the fitting

Several people have noted – and rightfully so – that I have fallen behind on my blogging in the last several weeks. Sorry, loyal followers! I’ve been on the road a bit for work and also on a painful family vacation, but now that I am home it’s time to buckle down on both the planning and the writing.

Last week, I took myself to our local bridal shop to have my dress altered. It’s sort of strange to walk into a bridal shop with a black dress that you bought on the internet; no one understands that YOU are actually the bride. But the elderly Italian seamstress that did my fitting was actually very nice. I must note: never in my life have I EVER had to have anything either a) shortened or b) taken in in the chest. But this dress needs to be both, so away to the bridal shop I went.

Not having spent much time in bridal shops, I have to say that this was not an experience that I would look forward to. While I was waiting for the seamstress to be ready, I browsed the racks of dresses and noticed that nearly all of them were stocked in the same two sizes: 6 and 8. What’s a non-six-or-eight to do? Guestimate? They did have a limited selection of plus-sized dresses in the back of the store, but most of those were stocked in a 16. I guess only three sizes of women shop for wedding dresses? Seems like a misogynistic joke to me. I am SO GLAD that I went the internet route.

The fitting, by the way, was relatively uneventful – though I did get a little nervous when she pulled out the scissors and started cutting the hem. Maybe that’s normal; I really don’t know. My dress wasn’t a huge investment but I could definitely see that you might freak out if you’d just dropped a grand or more on a dress and someone started cutting it right in front of your eyes. I bet she has some interesting stories to tell.

delivery day

I got a shipping notification from UPS this morning that my dress is on the truck for delivery. So, hopefully tonight I will know whether I am still in the market for a dress or whether I can move onto the next stages of planning. Stay tuned …

shipping notification!

Got it in my inbox: my dress will arrive on Wednesday, February 4. Whew, that's one thing off my plate. Everyone seems to want to know: what dress did I pick? Well, I'm not letting that cat out of the bag until I know whether it fits. So, stay tuned. I will tell you that it's not white and it's not that hideous green goth number in yesterday's post.

Several people have asked me what my partner will be wearing. Well, that seems to be the million-dollar question these days. I think she has a rough idea in her mind, but nothing has really turned up quite yet. She's threatening to wear shorts and an Old Navy t-shirt, which is NOT OKAY (just so you know, honey). Maybe some of my readers will help her with suggestions? I'm hoping that her well-dressed sister Kelly will take her to the mall this weekend and help her out. We've talked about having something custom made, but I think you have to actually have an idea of what you want before you show up at the tailor. Maybe I'm wrong about that; I've never actually had anything custom made before. So, we'll see ...

the dress

EEK – I ordered my dress today. I should have started this blog two months ago, so you could have journeyed with me through the hell that is bridal gown shopping. But, lucky reader, you have caught me on the upswing, wedding attire already decided. I think that’s better for both of us.

Volumes have been written about this moxie-building rite of passage for the modern bride. The options are literally endless – so much so, in fact, that entire periodicals are published several times each year to showcase the latest and greatest in bridal fashions. On top of these new and noteworthy styles, there are also thousands (millions, even?) of other styles that have been created over the years. You can get a white gown in pretty much any style you can imagine. And, some you probably couldn’t:

WHAT was she thinking?

I guess the point of all of this is to day that the choices are endless. But ours is a non-traditional sort of gig, so I’m not even limited by the expectation that I’ll be wearing white. I toyed with it for a while simply because it was a good place to start. Truthfully, it’s difficult to shop for a gown when you have unlimited choices. Just anyone who’s ever worked for me, I’m a bottom line sort of gal. I only want three choices for any decision; more than that and I lose interest or get overwhelmed by the tiny differences between them. So, shopping for a dress with virtually no limitations is really just too much for me.

I started my search on the internet, and was surprised to find that there really aren’t too many resources out there for plus-size brides. I’m not a small gal, so finding a style that I liked that came in my size was actually pretty difficult. Sure, there’s always Bride-Mart (that’s David’s Bridal to you), but the thought of stripping down in front of some sleazy used-car-salesman sales associate just put me to shivers.

So, I stripped down in the comfort of my own home and had my measurements taken, then decided to shop online. For you rookies out there, the measuring step is REALLY IMPORTANT. A dirty little secret in the wedding fashion industry is that these gowns run small, sometimes by up to two sizes. So, on your special day, you end up feeling like a fat cow. Nice. My dress should arrive in 7-10 business days, so I’ll let you know how it fits. I’m planning on some alterations, but the measurement chart said it would be roughly my size.

In my search, I found some great resources for plus-size brides:

• I found my dress at Sydney’s Closet
• Igigi
  
• House of Brides
• and, of course, David’s Bridal plus collection
  

I’ll post some additional resources later re: undergarments and other odds and ends.