As soon as I got engaged, (OK, let me be honest here, *well before* it was official), I started researching wedding dresses on the Internet, specifically "plus size" wedding dresses. I looked at everything, including online selections at Macy's, Lord and Taylor, and Nordstrom's (when I was thinking about a more low key affair) and even David's and Alfred Angelo (when I starting thinking about a more traditional to-do.) The department store selections ran from the simplest to the ridiculous (micro-mini, anyone?) to the over-the-top (including an ugly-as-sin Kate Middleton knock-off.) Yet, out of the dozens of dresses they had listed online, only a small handful were available in plus size, and they weren't all that glamorous. They were either frumpy-dumpy curtain-like tents designed to hide as much as possible, or they were matronly numbers (just because I'm a 30+ bride doesn't mean I want to look "mature.") If I were a size 8, I would have had more online options, but I'm not, so...
I also wanted the experience of trying on wedding dresses and chosing the one that was perfect for me, not buying something based on the comparative online shopping I normally do for work clothes. I need to be price-conscious (not like those crazy women on "Say Yes to the Dress" who mortage out their $10,000 purchases for a dress they will only wear once), but I didn't want to buy somthine online just because it fit and was a good deal. So next I made an appointment and tried on a bunch of dresses at Alfred Angelo where I almost fell into the same "trap" I was trying to avoid online, one so many big girl shoppers fall into. I call it the "almost" trap for clothes shopping because the clothes are "almost" right: it fits, it's OK, and it's not too expensive, so I'll buy it. Luckily, my M.o.H. was the voice of reason who talked me down by saying, "Keep looking around. You never know what you might find, and you can always come back and get this one if you don't find something you like better." She was right. We hadn't been to Botticelli yet.
It took some doing to get to Botticelli's. I had to cancel one appointment before I was able to make it up to RI from CT, but once I arrived there (without an appointment this time), I got so much attention and I was treated with utmost respect by the owner herself. Jan worked with me directly for close to two hours on a Sunday (I was the only one in the store) during a sample sale; it was more than worth the two hour drive. I have been in more than my fair share of weddings as a bridesmaid and M.o.H., and every single time I went to a bridal shop before Botticelli's, I was made to feel like a second class citizen, treatly rudely and once or twice, I was made to paid more for my dresses than the other girls in the wedding party. Yes, at an 18, I was bigger than most of the other girls, but $40 worth of "bigger," I don't think so.
My most pleasant surprise in terms of trying on the sample dresses was that they *all* fit--I must have tried on about 10 or 12 before I started narrowing them down to the one I ultimately bought--and they were all beautiful and well cared for samples. If I had ended up ordering a dress based on a style I liked, I would have expected it to be perfect, but since I was trying on samples, I was expecting there to be some imperfections, but here were none.
I love my dress--it's everything I said I didn't want: it's lacey, sparkley, strapless, with a train and corset back--and it's perfect. If I had seen the picture in print before I saw it in person, I would not have bought it, but because Jan encouraged me to try it on, I was incredibly surprised by how great it looked on me and how good it made me feel. The veil I tried on to give me the "full effect" is what sealed the deal. I looked amazing from head to toe. Finally, Jan suggested undergarments and the veil, but there was absolutely no "hard sell" in any way like there was at Alfred Angelo, and my designer dress is of a much better quality fabric, cut, and crafting, and together with the other items cost *less* than the A.A. dress by itself.
If you are a plus size bride from the Northeast, you owe it to yourself to drive to Botticelli's--I can almost guarantee you that Jan has Kleinfeld's plus-size department beat--she's a true professional in every sense of the word, and her plus size bridal shop is "world class." Thank you! read more