Bigger bridesmaids: Trying on dresses?

I just went shopping with one of my BM this weekend who bigger and another BM who is small. It was very awkward for me because my bigger friend only had 2 dresses to try on compared to my skinnier friends 5 I know how it feels too because I was always the bigger BM in weddings. That's why I am letting my girls pick out their own style dresses but same length and material, we are using Davids Bridal who do have bigger sizes. If you want them in the same dress then you will need to ask their size. I think it would be better and less uncomfortable if you go with a dress that goes up to your heavisest sized girl.

Well, that is my plan, to have them pick whatever dress they like in the same length and fabric and I'm praying the 5 styles I picked out as a starting point have bigger sizes to try on, but I'm afraid that none of them will and she'll just have to try to imagine it or something :-(

But, now it's looking like we might have to split the shopping trip in two days because of conflicting schedules, so the size 18 and 22 will be the only ones with me on Saturday so maybe it will be less uncomfortable then.

Yeah, it's the worst part of dress shopping for weddings! For me being on the bigger size I like picking out my own dress. My friend that went last weekend I did feel bad with her only having 2 dresses to choose from because she just looked like she had to settle on the dress because what choice did she have? That's how I was too with dresses, I knew I was limited so I just sucked it up for the bride and wore what could fit. I figured it's one day so who cares. But I know how you feel now me being the bride I wish I could have all my girls LOVE their dresses and not just settle Your girls will do whatever you want which just makes them even better friends!

I had sort of the same problem when I went. One of my girls was super skinny like a 2 the other was a 6 and my sister is a 15. And the one store we had decided to go to that they all wanted to go to only had dress sizes in like 4 and 6. We had just left David's bridal where all my girls had tried on like 20 different dresses so they elected the one girl who was the middle size of size 6 to try on all the dresses and model them. It worked for us and we took pictures they felt the fabric and picked dresses that way. That way not all of them had to be tortured with the clips and humiliation of falling out of the dress or bulging out of it bc they were too big. Hope this helps!

I hear you! My Bridesmiads run the gauntlet from size 2-16. Finding a dress that they all look great in and are all comfortable in is going to be a project. I'm to the point where I may just choose a color and let them pick the dress.

Kriste, that's a good idea.. That's actually what I was TRYING to do before, just having my sister (the size 18) go try on the dresses and sending pics to the other girls, but both my sister and one of the other BMs are being total pains in the @$$ about it, so I decided screw it, I'm getting everyone to go together and figure out what the heck they want that way. It has been MUCH more stressful than I anticipated.

I had this experience on Saturday.

My MOH could only try on one dress, and everyone else tried on three. It's a tricky situation, because I was with her and 5 of the BM's, and three girls were a 2, two were an 8, and she is about a 16-18...She played it off and was very light hearted about it. If you feel someone will not be comfortable, I really do recommend splitting the shopping trips. My MOH has a really self-depricating/sarcastic sense of humor, so she was making jokes the entire time.

The only thing that felt awkward was when one BM was complaining about getting a 4 when she's "usually a 2, and not this normally this big".

.......................yea. That happened....

Good luck!

Honestly, I'm that bigger girl. I've been searching for wedding dresses and the ones I like don't even come close to a size that I can try on. Instead, they just hold it up too me and think it's going to be how the dress would actually look.

I hate dress shopping when sample sizes are involved. It sucks and makes me feel like crap. I know there are some bigger girls who are okay with themselves enough to be able to sit through that, but I'm not and I'd hate the experience.

If your bridesmaids already know what looks good on their curves, I think you should see if there's a dress that fits or is close to fitting that they can try on

Thanks ladies!

Victoria, that is exactly what I'm worried about. I love all my girls and I don't want any of them to feel like crap. This is precisely why I wanted them all to pick out any dress that they felt good in because I know that what looks good on the size 2 might not look good on the 22 and I'm not going to force them to wear something they aren't comfortable with.

I wrote all the dress styles I am thinking of, and all the girls sizes and I am just going to give it to the store associate when we get there and hopefully she will be able to help me out without making things awkward!

Its going to be hard because dresses are generally only brought in in a sample size, no bigger than a dress size 12 (generally) so there isn't a lot you can but but as some one who wears a dress size 14 or 16 I always went in expecting to not get to try on every thing.

Generally I know what is flattering and what isn't on my body. So I wouldn't stress there isn't really any thing you can do but I think letting them pick their own dresses is a good thing with a big variety like that!

I agree to let them pick the style with you picking color and length, my daughter was in a wedding and they did this and it worked great. some of the girls needed more support up top so they picked halter or straps. some needed more room in the skirt so they picked a full skirt not a pencil one. They all looked great and all seemed to be comfortable with their choices.