Plus Size Bride

Maria and Kyle's engagement pictures

2010-10-23T13:04:00.003-05:00

Hi, Let me start off by saying that I love your blog, I came across your blog a little before I knew I was going to be proposed to... I know it sounds silly but Fiance and I had been dating for about 6 months and I knew that he was the man for me! :) Kyle and i met through mutal friends, we live in the DFW area, I live in Arlington, he lives in Venus, TX (about 30 min away from ea other.) He proposed on the 30th of November 2009! We will be getting married (God willing) Oct 23, 2010

As any plus size gal i alway knew that when my time came I would deal with the issue of finding the right dress, and SIZE! I would go online and always see skinny women in bridal gowns and think how would this look in a size 22???

I have so much to say and comment, I have tried on so many dresses its unbelievable!!! I knew that when I set off to find "my" dress I wanted something with lace, but somehow everything I came acreoss was well...for petite slim women, which I was NOT...LOL so my mission was to find a dress that was flattering for me and had lace. (And of course, not too pricy) I even considered renting... So viola'! Through my lovely cousin I found this place in Mansfield TX (about 3 minutes from where I work) called Classy Concepts. You can buy or rent formal gowns AND WEDDING GOWNS!!! I found my dress!!! I will be renting it. I got a great bargin, I have yet to get alterations so no pics yet... :( Once I do I will send you pictures!!!!

For now I would love to share our Engagement pictures!!! These were taken by our wonderful photographer and friend Lisa Hause http://wwwlisahause.com She will be doing all the photography at our wedding!
Enjoy and Thank your so much for this wonderful site of yours!!! :D

Maria Torres

Maria!

I am so excited to share your engagement pictures! I kinda held off an extra day or so to post them on your wedding day! I hope the storm blows through fast and that you two are RANGERS FANS! LOL
Have a beautiful wedding day and I can't wait to share your wedding pictures!

Carla

FREE IS GOOD!

2010-10-20T13:43:00.003-05:00

Well....almost. We had to buy 2 new tires since the old ones were shot. Here are some more pictures.

I will be posting a reader's engagement tomorrow.

A question from a reader....

2010-10-12T14:04:00.003-05:00

I received this email a while ago but now that I am back I thought it would be a good one to share to see what kind of advice you had for her as well.

Hello,
I hope you don't mind me emailing you. I got your email address as i was searching on the net for pictures for Pics of real plus size brides and came across your blog site which was very helpful and helped inspire my confidence about being a plus size bride.
The reason why i have contacted you was to say all of those you listed on your introduction about why you made the site i.e What are some poses that I could have had my photographer take that would have been more flattering? How big does my bouquet need to be so it looks proportional? are all exactly the questions i have at the moment and also just generally how to forget about your inhabitions enough to enjoy the day as i am very unconfident about myself and do give myself a really hard time!! I hear people who would read this and say why doesn't she do something about it then but i have tried i done weight watchers last year and lost just over a stone in 8 months but it was a really bad struggle not to stick to the diet as i found that easy and good to understand, but to get the weight to shift as i have high hormone levels and severe pco's so it all works against me!!!!!
If you would be so kind as to be able to give me some good confidence boosting tips and advice on all you can think of i would really appreciate it.
P.s no the size of the bouquet thing is exactly the question i would ask too!!
Thanks Janine x

Janine,

I am so sorry to have taken so long to respond to your email. Oh and I think I found that stone you lost! LOL...

Even though I LOVE taking photographs of other people I alway feel like I look terrible in pictures. I freeze up and look all stiff and uncomfortable in most pictures. What worked a little for me was to have a stiff drink. It definately took the edge off my nerves. I still think I looked stiff and uncomfortable but it was better than usual.

I think if I had it to do over I would have treated myself to a mani and pedi the day of the portrait shoot (and also the day of the wedding!) and had a nice bottle of wine or champagne to celebrate (or in my case...loosen up with). I did have a couple of drinks beforehand and it definately relaxed me but I still looked a little stiff in the beginning. I finally decided just to be OK with it because, after all, that IS what I look like. So after about 5 minutes it seemed a lot less painful to have my picture being taken. LOL

Some of the ways that they pose you will seem silly and feel a little weird but just trust that the photographer knows what they are doing. As the shoot went on I did loosen up and get used to being on the other side of the camera. But I have to say....the best picture they took of us was the one we were laughing at ourselves. Totally spur of the moment.

There are always going to be people that think we should be thinner. Whatever. It is what it is. Don't beat yourself up about it so much. If losing weight is important to you then keep working at it. You can alway have some pictures taken later on your anniversary, on a birthday or just because you are having a good hair day.

A few of things that I wish I had done........

1.) have my eyebrows groomed professionally (I can never get mine even), it really does make your eyes look their best. And then

2.) a manicure. Even if you don't like to wear polish they can do a nice buff on your nails. Everyone will be looking at your hands and they will be in A LOT of pictures!

3.) I also wished I had worn some lip gloss in some of the pictures because my lips looked kinda dry. Oh well.

I still worry sometimes that my bouquet was a little small....

Relax and Enjoy!

How do you....

2010-10-08T09:42:00.004-05:00

I've been obsessing a lot lately over the whole (lack of) pregnancy thing to the point that nothing else really mattered. Which is NOT GOOD.

I realized it was kind of the same way when I was planning our wedding. I was obsessed with the dress and the dishes and a million little details (even though my wedding was really low key it felt like there was a million things I didnt' get done) And that got me wondering....

How do you stay in touch with your relationship? Do you have a project you work on together? Do you just veg out on the couch together? Does your significant other understand what you are stressed out about? Mine is fairly good at getting it once I explain what I'm thinking/feeling but sometimes I want him to read my mind. That never works and we just get a little frustrated with each other until I realize...DUH....COMMUNICATION!!!!!

My darling husband and I have started working on a new project together.

It's been a lot of fun because I like to play with power tools and this gives us a good excuse to buy more of them! It's been a great way to refocus on us and what we as a couple are all about. We are deciding together how we want to handle each decision. Good thing we think a lot alike! LOL

Yikes! I don't think the ventilation is supposed to be THERE!

