Wedding dress shopping

So it turns out this is going to be a huge PIA affair. 

I'm halfway to goal and should be looking at dresses for my wedding in October. I've been calling around and it seems I have two options: buy a dress now in a smaller size and haveit altered closer to the wedding,  Or wait until two months before the wedding and buy off the rack. 

Ugh. I hate all this stress.  On a tight budget too so I'm sure it's going to make things that much more difficult. 

So on the one hand, what a total pain in the ass!  But on the other hand, what an awesome problem to have.  I bet you never thought 5 years ago that this would be a problem you'd have to deal with!  :D  

I think that I might want to check out a bunch of bridal shops just to see what their rack options are?  If you're able to find things you like, that might be reassuring that doing it at the last minute will leave you with good choices.  Of course, any dress you get will probably need to be altered just for height issues.  So there is that.  

(I'm dealing with something vaguely similar with my choir gown.  When do I get the thing altered?  Argh.  I'm glad that it fits decently now for my April concerts and that my next concerts aren't until December.) 

I would go to the stores and look at what they have available off the rack.  Do they have enough options so that you can find something you like or are your options so limited that you just can't see yourself being happy with one of them?  If you can live with a number of options, I would wait.  Otherwise, you are going to have a very large bill for alterations and it's hard to know what style will look best on you at a much lower weight. 

I'm definitely worried about the cost of alterations and how the dress will look on my smaller body. I think we might go try on dresses now for fun and to get an idea,  Then I'll buy off the rack over the summer. 

I think that seems like a good idea.  :)  And even if you did find a dress that you LOVE tomorrow, you're right, that you have no idea (even with alterations) if you'd love it as much on your new body.  

This process is so complicated.  I probably haven't been my goal weight since I was 10 years old.  How can I have any idea of what I'll look like at that weight as an adult?  

I found my perfect dress off the rack...don't worry you will too. Depending on where you live you might want to head to a bigger city to shop and open up your options but I'm sure you will be able to find something. Congratulations!

Thank you! I really hope I can find something off the rack. I think I'm going to try to start saving money now especially for my dress. It's just irritating because I'm trying to do this on a short budget. Just graduated my second nursing program and the student loans are starting to roll in! Not to mention the numerous medical bills from my VSG journey LOL. But, the best wedding gift of all is my second chance at a new life. Here's to a happy and healthy new beginning!

Just wanted to say congrats on your upcoming wedding!  Whichever way you go please post pics of the dress here :-)

I'm assuming by your screename/handle that you are from Mass?  I'm from NYC and in the fashion district they have these "warehouse" wedding dress type places with dresses that are in season or last season or even a few seasons off.  I found my dress there and it was affordable and it was off the rack.  Maybe there's something like that in Boston or somewhere around there?

I think you can shop around for fun and find things off the rack for sure.  Most bridal boutiques have a cap on alteration prices meaning they only charge you up to a certain price.  The price can still sometimes be costly, for instance, my place had an alterations cap of $200.  Of course they charged me the $200 but I had a lotttt of work done on my dress (and this was pre op!).  I'm very short so most dresses need to be hemmed a lot and my gown had a train, beadwork, and lace so it was well worth it to me.  I'm also smallish in the chest area so that had to be taken in.  Overall, I was fine with the $200 cap price because they sure did a number on my dress. 

Have fun with this and don't let it stress you out too much.  Looking for/buying a wedding gown can be a very exciting experience especially if you love dresses!  Good luck and have fun!

I am going to be a bridesmaid for my sister in July. That said she picked out the dresses before I even got approved for surgery. But the dress takes up to 5 months to get here. 5 months! Boggles the brain ! Anyway because of that, I got it ordered in my size on that day and will have it altered. 

I don't think you will be happy with something off the rack. It's your WEDDING! get what you want! The dress shop can give you recommendations for a seamstress. I get the budget thing, but pinch somewhere else. Not on your dress :)  that's my 2 cents ...