Wedding gown will probably be the most equipped piece of clothing you will ever be. And if you’re like me, and weight fluctuates all the time, it can be difficult to maintain your weight exactly as it was when you got your dress created. So I’m going to tell you about the relationship between measurements and dress, and how they can get by.

I used to work at Bridal David. When I first started out there, I created the bride who was easily the size of -1, and she would Mermaid her style of dress to look like it was painted on. This is never a good idea for mermaid dresses. You have plenty of room in the hips to be able to bend, but this girl was not at the hearing. Even my boss could not convince her to keep it a little loose. When the dress was finished, she tried to sit down with her and she could not. The dress would not let her turning a full 90 degrees. Rather than admit that she was wrong, she said it was OK, and she could stand all night. Lesson # 1: Make sure you can sit down. Even skinny girls can shoot the zipper, and I often wonder if she did.

Another bride I recall had a ball gown with tulle skirt. Tulle is very light, airy material. Hem it you simply cut it, since it is not the field, which means there is no going back. The girl came in second fitting her and squeezed into a dress. She was not upset about tightness; she was upset because hem was higher on the sides than it was to the front and rear … noticeably higher. She was not the bride, so I did not know what she looked like in her first try. My boss whispered to me in the other room, “she gained weight.” The Bridal David, they take your measurements on the first try so if you come to the second fitting and the dress does not fit, they can prove it’s your fault if the measurements do not match. It sounds mean, but it’s actually good business practice where this happens quite often when lead times are 4-6 weeks. Now that I have my own business, I avoid this problem by getting dresses my customers made 2 weeks or less. Anyway, lesson # 2: Weight affects the hem. The hardest dress becomes, the more the hem will ride up. Likewise, if you lose weight, lower hem will fall and you could trip on it.

Another important thing to remember is that Undergarments will have a profound effect on the fit of your dress. By the clothing I’m talking about bra, slip, shoes, and Spanx / shapers. Lesson # 3: When you first fitting, make sure you are wearing all public under the clothes that you’re going to be the day of the event. If you change anything, you better believe there will be a difference in the match. For example, one time I had a bride come back for a second fitting and Halter straps it was too loose. It was perfect to begin with, so we wondered what had happened. Well, I found out that she’d changed from wearing a bra to push up. Now that her bust was properly supported, it was not more pressure put on the halter strap, making it gap up on the back of her neck. This is something I would not even think about if I had not had this experience, so just keep in mind your underwear.

Quick lesson # 4: Children grow fast; you never know when they are going to have asked. If you are the mother of a flower girl or junior bridesmaid, I highly recommend you either get a job close to the wedding date, or have some leeway in dress. A lot of junior bridesmaid dresses these days elastic panels in the back, which is good. Quick lesson # 5: Do not be a second fitting right hand after eating a meal. I would hope this goes without saying, but if you’re going to do this, make sure your first fitting was just after a meal as well.

And now for the story with a happy ending: Four months before I got married, I decided to quit my job, I was working and looking for something more professional. Two months later, I took a job in another state and moved 15 hours away from my beloved, and my dress. I changed my dress fit me before I left, and I knew in the back of my mind I was going to have to practice to dress still fit when I came home for the wedding. Well, I did not practice. Moving to another state without my beloved, and work in a company that had “Pizza Fridays” and birthday cake at least twice a month, I got about 5 pounds in two months. I was preparing to have to let the dress out just two days before the wedding. But when I tried it, I was still able to zip it up. It was tight, but I could do it! Lesson # 6: You do not have to completely stress out of your weight. Five pounds up or down probably will not hurt you.

You can save yourself and your seamstress lot of grief by following these six lessons. If you are planning to lose weight for your wedding, be sure to let seamstress know that ahead of time. When I say this, I usually organize both interior and near wedding date as possible, although this is not always possible with some modifications stores. Above all, be smart. I’m certainly not saying that all match-related problems are the fault of the customer. But you can make sure the warranty is out of your hands by keeping these tips in mind.