It's fun to tear something up just to bring it back to life. My husband knows I love the demolition phase so he stood back and filled the trash bags with all the stuff I pulled off.

We are like two kids in a candy store these days and it's just like when we first started dating. We are learning all about each other again.

So what are you guys doing for non wedding related fun?

I'm still here....

2010-10-01T15:08:00.002-05:00

It's been a rollercoster ride since I was last here.

I'm up to my 4th miscarriage but trying not to let the losses and the IF struggle take over my life. I am slowly getting back to the things that matter to me the most, one of which is y'all. So I'm making a pledge to myself to post the times I think about posting or at least once a week.

One of the things that I've been doing lately is taking LOTS of pictures, learning how to really use my camera and I've been helping my neighbors photograph at a few WEDDINGS! I even shot one by myself....wow! Talk about stressful! I made some mistakes and missed a couple of shots that would have been great but it was for free so I am trying not to beat myself up too bad.

SNOW!

2010-02-11T14:28:00.004-06:00

We are getting LOTS OF SNOW in DFW! I can't wait to get off work to go take some pictures of it. I took these pictures with my cell phone. The first picture was taken...while driving...with my arm stuck out the window...just praying I got the shot.

Vintage wedding...

2010-02-05T14:28:00.004-06:00

My best friend posted this to her facebook the other day and I was torn between cracking up and cringing. And no, I'm not the bride but I'm next to her...did you find me yet?

It was January 1986 and I have to admit we did a dang fine job on the wedding for as little as we all had to spend back then. The dresses were made by Sabrina's (the chick to the right of the bride) grandmother. We wore them in her wedding too. Ann and I spent several evening gathering up the skirt and adding little floral accents to them so they wouldn't be "exactly" the same (in our minds) and then to change the look a little more we wore the sleeves pushed up. Ahh the 80's At least we didn't have "mall bangs"!

I remember sitting in Ann's living room the morning of her wedding sewing her veil. It was down to the wire ladies! But we managed to pull it off! I don't remember much about the wedding. It was held at her family's church in our tiny hometown and the reception was at City Hall. We decorated it with crepe paper and ate off of paper plates. No fancy schmancy catered event, just a "hometown weddin".

Ann and Robert just celebrated 24 years of marriage in January and not a single person could tell you what their cake tasted like, what designer they wore (none) or who caught the bouquet, but anyone that knows them knows they are still in love and they are a great team. THAT my friends is what matters. Happy Belated Anniversary Ann and Rob.

Oh yeah, And I guarantee you I never wore that dress again. We all hated them but it was what we could afford so we worked with it.

Hot stuff!

2010-02-05T14:25:00.001-06:00

Hey, y'all are you in need of a new camera bag? Go check out this hot pink number that is being given away this weekend!

Arlington Texas Goodwill

2010-02-02T08:56:00.002-06:00

I was in the Goodwill store a couple of days ago and they have a beautiful white David's Bridal size 20 wedding dress available. It was in a dress bag but from what I could see it has a fairly full tulle skirt and the bodice is a larger floral lace pattern. It had cap sleeves, I couldn't see if it had a train but it looked like it was in great shape.
I couldn't find a price tag on it but the gentleman said the wedding dresses are usually $40-$70ish. It was closing time so I didn't want to bother him too much and I haven't had time to drop by again to get more info on it. He said their location has been receiving quite a few wedding dresses in the last few months.
I have seen wedding dresses at the other Goodwill store locations when I was buying up china plates for my wedding but they were usually from the 70's and 80's. It was nice to see a more current dress style in a normal size that is just waiting to make some bride's day.
Go and check it out!

Goodwill
7351 S Cooper St, Arlington, TX 76001
(817) 465-4500 Website

A HUGE THANKS!

2010-02-01T09:47:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to thank all of you who voted for Radney Foster's Angel Flight. It made the charts last week at #17 and this week made it up to #9!!! Let's keep voting for it and see if we can help raise even more money for the Texas Air National Guard Family Support Foundation.

Oh, and for you Hootie fans out there I copied this little nugget of trivia from here.

"Darius Rucker lends his distinctive harmony on "Angel Flight," a moving tribute to the pilots who fly their fallen brethen home to their final resting places. Radney's co-writer, Darden Smith, started writing the song after talking to a pilot of the Texas Air National Guard who mentioned he flew the "angel flight." Smith asked Radney to finish the song with him, and the pair are donating proceeds from the song to a charity that provides assistance to military families beset by tragedy. "

A country wedding

2010-01-24T10:09:00.004-06:00

Have you been over to Southern Weddings lately? They are featuring the BEAUTIFUL country wedding of Jane and Pete.

You can also go to Cook Images for even more amazing pictures.

The Final Four

2010-01-21T20:04:00.003-06:00

Hi Gang!

Here are the final four pictures of Lindsey and Matt's engagement pictures.

I have really enjoyed these photos. I hope you have too. One of the things I hope all of you brides-and-grooms-to-be will take away from Lindsey and Matt's shoot is how the focus is on their love and happiness.

I know when I was trying to figure out what to wear for my engagement pictures I didn't have a clue how to dress or what to expect. The last time I had engagement pictures taken of me I was 19 and we had a coupon for the Dillard's portrait studio. Yuck!

I love how they are both dressed nice, but still comfortable enough to try out different poses. Think about that as you are shopping for your engagement portrait outfit. And did you notice the subtle stripe in Matt's shirt? Think about how the pattern in your outfit will photograph. If you aren't sure then have someone take pictures of you in a few different outfits so that you can see what will work and what won't.

Carla

Finally "bug free"

2010-01-21T09:06:00.002-06:00

I'm soooooo tired of being sick. I take a handful of vitamins every morning and during this time of year I'll even add Airborne to the mix for the extra vitamin c boost. I know I'm stressed and run down which doesn't help but I also work with some of the sickest people I've ever met.

