As a bride, your wedding day is the one day that you must look your absolute best.  On your wedding day, you are the star, and all eyes will be upon you as you march down the aisle.  And so you must look divine.

Everything about you should be perfect on your wedding day, from your hair, down to your toes.  If you are a plus-sized girl, though, your bridal gown may be a challenge for you.

It is always a challenge for a plus-sized woman to get the right clothes that would look good on her curvaceous frame, so it might be the same when you go and find the right plus-sized bridal gown for you. 

But never fear! With the proper planning, you can get the plus-sized bridal gown that is just perfect for you on your wedding day!

Before You Shop for Your Plus-Sized Bridal Gown

Making a few preliminary decisions before you go shopping for your plus-sized bridal gown will go a long way in making your shopping expeditions less stressful and more enjoyable.  In planning ahead of time, you will save yourself a lot of headaches and heartache as you go about picking your dream bridal gown.

What are these preliminary decisions that should you make?

1. Give yourself time to select the right plus-sized bridal gown for you.  Ideally, this should be within six to nine months.  Why so long?  This is because it is never a good idea to rush through selecting a bridal gown.  

You will end up with a bridal gown that you do not like, and because you do not like what you are wearing, it will diminish the shine that you should have on your big day.  Your wedding day is the day that you should be confident about yourself, and wearing the right bridal gown helps a lot in doing that.

2. Figure out what kind of bridal gown would look good on your plus-sized frame.  Your bridal gown should be a dress that will flatter your curves, mask the width of your hips and accentuate your cleavage.  

For example, an A-line skirt would work better than a full skirt in hiding your hips.  The fabric of the dress should drape your figure rather than cling to it.  A halter or a sweetheart neckline will do well in drawing the eyes to your sexy cleavage.

3. Decide on the theme of the wedding.  If you will have a destination wedding or a daytime wedding, you would not need a fully formal bridal gown.  If the wedding is to be an evening affair, on the other hand, you will need a bridal gown done in a formal style.

4. Ask yourself what you want your look to be on your wedding day.  Do you want an upswept hairdo?  There are some styles of bridal gowns that work better with upswept dos. 

Do you want your arms covered or do you want to go sleeveless? Do you want beading and lace, or are you foregoing the embellishments on your bridal gown?

Making these decisions before you start shopping for your plus-sized bridal gown minimizes the stress and headache you may encounter during the process.

Shopping for Your Plus-Sized Bridal Gown

After you are done with making the decisions you need to work on, it is time to go out, make a round of the stores and shop for your plus-sized bridal gown.  Where should you go shopping?  

You should go to stores where you are allowed to try on the bridal gowns that catch your eye.  The only way that you would know if a bridal gown is just right for you is by trying it on.

Trying it on is also the only way you will know if the bridal gown you are looking at is comfortable for you. It is not enough for your bridal gown to look beautiful on you; comfort is more important than beauty. 

It affects your confidence as a bride if your bridal gown keeps hitching up, is too tight to breathe in or bites at your sides.  If the bridal gown that you want is your size but is not comfortable, go ahead and get one that is one size bigger.

Because you can get your bridal gown altered to fit you perfectly, after all.  In fact, you should consider taking the bridal gown you bought to a tailor and having it altered so it really fits you.  It is the next best thing to getting a bridal gown that was designed just for you.

The perfect plus-sized bridal gown should not break your wedding budget.  It is not necessary to get an expensive bridal gown, especially if you cannot afford it.  If money is going to be a concern when you get your bridal gown, you can choose among bridesmaids’ gowns that look elaborate enough to pass for bridal gowns, as long as these gowns are in shades of white.

You can also comb thrift stores. Thrift stores have a great selection of secondhand bridal gowns that you can choose from. If your choice happens to be a secondhand bridal gown, you can take it to a tailor to have it altered. After a few alterations and after some time at the dry cleaners, your secondhand bridal gown will be just like new.

A Last Word

Always consider that all the guidelines you encounter in choosing a bridal gown, especially if you are a plus-size woman, are just guidelines that are meant to help you select your bridal gown.  These are not rules that are set in stone.  So, if you fall desperately in love with a bridal gown, ignore all rules and do not leave the store without buying it.  If you do not buy it, someone else will, and you will regret not being decisive enough to make the purchase when you should have done so.