres hoping to finding the perfect dress and the perfect bridal shop!!

 

[wannabslim]

I'm getting mine from a local shop, Brides of Southampton. It seems in my limited experience that the chain stores are much more harsh and stock a smaller range of sizes than the independent places, and also they are less reliant on your custom to survive so they may not be as friendly. Small, local, independent stores rely on word of mouth to survive so tend to be nicer and more personal. Bear in mind that if you stick with the diet you could lose as much as 5 stone before your wedding, so you could be, I dunno, a size 18?? That's a perfectly fine size and not unusual, so I can't imagine why that would be a problem. I tried a dress on that was absolutely massive, and even tho bridal sizes are much smaller than normal, e.g. if you are a 14 normally you may need a 16-18 dress, this dress must still have been a 'normal' size 20-22!! (I am a 14 at the moment so as you can imagine it was falling off me!), so they DO sell them in this size!

Good luck hun xxx

 

[miss_unknown]

Thanks hun for that, Yea it was one of those chain stores that i rung, Pronuptia so yea I think I will start calling the smaller stores. Hopefully I will find the dream dress in one of them, take care and cheers for the tips.

 

[coley144]

I'd suggest finding a review website for wedding dress shops and reviewing that particular one! Hit them where it hurts..the wallet!

I've been ringing around and have had nothing but helpfulness. You didn't deserve that. Makes me quite angry!

 

[abz]

i am fuming on your behalf!! i can't believe that somebody working in customer services would be that unhelpful!! when pootling about online i have seen many places that do plus sizes. i'm one of them myself at the mo and want to be down to a 14 by my wedding. hopefully by christmas so i can dress shop 6 months before my wedding at a more ideal size. you will do just fine. but i would do as coley says. review them incredibly badly everywhere. in fact i would write a letter of complaint to the manager of the store. you shouldn't be treated that way, regardless of whether you are in store or on the phone!!

abz xx

 

[miss_unknown]

Thanks Coley & Abz, yes I think I will do a review on them, I was thinking about sending the manager a letter but then to be honest I am too much of a chicken!! I would write it but never post it so to speak!!
Congrats on all of your losses.

 

[abz]

That is why a scathing letter is the best option. you don't have to be evil about it. just pointing out that this is not the way customers should be treated, that you will not be shopping there and that you will be advising others not to as a result and maybe the member of staff in question should be advised on how to behave towards potential clients. I am terrible at doing it in person but give me some time and a piece of paper and i'm ready!! i don't have to see them you see, ha. and you never know. they might give you a free tiara or something ha.
at the very least you'll know that something will probably be done about it. especially if in the letter you ask to be told what has changed.

abz xx

 

[miss_unknown]

Thanks for that abz,

Yea decided to write one today and before I could change my mind, my neighbour posted it so its gone, I will keep yas all posted on how it went. I could never say what I did in front of them...lol. Ah well the wonderfully medium of letter writing. How are you getting on?

 

[abz]

not too bad. first weigh in day after hols tomorrow morning. not with cdc. that's not for another week, ha. hopefully i'll have kicked about 5lbs. so another 7 or so to go on top of that. currently trying not to eat skips crisps that my OH has littered about!!

tomorrow i need to get back in touch with photographers, probably the one that got back in touch with me again as she seems keen and cheap and half decent, ha. probably starting out and i have realised i forgot all about djs so that too. and my bridesmaid who is currently having chemo says she finishes mid january so we should be able to go dress fitting then and the other one is now pregnant so by then she'll be huge!! why does nobody cooperate!! ha.

abz xx

 

[miss_unknown]

Well chick, yes I can see what ya mean. I had orrignally 7 bridesmaids. But I am now done to 3 because the other four has got pregnant and get this they are all available in april. I was beginning to think there was something in the water or else there must have been an electric black out in Ireland. If its not that, they either called each other up and bet who would be first. So yea down to 3 now. So these three I have told the partners to get the snip, I need no more surprises...lol, bless them!!

Ya have done exceptionally well on the weight loss!! Those tickers are cool, a great way of keeping track of things. I have hardly anything done for the wedding. I am going home in Novemeber to sort things out. When is your wedding abz? The months are flying in, 5 months 15 days left for me!!

 

[abz]

Mine isn't until next July. I still haven't booked a photographer but i am in touch with a couple and should be meeting them over the next couple of weeks to sort things out. it does mean going to york repeatedly (oh no!! ) but it is a bit of a pain trying to organise it as i get strange days off as i work shifts. but i'm sure something will crop up. ha. have you got much left to organise?

abz xx

 

[FeelingFat]

Thanks hun for that, Yea it was one of those chain stores that i rung, Pronuptia so yea I think I will start calling the smaller stores. Hopefully I will find the dream dress in one of them, take care and cheers for the tips.

I had a really bad experience with Pronuptia when I was looking - stay away from them! They are extremely unhelpful.

I was lucky in that I lost my weight prior to dress shopping so the dress I tried on in the shop was a 14 (I am a 12/14 now) and it fitted perfectly. I know they do go up to much bigger sizes - I tried mine on in a Day to Remember in Plymouth.

Good luck - dress hunting is fantastic and don't let one horrible lady put you off.

Take care

FF

 

[Tinkerbell1987]

hey hun

a friend of mine (also on the site) recently got married and I know the shop she went to goes up to a 32 it is in the north east tho, I will ask her to PM u the details tho

u will be a gorgeous bride!!!!!

xxx

 

[flirty40greeneyes]

Customer service??? wow that shop doesn't deserve any customers!!

Hope you get the dress of your dreams and it all goes well.

We've not done anything towards ours - 9/9/09 and as we're away in Florida for Xmas/new year won't until we get back ... by which time I should be at trying on size!!

 

[miss_unknown]

Many thanks for all your advice, please send me the details of the shops. Sorry for the late reply, I slipped down the stairs, broke my ankle and spraint my wrist so wasnt fit to reply. I am going to look about my dress in December, I am on Lipotrim now and the pharmacist said not to get it until then as I would have lost weight, well heres hoping!!

 

[misscheeky]

sorry to hear about your fall hun, best of luck with LT im sure you will look fab on your wedding day im getting married next nov but havent started looking for dress cuz am now pregnant and had to come of cd! need to loose alot of weight. cant believe that shop was so rude, hope you told all your friends and keep us updateed if you get a letter back :hug99:

 

[miss_unknown]

Congrats Becky on your news. Is this your first? ya must be dead excited!

 

[getting there!]

just an idea but i have bought my dress off ebay.......and it's stunning!! i know it's a gamble but hey a 40 quid gamble paid off for me! aside from that i went to small private bridal shops and they were soooooooo much more helpful and friendly x x x x x x only problem is i've got to pay 50 quid now to have it taken in doh!!!!