Since Christmas I've had 5 count them 1, 2, 3, 4, freakin 5 DIFFERENT BUGS because these people come to work hackin and coughin and spewing germs everywhere (and yes some of them had just spent a week at home with their children who had the swine flu) instead of staying home and using their sick days for SICK LEAVE. Argh. I've never seen so many people in one company use their sick leave for hangovers, extra vacation days and my favorite...a cut and color. It's so frustrating.
So TONIGHT I will be posting the last installment of Lindsey and Matt's engagement pictures....even if I have to drink a dozen Red Bulls to keep myself awake and coherent.

Round Two of Lindsey and Matt's engagement pictures

2010-01-07T20:11:00.003-06:00

Are you ready for more? Here is the next group of amazing pictures! And a little more from Lindsey....

As a bride on the plus side, I actually found it harder to find an engagement outfit than a wedding dress! I went all over town and couldn't find anything that fit right. I finally found 2 shirts in the Kohl's women's section and jeans at Old Navy. I felt good in them and that's what matters. After all, I wanted to look content and in love, not uncomfortable! :)

I completely understand! I didn't want to go crazy and buy an expensive outfit for our engagement shoot that would just sit in the back of my closet so I bought a pair of nice jeans that looked nice with the jacket that I already had. To finish off the look I wore a tank under the jacket that I've had for more than 10 years. I felt good and and that is all that matters.

Introducing Lindsey and Matt's engagement pictures!

2010-01-05T19:39:00.005-06:00

Hello dear friends!

A few weeks ago I received some really great engagement pictures from Lindsey and Matt's engagement shoot. She sent me several pictures and since they are all amazing I will be sharing them with the rest of you over the next few days.

She said...

I love your blog and the idea behind it! I've recently had my engagement photos taken and wanted to share them. They were taken at Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island by Jaclyn and Bill of Robinson Studio and Design.

Thank you Lindsey and Matt for allowing me to share your pictures!

43

2009-12-22T11:02:00.003-06:00

Yup, it's my birthday today and I'm proud as hell to be 43!

Since it's my birthday I am going to ask all of you to do me a huge birthday favor. Go to GAC's Top 2o countdown and vote for Radney Foster's latest video, "Angel Flight" for the GAC top 20. Proceeds from the song and the video support the Texas National Guard Family Foundation so share this amazing video with all of your friends and family. We need at least 900 votes to get him on the countdown.

A message from Rad
"We have so many things to be thankful for this year and as we begin the holiday season, I would ask that all of us remember those who are not able to make it home to their families, especially those military men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. I wrote this song to tell the story of the "Angel Flight," the aircrew who fly fallen soldiers home to their final resting place.
I hope you'll take a moment to watch the video
and pass it on to your friends.
Proceeds from "Angel Flight" benefit the Texas National Guard Family Support Foundation, which provides assistance to military families beset by tragedy. Please have a safe and joyous holiday, and hug your loved ones close."
Radney

I love pretty sparkly things....

2009-12-19T06:51:00.002-06:00

Finding a necklace to wear at my wedding was such a pain. All of the ones I liked were, of course, too short. Chubby girl = chubby neck.
There is a great little Etsy shop called Whimsy Beading that creates beautiful handmade necklaces that are actually long enough to fit a plus size person.
Kelly the owner of the shop had sent me an email a while back and said....

Hi there!
I came across your blog while looking for plus size wedding options. My husband and I have been married for 15 years this year, but boy do I remember the horrible feelings I had as a size 12/14 trying to find a decent dress. I had one old bat look down her nose at me and sneer "We don't cater to chunky girls here" and the "XXL" size was a size 10! I can't imagine what they'd say about me now, as an "extended size" person. (32W and up) I can't thank you enough for setting up a place where other plus size people can go to be inspired by the beautiful weddings and happy couples.I've been a plus size person most of my life, so being able to find pretty things in a size and scale for a bigger person is very important to me. We want the same options and fashion choices as a so-called "standard" size person, but sadly, retailers have been slow to react. Even in the handmade movement, there just aren't that many options for bigger folks, which is why I started making my own jewelry. That eventually led to my husband and I opening a shop on Etsy for plus size beaded jewelry, including bridal jewelry and beaded collars.I don't know if what we do will be of interest to you, but if it is, I would be happy to share links to our Etsy shop and pictures of our work. If it's not, then please accept my thanks for giving plus size folks one more voice in the internet and inspiration for all the lovely, plus size brides out there.
Best,
Kelly Graves
Whimsy Beading

Go and check out her beautiful jewelry here and here! She is also working on some Steam Punk pieces which are pretty cool.

Happy Saturday gang.

2009-11-21T16:27:00.002-06:00

While I'm gone go and check out the giveaway over at Privledge.

Halloween brides? Or maybe Winter brides?

2009-10-22T10:14:00.003-05:00

We were giggling over Grandin Road's halloween decorations over here and I stumbled across the COOLEST cape I've ever seen!

I tried to share a picture of it but it won't let me but check it out and let me know what you think!

As for the Halloween decorations I really want this one! And these.

IGIGI

2009-10-22T08:20:00.003-05:00

I've been pretty impressed with the styles on IGIGI's website. The wedding dress is only $275 and my favorite lace dress (too bad my BM's were too skinny for these) is only $148

Drop in and check them out! They have lots of cute stuff!

Howdy!

2009-10-21T19:55:00.002-05:00

I've been a little under the weather and a lot worn out the past few weeks but I haven't forgotten about you all! I'll be posting again soon. In the meantime tell all your friends to send in their wedding pictures, DIY pictures, whatever strikes your fancy pictures, that I can share with the rest of the group.

Carla

Anne and Chad's Wedding continued....

2009-10-01T08:58:00.007-05:00

Sorry kiddos! I've been buried up to my neck in end of the month stuff at work. Pesky work...don't they know I would rather play with pretty pictures instead!

Here is the second round of pictures from Anna and Chad's wedding. It's such a sweet wedding and I love that little bit of "sassiness" that Anna has.

SASSY!

This is such a sweet wedding and I love Anda's photography style. Be sure to check our her website and her blog for more inspiration!

