Wedding dress woes

[99percentchocolate]

Getting married in May and have been looking for a dress for ages. Have tried so many different styles but nothing seems right. Went to the national wedding show today and tried on an obscene number of dresses and I just looked awful in everything. They're now telling me it's likely too late for most designers so the pool is even smaller.
Can anyone help please? Going up to London next weekend to try Fur coat no knickers and Tobi Hannah, can anyone suggest any similar? (Can't get an appointment at FairyGothMother for Saturday)
I'm size 16 with huge boobs and a big tummy and haven't found anything fitted that works.

What style do you want?
Is it vintage and tea length?

Really difficult to find a dress that fits a larger chest.
Try LouLou dresses - I bought mine from Heritage Brides in Hatfield but you'll find them in other stores. Sounds like they're your style, from the shops you've listed.
I had the same thing at a sample sale and don't be put off by that.
It was out of my budget, but House of Mooshki have beautiful dresses as well.

I think I like tea length or mid calf length. I'm finding it hard to find anything mid calf length in the shops though and I feel ridiculous in the longer length dresses. They really don't suit me at all.
Vintage style really seems to suit me, particularly 60s style. Have tried lindybop but it didn't suit so I had to send back.
Will try LouLou, Heritage Brides, and Mooshki, thank you x

Have you tried Wed2B? Lots and lots and lots of dresses, loads of styles, every size up to 32 I think. No dresses cost more than £500 if I remember rightly but they're not cheapy China rip offs. I'd post a pic of my Wed2B dress but I don't get married until December so I don't want to be outed

House of Mooshki dresses are absolutely beautiful too.

If you're going to be in London my dress was from Candy Anthony and I absolutely loved it, despite not being a dress person at all. Good luck!

Could you have something made for you? I don't know what your budget is but I think I'm a similar shape and size to you (including the big boobs) and I recently had a dress custom made for a vow renewal and it was brilliant, and probably cost the same as an off the peg wedding dress. It would actually have been cheaper if it had been a wedding dress as the fabrics and embellishments we were using are more readily available in white and ivory and we had to pay a premium to get the colour I wanted.

Second Candy Anthony suggestion. I went there and it was a fab experience. Was a few years ago but they had some available off the peg.

Good luck.. I had a nightmare finding my dress and it felt like a chore by the end which was a shame. Hope you find the one soon. X

Have tried Wed2Be but no joy. Have spoken to a dressmaker about getting a bespoke dress and going to have another chat with her next week. The only problem with that is that I can't find anything I like about any dress I've tried so far so don't really know where to start.
Going to a wedding warehouse this week before London in the hope that I find something there. They stock LouLou and Alfred Angelo amongst others so fingers crossed.
Will try Candy Anthony too, thank you x

Monsoon have some options

Yy to Candy Anthony, lovely staff as well.

Have a think about what suits you normally and work from there. Mine was totally made up - it started from knowing that I did not want strapless, I liked a sweetheart or scooping neckline, wanted to show waist off. In my case there was a feature I knew I did really want - a Cape- and everything else we just worked out as we went. It changed hugely from initial ideas to toile to final dress, including me deciding at first fitting of the actual dress that it would look better as two pieces!

I got my dress fromhere, although she was based in Wirral at the time. I think she still sells on ebay as well (that's where I found her, but when I realised she was local to me I just went there and ordered direct). That's the exact dress I got btw so be nice!

My dress was about £220, fitted to my exact measurements, and I ordered it in Feb for a June wedding. I collected two days before and she made some small alterations the day I collected, it was perfect.

PS - I was about a 14/16 with 34H boobs so I needed something bespoke!

It definitely sounds as if you need to use a good designer-dressmaker.

If you collect magazine cuttings of styles/bits you do like, a neckline here, sleeve shape, fabric, skirt shape/length etc, it doesn't need to be bridal, it just gives the designer a sense of your taste & what you actually do like. They should be able to make a storyboard from this & develop this into a series of sketches for you to choose from & from there mini mock ups using fabrics to give you a real feel for the finished dresses to help you make a choice. They should be able to guide you on what cuts are flattering to your shape too so that you end up with a very flattering bespoke dress that suits your taste

It can cost less than expected too

Do you have any non-wedding dresses that you like? Anything you currently wear, or anything you've tried in the shops? That would be a good start point for a bespoke dressmaker.

What else would you like it to have, shape wise? And what is your budget?

Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I have a few ideas as to what I like but whenever I try them on they don't look right. Going to really hit the shops over the next couple of weeks and if I can't find anything then then I'll get in touch with the dressmaker.
Felicia, your dress is beautiful!

Vivien of holloway, Candy Anthony, and Fur Coat no Knickers are all lovely. Is Brighton too far for you to get to? If not, Joanne Fleming and Oh My Honey are amazing!

At this point I'll go anywhere!! Will check out Joanne Fleming and Oh my honey too - thank you.
This is so helpful, I've already seen a few dresses that are much more me on the sites suggested much better than the puffball I was put in by one assistant yesterday when I said I wanted something simple

If simple is what you're after, I'd suggest looking at bridesmaids dresses too. I ended up going for a bridesmaid dress instead of a wedding dress as when I tried those on they're were too embellished and OTT for my taste - a very helpful assistant suggested I look at the bridesmaid rail and order up the style I liked in ivory or white. I found the simple, unadorned dress I was after and as an added bonus it was a third of the price!

If you are liking retro styles & I agree it sounds like they would suit your shape, then Viv would definitely be able to help & her staff are lovely too. Candy Anthony do some lovely stuff too, but I think more expensive & as you say you can get to Brighton there is another couple of retro style shops in Brighton that might also be able to help & are in the main shopping areas of Sidney Street/Kensington Gardens & also one just off East St. If you are still stuck & Brighton is easy for you to get to to make a few trips, then I may be able to recommend a very experienced Designer Dressmaker

Thanks so much RockinHippy! I think I'll probably try Brighton in a couple of weeks if I have no luck in Birmingham or London.

Love the idea of looking on the bridesmaid rail too - will have to try that too

Ps thank you Girl!

I walk past Vivien of Holloway most days and I'm not sure I would be happy with the quality as a wedding dress.

99percent try Cutting Edge Brides in Bexley for tea length dresses, as well as House of Mooshki and Rock the Frock Bridal.

You're definitely not too late for British designers for a wedding early next year. I was a tad late buying my dress (Suzanne Neville) from the lovely The Dress in Teddington. They were also brilliant with me the anti-bride who was determined to wear something short and found the perfect dress for me. Their aesthetic may not match up with what you are hoping for but if you do potentially want traditional they were brilliant and very patient.