Ok...I don't normally wear dresses, because I have a real hard time finding any that fit well.

Problem is, one of my friends is getting Married in June and I'm going to have to find something to wear. The only semi nice clothes I currently own is what I wear to work and they aren't that nice. Thanks to my weight loss, my nicest clothes don't fit anymore, but since I'm still in the process of losing, I haven't really replaced them with anything I couldn't buy for cheap.

So...I need some advice.

The wedding will be a daytime, outdoors event (in a rose garden). I'm currently in the 18-20 range for pant size and 26/28 range in shirt size. I'm thinking a skirt with a nice top may be a better option than a dress, because dresses just don't tend to be proportioned well for me. In addition to being bigger on top, i'm short (about 5'4) and low waisted.

Any advice on what sort of outfit to shop for and where to look would be much appreciated.

A skirt with a nice top or a skort or dressy knee length shorts with a top and matching short sleeved jacket (you know like a suit but with shorts instead of pants, since it'll be June and outside). They usually have some nice stuff at Fashion Bug at decent prices and I'm pretty much the same size as you only I'm 5'2. Or you can try Lane Bryant they have nice stuff and usually they have pretty good sales.

JC Penneys usually has a pretty good selection of what I think of as "occasion" clothes. I'd check there. Depending on how formal the event is, I'd probably stick with a skirt and blouse and not mess with skorts or long shorts. On a beach the shorts/skort might work, but in a rose garden, I tenvision a skirt as more appropriate.
And I totally understand your dress dilemma - I have to buy suit separates b/c I take a 16 or 18 in the jacket, but a 12 or *sometimes* a 10 in pants. Buying a full suit would be a total waste b/c most tailors cannot take in a skirt that many sizes.

Yep, you will most definitely have to buy separates! I vote for a lightweight linen skirt and coordinating top.

What about a nice pantset? Penneys has some nice ones. I think a lightweight pantset would be acceptable for a rose garden wedding.

I would probably be more comfortable in pants, but i'm not exactly real up on my wedding etiquette. Most of my family members have been the getting married at the court house sort and this is the first of my close friends to get hitched...

My friend (the groom) is a real casual, laid back sort of guy, but I don't know his fiancee or her family very well, so i'm not exactly sure how dressed up they expect everyone to be :>

Thanks for all the advice.

Can you just ask your friend what the proper attire would be?

I had to go to a wedding last month, and I had absolutely nothing to wear. I also had to play babysitter to my newborn Godson because his mother and father were in the wedding party, so I couldn't wear anything too fancy because it would just be spit-up on. I finally borrowed a nice top from someone, added a pretty scarf, and wore a black skirt that fit me relatively well (and hid my thighs). I should've focused more on foot-wear, though, because my feet were killing me after wearing 3" heels for 10+ hours.