Anna and Chad's wedding

2009-09-28T20:44:00.003-05:00

Oh I LOVE the pictures from Anna and Chad's wedding! It reminds me of my own laid back wedding I guess....

Anda Marie Photography was so gracious to let me share these pictures with you. Tomorrow I will post the second half. In the meantime go visit her blog...or if you are like me and love flickr you can check out a bunch of her work here!

An easy afternoon project....

2009-09-27T12:12:00.003-05:00

Or so the magazine claimed. A week and a half later I've almost finished the top. Yeah, I got a little obsessed over finishing it. There are about 3 squares I should rework but ya know what. Screw it! I think it looks just fine.

I have to put the border around it and then the batting and back but I think it's going to look really nice in the spare bedroom.

So what have you all been up to?

Cheryl and Doug

2009-09-16T20:31:00.001-05:00

I love the black lace on Cheryl's dress! What a cool touch. Cheryl and Doug's wedding from Jennifer at Buckley Studios.

As a hobbiest photographer who would like to take it to the next level, I would love to follow Jennifer around for a few days to learn how to get some of the great pictures she takes. I love how Cheryl and Doug's wedding turned out but there are LOTS more great pictures to drool over at her website. Go check them out!

Are you ready for some new wedding porn?

2009-09-16T19:52:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow I will share pictures from Cheryl and Doug's wedding from Jennifer at Buckley Studios.

I swam all the way to Houston

2009-09-15T12:41:00.002-05:00

Well actually it just felt like it! We drove down Friday night to my best friend's house for a quick visit and to take her back a bunch of stuff that she had loaned me for our wedding. It was pouring rain all the way down and then when we drove back on Sunday it followed us home again. Not that I mind too much. It's been nice to have a break from the heat.

I need some help from all of you on a table decoration project.

It's a work thing but I thought there might be some really creative folks out there that wouldn't mind chiming in. We are having our annual meeting and we need to come up with several table displays, each table holds 8 people and they don't know if they will be round or long. Their only requirements are that it be something "sun" related and fairly easy to transport. The only thing I can come up with is to make a display out of sunflowers but they really aren't my favorite for a business type meeting....even if they are trying to make it "fun". Does business and fun EVER really go together?

Any Night Ranger fans out there?

2009-09-09T20:43:00.003-05:00

David Zaijcek is a former member of the band from the mid 90's. The boy can still rock it out!

Lakeside Wedding

2009-09-09T19:06:00.004-05:00

Need some help with that ring?

The flower girls were watching the cake cutting VERY intently

Every Labor Day Weekend one of the bands that my husband plays with is booked to play for a large group of people from two small towns in our area.

This year there was a wedding too.

John and Erin who just had a baby a few months ago (look for the red headed sweety) decided to get married at their annual get together.

Jim, who performed our wedding, married these two crazy kids. It was kinda cool to see him perform "our" ceremony again...right down to the happy dance and vows of "Abracadabra and Fried Green Tomatoes"

All pictures were taken by me on my brand new camera so pardon some of the quality issues I'm still learning how to use it.

ENJOY!!!

Chellie and John

2009-09-08T14:06:00.002-05:00

Our engagement pictures (all the ones where I'm wearing the tan jacket) were taken by our wedding photographer: Rachel Terry of Stellar Photography in Grand County Colorado. The picture of us at the top of Pikes Peak (right after the proposal) was taken by some stranger :) LOL

John & I met on myspace (yep, that's right) LOL. I was moving from Colorado Springs out to Grand Junction, CO for an internship & was looking for people who knew the area so I could make friends & get some advice on what neighborhoods to avoid living in. John and I emailed & IM'ed for a few weeks and then he drove out to Colorado Springs (about a 5 hour drive) to meet me. We went on our first date at a pizza place & then went to see a movie. He drove us to the movie theater but since we were in my hometown I was giving him directions. I was telling him he needed to turn left & he said "nah, I'll go up one more stoplight"..well sure enough he realized he needed to have turned where I told him to and said "you were ABSOLUTELY right". I joke that that moment was when I knew he was the one for me. He says he knew I was the one during one of our long roadtrips. There is something about being able to be in a car with someone for hours on end & not get sick of one another or get irritable.
After about a year & a half of dating we started talking about getting married. We went & shopped for rings & I had a hard time finding something that I liked. Being a plus sized girl I have large fingers & the rings that I'd been trying on all seemed too "dainty" for my larger fingers...but I finally found a ring that I loved (a center stone with a halo of smaller diamonds around it which added to the size of the ring (making it look more substantial on my finger)... w/o adding significantly to the price of the ring b/c we could still go with a smaller/affordable diamond. After our shopping trip, I didn't know when it was going to happen & it seemed like forever (but it was really only a couple of months)... He proposed to me at the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs & after the proposal we went & had lunch at the same pizza parlor that we went on our first date. He did good :)

We've been engaged for just over 1 year and we're planning a small wedding at a ranch in the Rocky Mountains at the end of September.

This is totally off topic

2009-09-08T12:32:00.003-05:00

but I feel it's important to take a moment to share this with all of you.

One of my co-workers was telling us this morning about how his mother had been scammed with the granny scam. They told his mother (73 years old) that her grandson was in jail and they needed to have her send money to get him out. They even got someone to get on the phone and say Grandma this is Z I need you to help me but don't tell mom and dad cause they will kill me!
They scammed her for $2000. The poor thing was so upset when she found out it was all a scam.
Please talk with all of your elderly relatives, maybe have a code word in place incase you really DO have an emergency and need them to send you money.
My co-worker said the hardest thing he's ever had to do was tell his mother she had just been scammed.

In other news.

I will be posting a wedding later tonight. The power cord to my laptop died on me this weekend so I didn't get to play much. I've got a new one now but I'm at work and not supposed to be playing on the internet.

