Plus size bride feeling down...???

I just found my dress this week. I had been putting it off - also a plus size bride. But shape is everything. Soft Ballgowns looked ok on me...but A-line was slenderizing. Plus - once they get it fitted to your body it will look best.

I completely understand how you feel! I don't really tell anyone this because it doesn't often come up when people see pictures of my dress. It's lovely, but I definitely didn't have a magical bridal moment or anything. I literally picked the first dress that my mother didn't say, "Awwwww! You'd look soooo pretty in that dress if you only lost 20 pounds or so!" Instead, with the dress I picked, she said, "Awww!!! You look so pretty even at this weight!" (That's just mom--I'm sure she meant well.) Anyhow, that was at Alfred Angelo, after we'd been to 5 other shops over multiple days.

I have CURVES (can ya tell from my silhouette in my avatar? I look like the trucker girl bumper sticker, lol). What worked for me, personally, was a ball gown cut.

Here's a trick that is working REALLY WELL for me. To make my waist appear smaller, I bought a petticoat with multiple hoops. The hoops are adjustable to bigger/smaller. I made the top hoop around my hips a tad smaller so I didn't look as broad, and then have the others all bigger so I have a really pretty hourglass shape between the petticoat and my corset. The petticoat was just $25 on Amazon, and with prime shipping, came to me right away. I got it here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011QG7YO6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

But do you know the best part? The petticoat is VERY LIGHT WEIGHT, and the hoops mean that all the fabric of my dress is held way out from my legs. This means that cool air can circulate and I don't overheat... something that can happen even to the most slender of brides.

Above all, love yourself like every one else is saying, know your FH is marrying you for you, etc. But beyond that, use your best features to your advantage and play them up, and find ways to tastefully conceal areas that make you feel bad so you'll be more confident on your big day. (E.g., the hoops are best for me because I hate my bum/thighs. I've seen other women who are really self-conscious of their upper arms have special "shrug" straps that cover their upper arms, or even have lace or mesh to help conceal other "problem areas."

Was this your first time shopping? Don't let it get you down! I had two completely lackluster, depressing dress shopping trips before I found the one. Keep searching, and be open to all sorts of styles. You'll find the perfect dress that will make you feel like a bride