So, I'm going to be a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding this June, when I will be 7 months pregnant (8 weeks today). We have to order our dresses this week. Any tips on how big I should go? The dress is pretty flow-y with an empire waist, so I'm mostly worried about fitting the girls and right under them. This is my first pregnancy so I don't have any real guesses to go on…
persimmon / 1427 posts
Do they have a maternity version of that dress? If so, I'd order that. If not, you're likely going to have to order big and alter as needed.
The problem with wearing a non maternity dress at 7 months pregnant is as your bump grows, the hemline will get shorter and shorter. Also, your ribcage will likely expand by that point and you will likely go up a cup size.
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
I would just order it really big - 2-3 sized bigger than you usually are and plan to suck it up and pay for alterations. Better to order way too big than too small.
persimmon / 1396 posts
That dress is gorgeous, where is it from?
And for your question: I was a huge pregnant woman at 7 months. That dress on me would have lifted up too much in the front and would look super weird. Have you found any maternity styles that are similar?
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
Also, you could see if they sell the fabric, so that if you needed to, you could have a seamstress modify it in length to cover a bigger baby bump.
apricot / 334 posts
Bridesmaid dresses tend to run small. I would definitely order up at least 2 -3 sizes as it is so much easier to take in a dress and nearly impossible to let one out. I was a bridesmaid at my cousins wedding in may - we ordered in January when I was just a few weeks along. Well I only ordered up a size and it was disastrous...I had to rush order additional fabric. Luckily I had a talented tailor who was able to make it work. Good luck!!
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
@JennyPenny: yay! I was 7 months pregnant at two weddings!! The first time I ordered the matching pregnancy dress and my size fit perfectly. The second time I ordered two sizes up because it was an empire-waisted dress and there was plenty of room in the skirt. My dress was a low v-neck too. I had to take up the shoulders quite a bit and the hem was all funky (longer in front to accommodate for the belly) but it all worked out great. And I was pretty big by then.
Here's my blog post about it! It has tips too about how to survive the day!
http://www.hellobee.com/2012/06/20/being-a-third-trimester-bridesmaid/
persimmon / 1427 posts
Another thought - it might be cheaper to delay ordering the dress and pay a "rush order" charge than to guestimate now and pay even more in alterations.
nectarine / 2460 posts
@babynumber1: It's Donna Morgan style called Jessie
I checked that there aren't any maternity versions of this dress, but I haven't checked to find a similar dress. The bride is trying to do the same color/fabric dress in different styles - and this is definitely the Donna Morgan dress that works best for pregnancy. The hemline coming up is what I'm most worried about, because it's short as it is.
I'll be announcing the pregnancy to my family on Christmas, so then at least the bride will know and we can talk about options. But she wants all the dresses ordered by Dec 28!! Hopefully she can be a bit flexible...
nectarine / 2460 posts
@Bluebonnet: That's an interesting point. When we initially went shopping they told us at the store that the dresses could be ordered just 1 month out. I wonder why the bride wants them ordered so soon. Maybe in my case I can just wait. I might lose the group discount (17 bucks…) but its probably worth it...
pomelo / 5621 posts
I would order it one month before if that is an option. Definitely worth losing the discount. Once you announce talk to the bride about it. I'm hoping she will be nice about it.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
@JennyPenny: Go at least 2 if not 3 sizes up for the bust. Yes you have to pay for the alterantions, but the more fabric to work with the better in this case! (My sister ended up ordering an extra yard of fabric at my wedding and it cost SO much more than if she would have just ordered up.)
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
@JennyPenny: I would also probably go 2 months out, because if you need alterations you will want time + you don't want to have to risk delays, backorder, ect.
nectarine / 2460 posts
@LuLu Mom: Hmm.. do you know how much more? There's a long version of the dress too, but its 230 instead of 170. I would definitely have enough fabric though….
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
@JennyPenny: She had to get 2 types (chiffon and the stretchy stuff underneath it) and it was well over $100 extra.
Edit: it was a long gown.
pear / 1517 posts
I was recently in a wedding at 12 weeks pregnant with my second. I ordered 2 sizes up and had it altered slightly smaller but I figured better safe than sorry. My dress was a similar style but floor length. And 12 weeks with my second I was much bigger than I was with my first (maybe equivalent to 20 weeks with my first?).
nectarine / 2460 posts
Yeah, I would feel so much better if it were a long dress. I worry that the length of the dress is just going to get super short around a big bump. I guess the best thing is to just talk with the bride after the announcement and see what she wants to do...
persimmon / 1427 posts
@JennyPenny: once your friend knows you are pregnant, also talk to the sales person at the store. They deal with this all the time, so they might have some creative solutions for you.
nectarine / 2936 posts
I would order a few sizes up and the long version of the dress. Then you can get the length altered to cover your bump.
eggplant / 11408 posts
@JennyPenny: I would wait, honestly. I know that the bride probably wants enough time just to be safe, but I think you have a legit reason to wait. And the $17 seems worth it to be able to find something that will work for you. You're going to want to be comfortable!
pomegranate / 3272 posts
Does the dress come in tall? My experience is that BM dresses are a bit long to accommodate different heights. If they offered it in the Tall size, you should have enough fabric to hem it correctly
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
I would talk to the store, but order at least three sizes up from what you measure now- not from your regular street size now (I wear an 8 or 10 in regular clothes, 12 in bm dresses, so would order like a 16 or 18 to e safe).
My sister was 6 months preg at my wedding and wore two sizes up but it was close-- a week later and it may not have zipped.
She probably wants the dresses ordered at the same time so they are cut from the same dye lot. But maybe she won't mind having you order late.
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