Spring/Summer 2010 Color Trends

2009-09-04T11:31:00.003-05:00

Have you ever noticed that you only see certain colors each season? Growing up in an extremely small town I was rather oblivious to that fact for a long time, until I got my very first job in retail when I was in my 20’s

I never knew that people spent months and months researching which color of blue was going to be “the one” for that season. Thank goodness there are people out there that like doing that because I’m NOT that detail oriented and I’m defiantly not very good at putting color combinations together. I tend to take the path of least resistance. My entire wardrobe is either navy, black or dark brown pants with white, black, teal or tangerine tops. I will occasionally buy a dark purple blouse if I’m feeling particularly frisky.

I’ve been out of retail for a LONG time so I’ve gotten away from watching what colors are “hot” but I was really excited to stumble across Artful Wedding Ideas . Michelle Mospens is the artist behind Artful Wedding Ideas and has been featured in The Knot magazines, Elite Wedding Collection, Modern Bride and Better Homes and Gardens. She has a posted about the color trends for spring 2010 I wish it had the names of the colors on there but having the pantone color number is VERY helpful. When we were working with Hatch Show Prints in Nashville for our wedding invitations, we were able to tell them what pantone color we wanted and they knew EXACTLY what we were talking about which was very helpful since I couldn’t just drop into their shop and check it in person.
Drop by her blog and check it out then let me know what colors you are planning on using for your wedding.

PS - she also does Custom Hand-painted invitations like these.

Are you a bargin hunter? SHOPPING ALERT!!!

2009-09-03T09:58:00.004-05:00

Pictures (sorry they are so small) are off JCP's website.

I was walking through JC Penney's (Parks Mall in Arlington Texas) and noticed that they had just marked all of their summer decor stuff down to 75% off. Their Vibrant Garden collection really caught my eye. They still had lanterns in orange, green and a few reds. There were really fun candles and other cool stuff so I thought I would let you know.

Wouldn't those would be a great color combo for a spring/summer '10 wedding. Or shoot, if you live in the south, where it's WARM most of the year you could use them year round!

Let me know if your favorite stores are having a great sale that we can pass on. This is a great time to start stocking up on clearance items for weddings!

Heather and Jens

2009-09-01T21:13:00.004-05:00

Heather sent me a few photos of her wedding to share with everyone. Their photographer was IQ Photo San Francisco Wedding Photography

She says....

My friend fowarded me a link saying that you were looking for some plus size bridal pictures.The look I went for was far from traditional but here you go :) A size 28 bride in a corset!There are tons more pictures on the photographers website http://clients.iqphoto.com/p371492929

Best Wishes-

Heather Powers Olsen.

Oh my GOSH!!!

2009-09-01T20:55:00.004-05:00

THE Dude

Dave (L) and Walt Wilkins (R) are both rocking the Dude vibe

I finally saw The Big Lebowski for the very first time and......I really AM married to "The Dude". It was so strange. Some of his mannerisms were SOOOO much like Dave's that it was a little freaky.

Now I understand why people are always taking his picture and yelling "DUDE!" at him.

And the winner is!!!

2009-08-31T11:09:00.002-05:00

We did a good ol' fashioned name drawing and the winner is

Jamie!

Jamie said...

"We would love to have the save the dates. Our wedding is 10/10/10. Most of our guests are coming from far away, though, so we need to send the save the dates soon after the first of the year. We're having an magical garden/ breakfast for dinner event filled with music and board games. We're also avid Vista Print users, so this would be perfect. Thanks so much."

Congrats! Email me and I'll get you set up with your prize!

For those who did not win. Vistaprint is giving you a nice consolation prize in the form of deep discounts on a variety of their products! Follow this link www.vistaprint.com/theplussizebride to check them out.

Just a few more hours left to enter the drawing!

2009-08-30T19:10:00.004-05:00

We are home now, and I'm exhausted. I just started unpacking and washing clothes but I wanted to send out one last reminder about the drawing!
Good Luck and I'll post the winner in the morning!
Carla

I'm a happy happy girl!!!!

2009-08-27T16:49:00.003-05:00

'Cause I am going to see Radney Foster at Gruene Hall (THE oldest dance hall in Tejas). We will sing at the top of our lungs, get to really sweat like crazy with my fellow Radpack buddies, and then usually afterwards we'll stand around sipping a little tequila with the band in the parking lot.

I will try not to embarrass myself by sharing endless stories of road trips from one end of Texas to the other to see the man play, or tattle on myself about the duct tape I put on the floor of Gruene Hall, or brag about the Sharpie abused walls of said historical building. But you can bet I'll have some fun!

Oooh and I just found out that my second favorite songwriter Walt Wilkins will be playing at The Texas Theater in Waxahachie tonight! I asked the darling husband if we could go and he said. "Just think of it ....seeing your two HEARTTHROBS in a 48 hr period......doesn't get any better does it????"

So you all behave and send me some wedding/engagement/diy porn to post when I get back and recover from the heatstroke (and hangover)

What are you doing for your Save The Date?

2009-08-27T09:19:00.003-05:00

This was my first draft for our save the dates. I thought it was funny but only my family would have gotten the joke. (I was married very briefly when I was 20 and spent the next 20 years being single. Nobody thought I was going to get married again including me.) I did send it to a few of them just for giggles but everyone else received a slightly tweaked version that looked a little more like a real concert ticket. She even put a picture of a little trailer that looked like our teardrop on there! It must have worked because people were calling Dave to find out what show the tickets were for.

I had them printed at Kinko's. I cut them down and put a business size magnet on the back of each of them and mailed them out. I hadn't planned on doing STD's but we had so many guests that are musicians that we needed to let them know what date to keep open. If I had known you could send your own artwork to Vista Print that would have saved me a lot of time and stress. Oh well, you all can learn from my fumblings.

4 DAYS LEFT.....

2009-08-27T09:14:00.002-05:00

On the contest! Be sure to sign up for it here!

Engagement pictures!

2009-08-26T09:02:00.004-05:00

Ok, I know this is a little out of order but we have ENGAGEMENT PICTURES to share!

Vikki, who's wedding I shared with you a while back, was kind enough to share a bunch of her engagement pictures with me.

Her photographer, Aurora Photography from New Milford CT, did such an amazing job!

