How to Be Fitted for a Bridesmaid Dress While Pregnant

My beautiful sister Catherine is to be married in two weeks to her fiance of over 18 months. The wedding has been a longtime coming and we are so excited for it to finally be here! Shortly after she and Matthew were engaged, Catherine asked me to be her Matron of Honor and I was thrilled to be asked. I visited her in February of last year and we picked out her wedding dress (it's gorgeous!!!) and the bridesmaid dresses. At that appointment, I was fitted for a size 4 dress. However, I was a little nervous about officially purchasing the dress and committing to that size since the wedding was still a year away and...let's just say a lot can happen in a year.

Catherine with 9-month-old Emma.

I ended up purchasing the dress anyway and it sat in my closet for a good six months.

Then, baby fever hit and my husband just wouldn't stop being so irresistibly cute. Needless to say, the positive pregnancy test came.

I waited a few months to see how my bump would grow before taking the dress back to David's Bridal and asking them what I should do about the size. They took my measurements again and added a little room for growth and suggested that I go up two dress sizes to accomodate a growing midsection. They would alter the top of the dress to fit me better. It sounded like a great plan, so I ordered that size. I was told that the dress would come right before Christmas - plenty of time to get it altered and ready for the wedding.

Well, something happened over December. Something completely outside of my control. That belly of mine just exploded. It might have been helped along by the cookies, cake, or fudge. I began carrying higher. So high, that I feel an incredible amount of pressure against my diaphragm when I breathe or sit in certain positions. I have never had that with my previous pregnancies.

I went back in for that alterations appointment and slipped into the newly arrived, substantially larger bridesmaid dress. The associate came into the room to help me zip it.

And we couldn't zip the darn thing up. My belly had gotten too big and based on the way I am carrying right now, the largest portion rides up right against the waistline for the dress.

All the associates started to freak out. They left me standing there in front of all those mirrors - those horrible, horrible 360 degree mirrors - holding up my unzipped dress while examining my bloated shape. It was very flattering.

After what seemed like hours, one of the associates came in to tell me that it was too late to order a new dress in an even larger size. However, they had done a search of their storage room and they had found the same dress in the right color.

"Great!!" I said, relieved.
"It's a size 24."

Apparently it was a special order size that had been returned at one point. They brought in the gigantic dress and let's just say that it definitely zipped up that time. I don't think I even unzipped it to climb inside! They pinned off the sides for alterations and played with the hem. I was a human pin cushion by the end.

"We'll get this looking like it was made for you!" they promised with an unmistakably apologetic tone.

I just went with it. We finished off the appointment and I was told to come back in a week for another fitting. They were super great to work with and so accommodating. I am very grateful that we found something that worked.

When I arrived home, Paul asked me how everything went. "Well," I began, "I went from being a size 4 to a size 24 in 10 months."

In the end, I should have just ordered a much larger size to begin with and had it altered down to fit. To other pregnant bridesmaids out there, bite the bullet, realize that your midsection is growing at a quick rate and you will not fit into conventional sizes, and don't be afraid to order a size that is three or even four times as big as your pre-pregnancy size. It is much easier to have everything taken in than to scramble to go up a size at the last minute. Thankfully, it worked out for me this time but it very well could have been a complete disaster.

They are worth every bit of every pregnancy woe.

I will post pictures later of the wedding. Less than two weeks to go!

I'm linking up this post at Jess and Katie's website for Tuesday Talk!