Taking one for the team, cuz wedding fabric sucks!

One of my good friends is getting married next month. This occasion is special for several reasons: for one, my friend is getting married and I'm excited to celebrate the beginning of this next chapter in her life, and to be able to support her as a member of her bridal party. Secondly, she is the first one of us to get married, and if you ask me, she'll be the only one for a while, since none of the rest of us are even seeing anyone, seriously or otherwise.

She went to Atlanta to teach and her now fiance, followed. Other friends in the bridal party have returned home to California, and still others have found themselves in other parts of the country for graduate school so it has been a while since we've all seen each other, so this makes her wedding even that much more special.

To date, my friend has been a model bride, no Bridezilla action here. She was even considerate enough to choose dresses that weren't super bridesmaidy looking, meaning that ideally it's something that could be worn again and were reasonably priced. With 8 bridesmaids of different sizes and shapes, there's only so much you can do.

I went maybe a month ago or so to order the dress. They run kinda small so I was sure to pick the larger size. It chiffon which seems to never lay right on shapely figures, and even though I tried a larger size, I still had reservations about how the dress was lying across my thighs and hips, it was a little tight for my taste but didn't look too bad. I asked the consultant for an even larger size but she assured me it was fine because the fabric was flowy, and a larger sized dress would swallow up my small frame, especially since it fit perfectly everywhere else. I reluctantly agreed.

I returned today to get the dress fitted and it was a nightmare. Not because they messed up my order, or because the seamstress was evil, neither was true. I could not get over how unflattering this dress ended up being. Not because it was ugly, or that the color was wrong, its just that the chiffon fabric just would not lay right. it's not even that I'm on the heavier side--in fact, I'm slender. But it just seemed to get caught around the hips. I wouldn't have minded so much had there not been extra fabric caught around my waist because I could not pull the dress down any further. Needless to say, it was not a good feeling.

I value my body, and my health and eat balanced meals and work out to stay in shape (but mainly so I can afford to eat what I like and not worry about it). One thing I promised myself, is that I would never lose weight just to fit into a dress, but that may have to change. It isn't even about me or how I feel about the dress... I'm more concerned about my friend's wedding and her wedding pictures. Yes I'll be standing next to her to support her, but in some sense, I also represent her, and I want to make sure I do it well. The only thing is, while a tad bit o weight loss is my only option, I'm not even sure that will help much. Given that my waist is much smaller that my hip measurement, the dress still may not lay right but I've got to try.

Good thing my new pole should be arriving soon because I definitely have to step up my workout game in the next month before these nuptials...pole dancing in class and at home and lots of yoga, maybe some running if it cools off outside some...but I have my work cut out for me. All I can do is hope it works out.