A Fat Bride's Survival Guide

2009-08-25T09:23:00.004-05:00

I just love Natalie's story! Thanks to Kathryn and Lesbian Bride for sharing this link with me. I have copied just a snippet of her sage advice...enjoy and then go over to axis of fat for the rest of this story and more.

"I wanted to share a few things that helped me survive as a fat bride, because if you’re not used to speaking up it really can be intimidating and upsetting. I had a crystalline vision of how I wanted to look on my wedding day and I wasn’t ashamed of my body, nor did I have plans to change it consciously before the date. Being somewhat blunt and quite confident, I had few real issues with the barrage of concerned but unhelpful people who just wanted me to look fabulous when I got married. I understood that they were coming from a mindset held by most brides, a world where a slimmer bride must be the more beautiful bride, but I was not convinced of that-"

Extending the contest

2009-08-25T08:28:00.003-05:00

Hey gang!

I will be leaving town earlier than I thought and won't have access to the internet for a few days. I will continue the contest until MIDNIGHT on Sunday August 30th and announce the winner Monday.

Carla

Our very first GIVEAWAY!

2009-08-24T12:18:00.005-05:00

Aren't these adorable?!?!??

I am very excited to announce that Plus Size Bride"s very first giveaway!

We are giving away your choice of …

A) 150 save the dates
b) 150 invitations
c) 150 thank you cards

OR….drum roll please!

d) a combination of the 3 items totaling 150!

Our giveaway is Courtesy of Vista Print.

They are a really cool printing company that offers a variety of basic invitation designs at an affordable price and several are in coordinating sets! I spent HOURS looking around on this website trying out different designs and features. I wish I had known about them when I was working on my STD’s. It would have made my life soooo much easier.

Oh! And if you are short on time you can have your order in the mail within 3 business days. How is that for service?!?!?!

To enter: Leave a comment below with your first name, wedding date, a short description of which prize you would like to win and what style your wedding will be by midnight on Thursday August 27 (Central Daylight Time). I will announce the winner Friday morning.

Good Luck!!!!

Carla

Just in case you missed it....I am Extending the contest

Hey gang! I will be leaving town earlier than I thought and won't have access to the internet for a few days. I will continue the contest until MIDNIGHT on Sunday August 30th and announce the winner Monday.

Carla

New Questions....

2009-08-23T19:09:00.007-05:00

Hello Ladies and Gents!

Sorry I've been AWOL. I've been a LOT under the weather and then out of town at our wedding officiant and dear friend Jim's 60th birthday bash.

He will be performing his second wedding Labor Day weekend. I think we have added a new layer to his life....hopefully a good one!

So....here are a bunch of things that I want to start adding to the blog and the questionnaire. And of course these are in no particular order. I'm hoping this will be a great way to include all of you, not just the recent wedding graduates.

For the bride's questionnaire answer as many of these as possible. I know there are a lot of different types of weddings out there and not all of the questions will apply to every wedding.

Engagement pictures!!!! Lets start showing off those cool pictures. I'll share mine if you share yours!

Bridesmaids - how did you choose yours and what did they wear? Was everything matchy-matchy or did you buck tradition?

Grooms and the rest of the gent in the wedding including Dads and step Dads too, special people. etc.

Save The Dates - I'll be posting about them later this week so send me your by Tuesday!

Invitations - did you go traditional? Did you send e-vites?

Special wedding projects (let's hear it for all those DIY projects!!!)

Accessories - did you braid flowers to wear in your hair or borrow your great grandmother's veil?

Did you attend any bridal shows? What did you learn or gain from that visit?

What were your wedding colors or theme?

What was your wedding date? Was there a special reason for choosing it?

What is the one thing you would go back and change about the final wedding preparations and wedding? I'll tell you about mine later. It involves scissors and a trip to the ER.

How did your groom handle the day? Was he out playing golf with his friends? Nurse a hangover? Did he do something sweet for you?

Tell us about your reception? I know you have at least one or two great stories you can share!

Did you do a grand exit? Why?

Did you take a honeymoon? Are you taking one later? Are you going to skip it and do something else with those funds?

The most beautiful woman in the world....

2009-08-18T19:23:00.004-05:00

I don't know her, I've never met her and I probably never will. But she has touched my hear in a way I never thought was possible.

Her necklace sums it up nicely....ALL IS WELL...no exclamation point just a simple statement that says so much.

Congratulations Nie on making it to the top. You've come a long way baby!http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com

Big love to you and yours on reaching such a big milestone.

This post (and I'll warn you now...it's a gut wrencher) haunts me. http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/2009/06/love.html

What was your first date?

2009-08-16T11:56:00.004-05:00

I was making cinnamon rolls last night (for the very first time ever) and as I was kneading the dough I was thinking back to my first date with Dave. It wasn't really a date but more of a group outing. Dave had been a widower for a few months and he invited me to join "the group" to see Malcolm Holcombe play at a little club in Dallas http://www.malcolmholcombe.com/. If you ever get the chance to see him DO....he is quite the musician...and a character to boot.

I sat with the group for a while but it was a dark room so I moved to a closer seat so I could take some pictures. It was a group thing, he was a recent widower so as usual I wasn't too concerned with anything but doing my own thing. After a little while Dave came over and joined me. We talked and laughed and enjoyed the music and each others company. And despite the raised eyebrows we were getting from the rest of the group I could feel the shift from just friends to something more.

Things that make you go hmmm.....

2009-08-14T21:12:00.006-05:00

This dress completely stopped me in my tracks. And even more noteworthy than that, is that my husband thought it was pretty cool too.

It's by a company called Sydney's Closet. http://www.sydneyscloset.com/index.html I don't know anything about this company, but by the looks of their website I think it would be a place worthy of a closer look. I love their tag line....We Size Up Glamour

If anyone in the St. Louis area has been to their store please chime in and let us know what you think of them.

Lets talk....

2009-08-12T09:11:00.003-05:00

I absolutely LOVE all the wedding dress pictures but I want to expand the blog a bit more.
This is where you guys are going to get to help me.

