Ladies PLEEEEEEAAASE help me!
I've been a member of this board forever and a day but havn't posted in a while.
Ig you havn't guessed it already, I'M GETTING MARRIED, and to the man of my dreams which is so exciting, that is until I realized that there is no way, I'm going to buy a size 14 wedding gown.
So here's the deal, I made an agreement to myself that I am not walking down that isle a pound over 120, I'm at 156 now and the wedding is Oct.08.
I think I could do it by then, the problem is arn't you supposed to buy your gown like at least 6 months in advance?
I started my diet on Aug 10th and I've only lost 3 pounds!
I REALLY wanted to be losing 3 pounds a week.

I think that your goal is definitely attainable by October of next year, but I think a 3 pound loss per week is too much. 1-2 pounds is a healthy loss every week.

As for the dress, you can always get it taken in!

well you have well over a year to loose 30 lbs. So its very dooable. First to answer your question about your dress...yes they usually recommend buying your wedding dress about 6 m in advance...the reason for this...it takes anywhere from 6-10 weeks for the dress to arrive AT LEAST and then it may take several weeks to alter. So once it arrives you can always alter it down if you've lost weight. Now here's where i will caution you DO NOT FREAK OUT WHEN YOU FIND A DRESS YOU LOVE AND ORDER THE SIZE!!!! I say that because wedding dresses are netorious for running many sizes smaller. When i got married, i was a size 12. My wedding dress was officially a size 20 (because of my bust). It had to be altered down around the waist. That is life. Also, don't get so freak out about numbers. 120 is a good goal..but the man you met loves you at your current weight...so if you aren't 120...dont freak out. Good luck on the weight loss...you've got well over a year to do it...and i think its very possible. Just enjoy your time. hope that helped

oh yea...and i second what modkin says...you have a lot less weight to loose than many...so a 3 lb wt loss per week is a bit high...you are setting yourself up for stress and possible failure if you don't see those numbers. be happy if you lost. Its gonna be harder for you to loose 30 lbs than someone who needs to losse 80 or more. But good luck

hmmm well thats a bit of a sticky situation...

im kind of like you, my sister is getting married in oct 08 and i am going to be a bridesmaid and i need to be slim by then and i will be getting the bridesmaid dress 6 months earlier but hopefully by then since i have much less to loose than you i will be able to fit into it and at my maintaining weight by then so i no it doesnt help at all me saying this but i could end up much worse than you if my diet takes its turn and i end up gaining all the weight back plus more (like whats happened in ealier times!) so well....

on the day that you go to a fitting for your gown why dont you say that thats you maintaining weight for now until your wedding and give yourself a break until the day of your wedding is over? (but dont gain all the weight back!) so when your day is over you can just carry on

im not the best at giving advice lol sorry! hope it helps tho

oh and by the way if thats you in your avatar then you will look like a gorgous stunning bride no matter how fat or wide

Attaching goal weights to goal dates is usually a frustrating experience, the body has its own timeline. You don't have a lot of weight to lose and 3 lbs a week is a pretty unrealistic goal. Just to give some perspective, I lost 75 lbs, I only had 2 weekly weigh-ins where I lost 3 lbs that week the whole time.

Not to be too discouraging - I think 3 lbs since Aug 10 (2 weeks!!) is wonderful and you are doing great.

You can totally do it!

Like the others have said - yes, order your dress early, but DON'T freak over the size. Bridal sizing is wonky, and if the dress is too big when it comes it, you can get it altered smaller. Better to order bigger and have it altered down than the other way around, y'know?

Take the weight loss slow and steady - you've got over a year for a 30lb loss, so better to take it slow and make it STICK, than rush it and gain later on.

I also think that, at your current weight, 3 lbs in two weeks is awesome! Way to go on that!

You can have a bridal dress taken in more sizes than you'd expect. Mine went from a size 18W to a size 10, so buy a dress you love in a size that fits and then have it taken in so that it fits you perfectly.

