If you are a bride with a large bust size, you are not going to want to miss today’s bridal fashion and wedding dress shopping advice tips! Every bride wants to look their best on wedding day and when you are first beginning to wedding dress shop, you might not know what style or silhouette is going to look best on your body or what type of neckline you are going to like the most. Your bust size certainly plays a big role in what a wedding dress is going to look like on your unique body. In the past we have given our advice for wedding dress shopping as a petite bride, as a tall bride, and even as a bride with small breasts, but today is all about our larger chested brides.
If you have a larger chest size, you might think that you have to wear a wedding dress with sleeves or big straps to give you enough support. While there are certainly some considerations to keep in mind when wedding dress shopping as a bride with large breasts, don’t rule out a certain style just because of your bust size. Let’s get into all the important things brides with a large chest should know before wedding dress shopping.
Video: Wedding Dress Tips For The Larger Chested Bride
Every bride deserves to look and feel their best on wedding day, no matter what size or shape their body may be. If you are a bride who has a larger bust size and is wondering what style or silhouette wedding dress is going to work best for your body, be sure to watch our latest advice video sharing all the wedding dress tips for the larger chested bride.
Natural Vs Fake Breasts
The first thing to note when it comes to brides with a larger chest size is if your breasts are natural or fake when it comes to feeling supported in your wedding dress. As a general rule, natural breasts are going to be heavier than fake breasts and will sag a bit more just because of gravity. Just the way that natural versus fake breasts sit on a bride’s chest is going to affect the way in which wedding dresses fit. One is not better than the other, it’s just something to be aware of when you are wedding dress shopping and considering what style and neckline to opt for.
Strapless Wedding Dresses
We have discussed strapless wedding dresses at length in the past because it is a very popular neckline style for bridal fashion. Just because you have large breasts does not mean that a strapless wedding dress is completely out of the question, you might just have to take some additional steps in the alterations process to make sure your bust has enough support to last the entire wedding day.
When it comes to strapless wedding dresses, you have to be realistic in your expectations, no matter your bust size. Just like your favorite pair of jeans feels tight when you put them on in the morning but are looser and stretchier by the evening, a wedding dress will expand throughout the day from your body heat as you are moving around. Not that it’s going to just fall off your body during the wedding reception, but if you have ever attended a wedding where the bride wore a strapless wedding dress, you probably saw her pulling it up throughout the day. The fabric is going to stretch and expand some and if you add on top of that the weight of large breasts, it’s going to push down even more so extra support may need to be added.
For strapless wedding dresses, no matter the bust size, we always recommend brides have a removable strap option that they can put on for the wedding reception. The strap or straps, whether you go with a halter style strap or just two straps over the shoulder, will help take some of the weight off the bust line and give more support so you don’t have to worry about the feeling of your dress slipping down or be constantly tugging your dress up when you are trying to dance and greet all of your guests at the wedding reception.
Boning
Another option for adding support to a wedding dress is boning. Boning are thick pieces of plastic strips that are adding to the corset or bodice of a wedding dress to help give more support and shape to a wedding dress or formal gown. Boning is used particularly around the breast area to manipulate a wedding dress to sit in a certain way or along the sides of a dress to help the fabric lay a certain way. Larger pieces used on the sides, around the rib cage, can help the bodice area of a dress stand up.
Many wedding dresses will already have boning in the bodice as the bridal dress designers want the fabric manipulated a certain way. Your alterations seamstress may be able to add an additional layer of boning or put in stronger pieces of boning to help give the support needed for a larger chested bride.
Keep in mind that boning is made of plastic, so just as the dress fabric is going to stretch and expand, your body heat can also affect the boning and make it bend. There is the chance that the weight of your larger breasts will bend the boning more and then you end up with a weird piece of plastic sticking out of your side. This is another reason why it’s a great idea to have a back up removable strap option that you can add to your dress to help take some of the weight.
Split Sizing
Ultimately, your wedding dress will be ordered based on your body’s measurements and where those align on the designer’s size chart. If your bust measurement puts you in a larger size and your hips and waist measurements put you in a smaller size, there are some bridal designers that will allow for a dress to be ordered in split sizing. Trust your bridal consultant here for guidance as they will be able to ensure you order the best size wedding dress for your body.
If a split size is not an option, then we always recommend ordering the larger size to accommodate your bust and then have the rest of the dress taken in during alterations to properly fit the rest of your body.
Going Braless
We know that the majority of brides with larger chests are not going to feel comfortable going braless with their wedding dress. They are used to having the full support from their bras and underwire. Trust us that once your wedding dress has the proper structure and support and is tailored to fit your body correctly, you won’t need the bra.
Now, every wedding dress and every body is different so there may be the occasional pairing where a dress is better with a bra. In these instances, bra cups will be sewn into the wedding dress so that everything fits properly and aligns in the right way. You don’t want to worry about your wedding dress shifting around while you are wearing it and exposing your bra. So if you find that the dress you love works better with a bra for proper fitting, it will likely be the case that cups will be sewn into the wedding dress rather than wearing a traditional bra under the dress on wedding day.
And we know that brides can feel uncomfortable, especially at first, to go braless when trying on wedding dresses. Certainly bring or wear a strapless bra to your bridal appointment, but be open to the possibility of needing or wanting to take it off. Your bridal stylist is not going to be looking at your breasts. They are just there to guide you in finding your dream wedding dress and after trying on a few dresses, you are likely to find they work better without the bra and it’s easier to get in and out of them without the extra layer.
More Helpful Wedding Dress Shopping Advice
We hope you have found this advice helpful when it comes to knowing what to expect when wedding dress shopping as a large chested bride. For even more helpful advice when it comes to shopping for your dream wedding dress and finding your bridal style, be sure to check out our past posts:
- Is Wearing a Bra Necessary with a Wedding Dress?
- Pros & Cons of Wearing Shapewear & Adding Boning To a Wedding Dress
- The Truth About Strapless Wedding Dresses
- Detachable Strap Options for Wedding Dresses
- Top 5 Questions Plus Size Brides Should Ask When Wedding Dress Shopping
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
About Wedding Fashion Expert
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