I would like to add engagement pictures, more backstory on you and your beloved, plus size bridesmaids dresses, etc. But I'm having trouble coming up with a good mix. (having a screaming headache for the last couple of weeks didn't help much either) What are some things that you want to see more of?

Also, lets come up with some additional questions for the brides.

One of our readers, Nihal, wrote me the other day with this to say.....

How about incorporating a questionnaire for the brides who liked to be featured. That way readers can have more insight. My suggestions:
-- What was the date of your wedding?
(often skinny brides are featured on shiny mags and it feels like they deserve to have great weddings/diy projects so next couple of questions are to show it is not that way always)-- What was the theme/colors of the wedding?-- What made you challenge most towards theme/colors?
-- Where did you buy your attire?--What was the most challenging thing while buying your dress?
-- What would you change if you could turn back?-- What's your advice to plus-size brides?
;And also maybe try to feature engagement photos too?
thanks for the great blog!
Nihal

I swear she must have been reading my mind! So, lets put our heads together and make this blog even more fun and exciting to read. I want this blog to be about YOU not ME.

Carla

A Saturday morning treat....

2009-08-08T08:15:00.009-05:00

Good Morning everyone! I wanted to share the last half of Darla and Garrett's Sexy Vegas Wedding with you. I debated doing 2 posts yesterday so you could see all of them at once but I thought you might enjoy a little Saturday morning surprise with your coffee, tea, or mimosa!

I asked Darla if they flew off to Vegas alone or if they had a group with them and she said....

We had 14 friends & family members join us... we invited over 100 but with a Destination Wedding in late 2008 (I forgot to include my wedding date in my email- October 9, 2008!) we knew that people wouldn't be able to make it with the economy looking like it did.

A sexy Las Vegas wedding

2009-08-07T08:37:00.014-05:00

I love the fun and sexy pictures from Darla and Garrett's wedding. It makes me want to jump on a plane with my husband and redo our wedding vows in Vegas!

Hi Plus Size Bride!!!

Getting married at Flamingo Las Vegas meant I wanted something a little on the sexy side even if I was size 16! I found my dress at David’s Bridal in Michigan. While it’s the “Walmart” of Bridal Shops, it worked for me. Canadians don’t have too many options for a discount/cheaper vendor when it comes to wedding dresses so I was pleased to be able to walk into DB and try on real sizes on the spot and walk out with one!!! My dress style 9H9572 http://tinyurl.com/mm7vr4 wasn’t the clear winner at first glance, when I tried it on the 2nd time I noticed there was a removable modesty panel which I promptly took out to make it my Vegas Sexy that I was looking for. It matched my shoes that I already had bought at a local store. I wish good luck to those plus size brides looking for their special dresses, no matter what their style! Photography by Todd Wilson of Bently & Wilson. Las Vegas. http://wilsonphoto.20m.com/index.html

Thank You!!!

Darla W. & Garrett H.

Picture Order: in the sequence of the day….

I love these shoes!

2009-08-06T14:12:00.002-05:00

And tomorrow I'll share the rest of Darla and Garrett's Vegas wedding with you....

Rockin' the ballgown!

2009-08-03T10:06:00.006-05:00

Hey gang!

Don't you just love her photographs?!?!?!?! Here is a great story about finding "the one" (dress, that is). I LOVE Vikki's story and I know you will too.

Thank you again Vikki for sharing your story and pictures.

Carla

Pictures were taken by Aurora Photography from New Milford CT.

Dress Shopping was a struggle for me. I am a size 20/22 (street size) so in dresses that equals to a 26 possible 28 depending on the designer. I looked around and I didn't know where to start, I wanted to find something that was different not the usual A-Line plain dress that you see a larger woman wearing. It was my day and I wanted to be a princess, I wanted a big ballgown.

So many times and so many places they say don't wear a ball gown it will make you look bigger. But I didn't care, I wanted it (and being an only child I usually get what I want) I had to have it.

I went from shop to shop trying on dresses, usually if I was lucky I might find a 14 or a 16 to try on...which was still way to small, but I tried and found things I liked and things I didn't like. Still not finding the one I decided to try David's Bridal, I knew it had a bad rep and it was notorious for bad service, but I tried it anyway. I think I went there a total of 8 times to 2 different stores. I tried on everything they had, but I never really got the feeling of this is the dress. One trip that was made with my parents I found a dress that was "nice" but not the one, it just wasn't me...it wasn't a ballgown, but my parents liked it and talked me into buying it.....which I really didn't want to do, but did to appease them. It finally arrived to me I opened the box tried it on and hated it...this isn't what I want, this isn't "MY DRESS" I cried and they weren't happy tears.

I called DB and asked them if they had a return policy or exchange policy, the store manager was very accommodating, she let me exchange the dress, the only thing she said was it had to be of equal or greater value. So back to trying on dresses and I found it a ballgown with a big train an pretty pick ups, I loved it. I remember seeing it in the book but never saw it in any store. I tried on a size 12, and somehow I got it on, so it didn't fit but it was "THE DRESS" I knew it, I had to have it. I'm so happy after such a long journey to have found the perfect dress, a dress I loved, I dress I still want to wear everyday but can't. So now, all I can say to future Plus-Sized brides is, be patient, listen to your heart you will find the perfect dress, and you will look beautiful.

A little tease.....

2009-08-02T09:05:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow you will get to meet our next bride Vikki! Oooooh you are going to LOVE her dress and story!

Meet Trish!

2009-07-28T15:58:00.005-05:00

Yay! Trish was so kind to sent in her AMAZING wedding pictures and story! And what a deal she got on her dress. So without further ado...I am soo excited to have the privilege of sharing her story with you!

