Portfolio – 6. Larger size wedding dresses
Bespoke Plus size wedding dress
I am a bespoke plus size wedding dress specialist working from my studio in Dorking, Surrey. I pride myself on creating dresses that flatter all figures. I love to work for brides who might have struggles to feel comfortable in conventional bridal shops for whatever reason. Often this can be brides who are a larger dress size, or a non-standard body shape. Sometimes medical issues have led to unexpected weight gain or a change in your figure leading to reduced confidence. This can make shopping for a wedding dress very daunting.
Reception dress with gold stars for Melissa
Official photography by www.samuelgeorge.org/
I will be able to reassure you about styles that might best flatter your size and shape. There is never a 'one size fits all' answer to this question. It;'s not that certain styles flatter plus size brides more. My design philosophy centres on creating a dress that feels like an expression of your inner self. I want each bride to feel comfortable, not just in terms of sizing and fit, but also in the style and fabrics she is wearing. I create each bespoke plus size wedding dress to tell the story of this bride on this day.
I can create supportive boning, integral cups and bust support or I can create a loose and flowing design that leaves your figure unrestricted.
I wrote a whole article about how modern dress sizing undermines our ability to shop for correctly fitting clothes.
Dress Sizing for a Bespoke Plus size wedding dress
The 'plus size' range is sometimes deemed to start from a UK size 18, though depending on the brand it might be a size 16 or 20. When you have a bespoke plus size wedding dress made to measure it doesn't matter at all what dress size you would be for an off the peg dress. I take your measurements and draft a perfectly fitting pattern, unique to you and your body shape.
A series of fittings mean we prefect each element of the style, ensuring necklines flatter, sleeves are graceful and skirts skim or flow as most makes each bride feel confident. Problem areas can be minimised with clever pattern cutting or distraction and texture like ruching. But I prefer the technique of enhancing a bride's best features and using the dress to elevate her look.
Blush tulle dress with ballon sleeves for Lisa
Photography: Eddy Fisher Photography
Some plus size brides are curvy with a classic hour glass figure, others might be apple shaped or even muscular or flat chested. All sizes can be catered for with a bespoke plus size wedding dress.
I make sure to listen carefully to your ideas during your design consultation and I'll make suggestions too. Not every bride wants to enhance curves, even if she has them. And not all plus size people feel they need to cover their arms, or hide a belly curve. So I never suggest one idea is 'right for your figure', it's more about what is 'right for you' as it's as much about personality as size and shape.
Weight gain and loss
Ideally I measure you for your wedding dress when you are at a stable weight in preparation for you wedding day. But I do understand that not only is weight gain and loss not always predictable but that also you might always have planned to continue to change shape even after the ideal measuring date. If we know you plan to change weight we can plan your sewing window in my schedule to be a bit closer to your wedding day. I normally recommend that starting work about 4-6 months before the big day is ideal. Or we can squished this timeframe to as little as 6 weeks if that helps.
Extra work to account for a change in size of up to 2" larger or smaller is inside my usual Terms and Conditions. This is up to one whole dress size. But if you change size more than this amount the changes needed to make your wedding dress perfect may entail a much bigger re-do, perhaps even new fabrics for re-cutting some panels. The idea with a bespoke dress is to avoid the compromises 'alterations' sometimes entail. A dress that has been altered, rather than created from scratch as a bespoke plus size wedding dress will never be as perfect.
If you plan to take weight loss drugs we might decide to make the dress in a smaller size that you are from the very beginning, feeling sure that your final shape will match up.
If you feel a connection with me and my way of working enquire today about starting the design process for your bespoke plus size wedding dress.