I have been considering writing this blog post for quite a while now, but I was recently spurred on by some tweets that I saw about larger ladies. So here it is folks...
The Dress
I am and will, almost definitely, be a plus size bride on our wedding day. The only part of this fact that worried me was the wedding dress. I wasn’t worried that nothing would look good because of my size, but more worried about finding shops with plus size dresses to try on and whether or not I would have to get undressed in front of them! But I did my research on the shops and was brave for the getting undressed bit!
I’ve found two different types of bridal shops, those that cater solely for plus size and those that have plus size designs alongside their other designs.
Louise Leong talked to me about her reasons for setting up Curvy Bridal.
I opened Curvy Bridal last August, after being in the trade for a good while and seeing an enormous hole in the market, and rather than fill it with cake, my normal plan, I filled it with glamour, confidence and amazing dresses.
It first came to me that the plus size market was not really being catered for in the wedding industry many years ago, when I married my wonderful hubby. I experienced what many of my brides still experience today and to be honest it’s shameful. Also the majority of my brides aren't big, but size 16 and 18, or just curvy.
A bride of mine, Lisa, an exceptionally beautiful and clever young lady, walked into a well known large branded store. Now Lisa was a size 24 and 5ft 11, and stunning. They actually held a size 10 dress against her and said, so we think we can order one that will be big enough, well because of her strength of character she said, 'well if you get another 10, and hold that against my other side, I might get a vague idea, and promptly left the shop. But even though she showed great confidence in the shop, she went home and told her fiance it was off, as she couldn't get a dress. Shortly afterwards she came to CB's and now often models for me, looks fab in her dress, she has lost loads of weight since that time, and just needed to be treated like a human being.
I have to say it really helps that I am a size 28, the laughs we have had about diets, hypnosis and anything to lose weight. I can always place a bride in a fab frock that makes them look amazing. I have been called the female Gok by a bride. A well fitted dress will make a plus size woman look like a size 12, there is always lots of tears, a lot of patting their much reduced tummy, or boobs ( they tend not to realise they are doing it) then dancing, and I mean dancing, they feel like the princess they always wanted to be. Big brides are just the same as every other bride, Girls put on weight (call miracle worker seamstress, who I worship the ground she walks on), or they lose tonnes, let’s get them in another dress.
I have been a size 10 and a size 28 all in a few years, but I'm the same person with the same sense of style and taste, just in different size.
I have to say that I was one of the ladies who stroked her tummy over and over when I was trying on dresses that looked good. The team at Creatiques also spoke to me about what they offer the plus size bride.
At Creatiques we offer not only smaller sized gowns, but we also specialize in plus size dresses. We have a very good collection from sincerity and sincerity plus, we often wonder why the more curvier lady gets pushed to one side, when a fuller figure can look glamorous,sexy and beautiful.
Sincerity and Sincerity plus offer the most amazing fit for the fuller figure, cutting the bodices with a deeper bust cup size and adding extra corsetry into their dresses for a curvier shape. The way that fabrics are used enhances the shape of the figure.
Curvier women don't need to cover up. they should show off what they have. When a bride comes into the boutique we ask questions first, about their day, before we even consider the gowns. We look at our brides shape and offer, what we think is the best advice that a girl can get. We never look at a bride as a 'sale' we look at our brides and want them to be the best they will ever look on the day of their wedding.
We look at curvier girls no differently than our size 12's and under, they are real women and want to look like they own the world on their wedding day. A recent bride to be, Lara, said ' these guys know how to dress real women' and we do.
One of My favourite dresses from Sincerity+
If only all bridal shops could have the same fantastic attitude of Curvy Bridal and Creatiques. I have already found my wedding dress, and so here is my advice. 1) Arrange visits to shops that have plus size ranges, different shops hold different designers so don’t give up hope after one experience. 2) Try on lots of different styles, even if it’s just to rule them out. 3) Have confidence to love the way you look in your dress, you are beautiful!