Photos by Doug Gravino Photography/Doug Gravino Atlanta, GA

I love your new blog, the Plus Sized bride! I wish there had been something around like this when I was getting married.
I was married 8-20-2004. I'm attaching some photos and will paste my story below. DH and I were on an extreme budget--$4000 for the wedding (not including rings). I HAD to find a cheap dress, and DH freaked out that it was the price it was...I wound up buying my jewelry and shoes out of my pocket money and not the wedding budget. I spent $250 on the dress, $100 on alterations, $125 on the tiara and veil, and about $75 on jewelry and shoes. Anyway, here's my story that you can publish if you'd like......
As a size 14, I was a plus sized bride. We wanted to keep things very simple. We were also on a very limited budget because we paid for everything ourselves, so I knew that an expensive dress was out of the question. We had about 80 close friends and family at the ceremony at a small non-denominational church. We had a "finger food/appetizer" mid-afternoon reception in the gorgeous reception hall at the church.
Living in a large metro area, I had a good selection of plus sized gowns to choose from. After looking at some local shops and finding nothing under $700-800, I scheduled an appointment at David's Bridal. Although everyone tried to talk me into going out to the "Mega-Mart of Wedding Dresses," the prices were right.
Before my appointment, my MOH and I grabbed about a dozen dresses for me to try on. I cannot say much about my consultant because she was working with 3 brides at once. I think she checked in on me and commented on a few dresses. My MOH and I knew what looked good on me and what did not. After trying them all on, I bought the first dress. Although it was not my dream dress (that was $1500 at another shop), it was similar to my dream dress, I really liked it, and it looked great on me. Plus, it was only $250 on sale and needed very little alteration. In the interest of simplicity and not running around the 14 county metro Atlanta area anymore, the inexpensive dress price left money in the budget to get my veil and tiara at David's. They give you a discount on accessories when you buy them at the same time as the dress. Since all I needed was to have the dress hemmed and I was getting married in less than 6 weeks, I had it altered there as well for under $100. To save more money, I bought my earrings and necklace off the clearance sale at Macy's. I bought my shoes at a DSW and chose shoes that I could wear after the wedding.

I'll start with me....

2009-07-23T16:20:00.003-05:00

Photos by J Brent Winn Photography Arlington Texas

I saw my dress months ago (we were talking marriage and he knew I was going to look at dresses) at a bridal show in Houston. I fell in love with it on the spot even though the closest I could get to trying it on was to have the shop owner hold it up to me as we stood in front of a mirror.
I won't tell you how big a fool I made of myself but suffice it to say that my face was red and blotchy, (I don't have the gene that allows you to cry pretty) people were pointing and staring, and my oldest and dearest friend in the world lead me away to a quiet corner and made me sit down and eat something while she fanned my face. I guess that is one way to know you found the right dress.
Fast forward a few months and NOW I'm officially engaged and can buy my dress. Since I knew exactly what I wanted I thought this part would be a cinch. NOPE!
I found a store in Snootyville DFW that actually carried the dress and had one in stock that I could try on. Now I must confess. I'm a plus size gal (size 16) so I know that to try on the dress (size 10) will include lots of clips and a fake back tucked in the back so I don't flash folks. I'm fine with that. I just wanted my Sister and The Niece to see the dress before I gave the store my hard earned cash.
The dress shop owner, hereafter known as Snarky Ol' Bitty, was less than excited to help us. We were early for our appointment, she was late and not terribly concerned about it. She did everything in her power to make me feel like a fat loser and when SHE asked me about the price on the dress (when I called to make the appointment I asked what the price was and told her what the one in Houston was priced at. She assured me it was very close to that price. When we got to the shop it was easily $100 higher) I said well, since you mentioned it...it IS a lot higher than you lead me to believe it would be. Then I asked if there was a discount for paying cash because I had $900 in crisp new bills in my wallet and I've always heard it NEVER HURTS TO ASK for a discount when you are paying cash!!!
Apparently Snarky Ol' Bitty has never had someone want to pay cash or ask if there were any discounts. She informed me that she doesn't take cash. (I'm thinking to myself WHO TURNS DOWN CASH!?!?!?) THEN said, well OBVIOUSLY you don't want to do business with MY shop!!! She snatched the dress up and high-tailed it out of the dressing room before my sister or I could bat an eye.
So there we stood. My Sister, The Niece and me (in my underwear still) with our jaws on the floor. The Niece in her wisest 10 year old voice piped up..."well she was kind of rude!" We busted out laughing gathered our stuff up and hit the door. I wasn't about to give my business to someone that was going to treat me like that. Even if they WERE the only store that I had found in my area that carried the dress.
A couple of weeks later I found an AMAZING little gem of a shop in Arlington called Lang's http://www.langsbridal.com/ that carried my dress as well. This time I didn't have ANY problems ordering my dress. Theresa was extremely helpful. She has a huge selection of wedding and bridesmaid dresses. She also carries flower girl dresses that won't break the bank and look as nice as the expensive ones do. YIPPEE!!!!!! FINALLY a shop that made me feel as special as a BRIDE is supposed to feel!!!!
My best friend Ms. A always tells me that if I find myself running into roadblocks then that isn't the path I'm supposed to be on. She is sooo right!!!

A Fine Place To Start....

2009-07-09T15:18:00.004-05:00

I created this blog because one of the MOST disappointing things I experienced as I was planning my wedding was the lack of photos I could find of Plus Size Brides.
I want to change that! Let’s make this a place where we can celebrate being a size 14, 16, 18, 20……24….you get the idea.

How do you figure out what is going to look good when the dresses you can try on are mostly size 10 and made for people that don’t have hips? What are some poses that I could have had my photographer take that would have been more flattering? How big does my bouquet need to be so it looks proportional? Yeah, I know…that last one was probably just me being weird.

You can participate by emailing 3 or 4 pictures (manageable sizes please!) that showcase your wedding to plussizebride@gmail.com . You MUST give credit to the photographer, even if it is Great Aunt Sue. Tell me a little something about yourself, your wedding, some of the ups and downs you experienced dress shopping. You can name names at the good shops but let’s not bash the less than gracious folks out there. I figure if there are enough places that we can share with everyone that has helpful staff the readers will get the hint and go there.

I would like to hear from all of you…the ones thinking about getting married sometime in the future, currently planning a wedding and the ones that have been married 20+ years.