The issue of wedding gowns is one of utmost importance to every woman getting married. You want to look you best and outshine every other woman at your wedding. Recently on our Advice Section, a bride to be who described herself as "a bit fat and busty with a very low hair" wanted help with what kind of wedding gown to wear (see the question).

It is very easy and fun to search for and buy our wedding gown, but if you are on the bigger side (plus sized), then your wedding gowns journey might not be as fun as you would like it to be.

As a woman who loves all the curves that God has blessed you with, you want to make sure that you pick a dress that is flattering to your curves and makes you look beautiful but is not so restrictive and heavy on your body so that you look great and feel even better on your wedding day!

So here are some tips and advice to help with your dress picking journey.

Start your search as early as possible. The more time you have to look for your dress, the less stressed for time that you will be.

Do not buy a dress in the hope that you will lose weight. That will only stress you and ruin the fun of preparing for your wedding day.

Choose the right silhouette

You know what you love about your body and the parts that you don't care so much for, so begin with choosing the right style. This step is a key for you to show your beauty and avoid your weakness.

The biggest problem for the full figured girls is the excessive fat, and the fat usually exists in their waist, arms and legs. The right style of wedding gown is the one that can conceal the fat in their waist, arms and legs.

You want to make sure that the parts of you that are most beautiful are very well played out so that the attention can be taken away from the other areas which are not too flattering. Here are some common "problem areas" and how to work with them.

Problem area: Arms

If you have thick chubby arms, or if you have lost lots of weight and your arms are saggy, it is preferable to choose a dress with sleeves. 

There are plenty of lovely long sleeved wedding gowns that will help disguise thick arms. Loose sleeves made in flowing transparent material would be perfect.

If you don’t want to wear long sleeves or if you are getting married in the height of summer and want to wear a sleeveless dress, the best option is to wear a cover up over your arms. You can still wear even a strapless dress if you team it up with a lace shawl over your shoulders. It will look classy and will disguise your problem area without making you overly hot.

A 3/4 sleeve lace bolero can also be a good cover up for saggy arms. Just make sure that the sleeves are not tight and the bolero does not have extra decorations such as sequin, embroidered pearls, plumes or stones. A simple cut bolero is better to draw attention away from your arms.

Avoid spaghetti straps. A strapless dress or a thick strapped dress is much better to disguise thick arms.

Avoid very large pouf sleeves extending from shoulder to elbow and very short fitted sleeves that just cover the shoulders.

Problem area: A big bust

If you are heavy at the bust, a plunging neckline will ease your silhouette. 

Wedding gowns that are simple, without a lot of frills, decorations and extra fluff on the top area, are often good choices.

Make sure you have the support you need under your wedding gown by wearing the right undergarments. Avoid shiny fabrics on the top of your dress.

Problem area: Tummy

Empire style dresses are perfect to disguise a bulging tummy. The waist just skims over your tummy area and the slim skirt elongates your silhouette.

A-line dresses are also very flattering if you do not have a small waist.

Avoid dresses that are too tight or figure hugging.

Problem area: Hips

If you are heavy at the hips but with a small waist, a full skirt might disguise your hips and enhance your small waist.

If you have a slim top you can benefit from wearing a Princess style dress. Enhance your top slim part and disguise your heavy bottom part with a full skirt. Mermaid style dresses can also work for your shape if you are curvy as in an “hourglass shape” and not too heavy on the hips.

Problem: Height

If you are under 1.60m. and on the plus size scale, you might want to consider wearing a short dress. You can choose different lengths to flatter your size, anything from under the knee to a ballerina ankle length dress.

Wearing a short wedding dress does not mean that you cannot wear a long train to elongate your silhouette and wedding dress.

Try your wedding dress with the underwear that you are going to wear on the day

A made to measure corset can make a dramatic difference to your shape. 

Having said that, do not try anything too drastic. If you are not used to wearing a corset then shrinking your waist 2 inches is acceptable but squeezing yourself to make your waist 6 inches smaller can end up with you bruising or even fainting during the wedding ceremony.

When you try your dress don’t just try it standing up in front of a mirror try also to sit down with it to check that it is both comfortable when sitting and does not bulge in an unsightly way. Can you move properly? Can you dance with your dress? Does it look nice from the back?

Pick the right shade

You might also want to consider wearing a less harsh coloured wedding dress. An all white dress in a full figured woman is not always flattering. You might want to consider a combination of colours like the Scottish tartan wedding dresses, or “medieval combinations”. If you prefer a more traditional look, you can always try shades of cream and ivory instead of a stark white.

Resource:          princessa.hubpages.com

Image Credits:         bestweddingbridalgown.com

                                   stylisheve.com

                                   dressofstore.com

                                   bigbeautyfashion.com

                                   aliexpress.com

                                   dinodirect.com

                                   mixweddingdresses.net

                                   okbbaru.com