10 Tips for Buying a Wedding Dress When You’re Pregnant

  

Expectant brides often despair when planning their wedding. While other brides have a world of wedding dress styles to choose from, a pregnant bride usually has no choice but to satisfy herself with the few specially made designs available that look awkward and sack-like. This kind of thinking may have made sense a few years ago.

Today, though, pregnant brides have a vast range of wedding dress options to choose from. These simple tips will hopefully help you look perfect on your wedding day.

1. Buy as close to the wedding day as possible

If you needed a regular wedding dress, it would be a good idea to begin shopping months before the event. You’ll have time to comparison shop and make up your mind. When you’re pregnant, though, your body shape changes each passing week.

It’s a good idea then, to buy your dress no more than a month before the day. You’ll only need one alteration this way.

2. Take the dress well in advance

As I mentioned before, it’s better to begin shopping a couple of months ahead of your wedding. Once you identify a dress and have it picked out, you can wait until a week before the wedding to actually buy it.

Then, you can have the seamstress at the store fit it perfectly on you. It’s a good idea to ask for an extra inch in your arms and bust, just in case you experience bloating.

3. Accent your baby bump with a sash

Drew Barrymore married Will Kopelman in 2012, when she was several months pregnant. With her white Chanel dress beautifully draping her abdomen, the actress accented her bump with a black sash.

A sash that forms a boundary and defines the bump can be an aesthetically pleasing idea in a wedding dress for a pregnant bride. In some dresses, a sash that’s the same color as the dress can look fabulous, too.

4. If you really want to accent your baby bump

While some brides do want their wedding dresses to look beautiful in the regular way, others like the idea of showing off their bump. If such emphasis is what you wish for, you need to look for a professional seamstress to fit your dress in a way that accentuates your bump. In general, the mermaid style and the trumpet style do a great job helping you show off a baby bump.

5. Comfort is important

Most brides are free to pick tight wedding dresses even if they are uncomfortable. They feel that any discomfort the dress may give them is worth putting up with, just for the glamorous effect they get.

Discomfort isn’t a meaningful option for a pregnant bride, though. You need a dress that allows you freedom of movement, and a design that supports you well.

More: 10 Wedding Items Worth Splurging On

6. You may be able to pull off a short wedding dress

It’s certainly possible to make a knee-length wedding dress work for you. It can be a bold step that wows your guests. It’s not the easiest look to manage, but if you have the right body shape for a short dress, you may be able to make it work even late in your pregnancy.

7. It’s usually easier to make a long dress work

While the length you pick is a style preference, longer dresses tend to work better for pregnant brides. An empire waist, plenty of lacy folds, ladders and pleats, and a hemline that goes to your ankles, all make for a regal look. Some brides choose knee-length wedding dresses as well.

8. It doesn’t have to be white

Many A-list celebrities, including Anne Hathaway and Reese Witherspoon, have chosen colored wedding dresses instead of the traditional white. If you find it hard to come by the right dress in white, widening your search to include colored dresses can be a good idea.

9. Look for plenty of lace

Lace is a great material to help make larger dress sizes appear delicate. For expecting brides, it’s a great idea to look for designs that use plenty of lace.

You can also look for a lace wedding dress to look more elegant. This wedding dress is perfect for both small and big wedding.

10. Don’t count on wearing heels

It isn’t a good idea to go beyond low-level heels at your wedding. If you must wear heels to your wedding, you need to choose a set no more than an inch high. Your feet will quickly tire out. It’s a much better idea to bite the bullet and simply get into ballet flats or other flat shoes.

More: 10 Wedding Traditions You Can Skip

Many pregnant brides who plan to get married early, before the baby bump shows too much, like to keep their pregnancy from the family if it’s possible. If this is you, you should remember that store salespeople are likely to bring it up and want to have your mother with you. It’s a good idea to call up ahead and request a bit of discretion.