Thank you so much ladies for the kind and encouraging words, I know that I can get to 120 by my wedding date, I guess I'm getting stressed about trying to figureout how soon before the wedding do I need to be the final size for my wedding gown.
So should I have my gown picked out and ordered 6 months before the wedding?
Then when should I have the final alterations done?
I want to make sure I'm not too fat or too skinny for that matter, to fit into my gown.
Man I'm guessing this gown is going to cost me a lot more than I imagined in the long run, because of alterations.
I'm really short, 5'1, so I know that the dress will have to be shortened, I'm very busty, 36dd, so I know there will have to be some alterations in that department, plus having it taken in....
I'm rambling and venting, sorry.

My sister just got married in June, so for what it's worth . . . not only are the sizes wonky, they size the dress by the largest measurement. So even if you do lose say 12 pounds before you go in and order the dress, if your bust hasn't taken the significant portion of the weight loss you are going to be really upset with the size they want you to order! Please don't get hung up on the number, it's just a blessed number. The dress can be altered to bring in the waist, it will look beautiful. Get a dress that is flattering for your figure and go for it.

Rest assured there are a lot of brides out there in similar shoes but without the advantage of the bust determining the size of the dress. My bridesmaid dress had to be ordered to fit my waist, which since I hit 40 has taken on a life of it's own . Trust me, taking in a waist for a large bust is one thing, taking in a bust for a large waist is another!

You should do the dress 6 m before...that way you are sure it will be ready. When you order it...check that you can get a shorter dress....i forget the term they call it...but when i ordered my dress, they measured from my breast bone to the floor and took that measurement...they then ordered it shorter so less had to be altered. If you have too much pattern on your lower part of the dress it gets EXTREMLY costly to have it altered. I'm short like you. As for altering...i would definately plan at mininmum 6 wk but maybe even longer....depends on who you go with.

My alterations (including a complete redesign of the back of my dress, plus all the extensive re-sizing including removing all the boning in the corset and reshaping it to fit my bust/waist, but no length alterations because I'm 5'8" and in heels it was just about right) cost me $350.00. I don't know if that helps you in your planning at all.

There is a "Brides to Be" thread in "Miscellaneous Clubs" - lots of folks preparing for weddings on there!

Oh cool I'll go check that thread out.
and WOW, $350 extra.

OMG when I got married (we eloped) I found the perfect dress REALLY cheap downtown at the Garment district, the only thing is it was a sample size 8, and I was more like a 12 at the time. So the ENTIRE MONTH before we got married I starved to get into that stupid dress!

Kudos for giving yourself a reasonable time...I think I lost 19 pounds in a little over a month, oh I gained them back WITH INTEREST starting at "I do!" LOL!!

Uh, starving to get into a dress, cripes, I did it just a couple of years ago (cabbage soup diet two weeks before going to the Oscars!) Wow am I through with all that!!!

Bridal shops are notorious for delays, which is why I think they recommend 6 months waiting, but if you are willing to think outside the box a little, that doesn't have to be a hard and fast rule.

Being a very fat bride, all of the dresses in my size were horendously expensive, and the shops would only carry one dress in my size (and it always seemed to be a strapless style, which seemed crazy to me). The shops would order any dress I wanted, but I either had to buy without trying on, or some would offer a "no obligation" to buy clause, but I would have to pay a nonrefundable deposit of $150. So I had my wedding gown custom-made. While I sat with the seamstress and designed the dress about 5 months before the wedding, she didn't start making it until 3 months before, and had it finished 4 weeks before the wedding. I had worked with her before though when she made my bridesmaids dresses for two weddings, so I knew her skill and speed. You might be able to get a referral from satisfied customers and do something similar. I got so many compliments on my custom gown, and paid less than I would have off the rack with alterations.

Another option is David's Bridal type shops where you buy the dress off the rack and have it altered. Often smaller, higher end shops will sell their sample gowns, or have sample sales periodically. When one of my (disgustingly thin and gorgeous) sisters was getting married, she bought her gown from a shop going out of business. My other sister, not even engaged fell in love with one of the gowns, and bought it for herself, because the price was so good. It's still in her closet, waiting to be needed.

Also, bridesmaid dresses usually don't take as long to receive, or alter so if you want to order a gown "last minute," or only a couple months before the wedding date, you could choose a bridesmaid dress in ivory or white. Usually the styles are simpler, but there are many that are indestinguishable from wedding gown designs.