Pregnant Bridesmaid

Heather2121

Any advice on when to order her dress? How do I know what size to order her? Should I order her a maternity dress or just a larger size? What have you all seen done in this situation? She is only a few weeks pregnant now but should be about 5 months pregnant when we get married in February. Thank you!!

Liz4444

you should ask someone who works at the store where you are getting the dress, i am sure they have been in this situation before and would know what she should do in normal circumstances.

Kati0105

She should speak with the person who will be doing her alterations.  One of my BMs is TTC and her alterations person said that she could alter the BM dress to an empire waist for her if she is showing by the time my wedding rolls around.

becs11048

As long as it isn't a mermaid type/tight body fitting style dress for the bridesmaids, I would recommend ordering two sizes larger than her normal size That is what our salon recommended and it worked out well, also Empire waists are flattering for pregnant women

gabi829

It really depends on how her pregnancy progresses.  For example, there can be a wide variance in how much weight she gains or where the fetus rests.  Could you wait until her second trimester starts to get a better idea of her measurements for a dress?

kebmtm071605

Everyone is different.  With both of my pregnancies, I most definitely needed a maternity dress at 5 months...an empire waist dress two sizes up just wouldn't cut it for me.

mbcdefg

Another option would be to let her get a maternity dress off the rack form a department store or a regular clothing store, about 2-4 weeks before the wedding. You could try to get a similar color to your other BMs' dresses, or let her get a black dress and give her a colored pashmina to tie her into your wedding colors. People will understand that a pregnant BM needs special accommodations and it won't ruin your pictures or anything. Congrats to her

Heather2121

Thanks for all of your help!! She is my future sister-in-law and they have been trying to have a baby for eight years now. The bridesmaid dress is empire waist but we will probably just wait a little bit longer. Thank you all so much for your help!

bellabee5417

I have the same situation. My moh ordered her dress and then became pregnant. She will be 6 months at the wedding. We ended up haveing to reorder the dress 3 sizes bigger. I was told its better to order bigger then smaller cause they can always take away some of the  dress. The dress place wont do alterations till 2 weeks before the wedding, due to the bump. I hope this helps you out. The dress she ordered to start with was very forgiving in the tummy area to start with, you might want to take that in to consideration, Good luck

LarissaAnn

Eight years! Wow, congrats to your FSIL! My sis is in a wedding next month and will be 7 months pregnant - they did an empire waisted dress and the woman there made her order two sizes bigger. Apparently it's working, though she actually did have to have it taken in 'cause they overestimated how big she'd be. Also, recognize that your FSIL will most likely have to wear flats. The bride in my sis' case tried to put her in 2.25" heels and it was just NOT happening.

mbcdefg

I went a seamstress once for a non-WR dress issue, and she was working on a BM dress that was too small. She made conversation and said that she asked the girl to purchase a matching shawl, so that she could put a belly panel in the dress to give the girl some more room. I've also heard of seamstresses putting corset backs onto dresses so that there's the option to make it bigger or smaller as needed. I've also seen pics of maternity BM dress that were in two pieces, with a skirt and then a top that left plenty of belly room.

kmh8d3

My SIL has been trying to get pregnant for 2 years and is in 3 weddings in the next year.  She ordered a maternity dress for her wedding in October (wishful thinking) but isn't pregnant and now needs to get another dress.  The good news is that the store is taking it back so she doesn't have 2 dresses.  For my wedding she is buying a size bigger than normal (the next size up was already sold out!) and is planning on having it altered whether or not she's preggers. The store has a great alterations person that can put in an elastic panel.  Whoever metioned the corset back makes a really good point.  It's only $80 or so to put in and can ensure a good fit everywhere.

Colg512

I was pregnant for 2 weddings in the past year. Most places require you to order by a certain date. The first wedding I was in I had already ordered my dress and the order couldn't be changed luckily someone lost weight that ordered a larger size so we were able to switch, for the second wedding i just ordered a bigger dress I'm usually a 12 I ordered a 16 and then took it to a local tailor a week before to be adjusted. I was lucky and at 7 months wasn't too big so it wasn't too hard for me. If the color/style you are going for has maternity sizes i would recommed that... i just looked "bigger" in the 2nd wedding and not pregnant. Good Luck!