Plus Size Wedding Guest Dresses: Sizes and Lead Times

There are two separate problems in buying a dress for someone else’s wedding, and only one of them gets written about. The visible one is what to wear. The one that actually catches people out is the calendar.

Both have published numbers behind them. Here they are.

The sizing rule, which two retailers agree on

Two retailers — both of which sell the dresses they are describing — were asked, in effect, the same question on their own pages: what do you do when your bust, waist and hips land in different sizes. They give the same answer in almost the same words:

David’s Bridal: “Order based on your largest measurement.” … “Letting out a seam is much harder than taking one in.” … “Trying to squeeze into a size that is too small in one area creates much bigger problems down the line.”

Azazie: “It is easier and less expensive to take in a dress than to let it out.” … “Dresses can be taken in up to two sizes and sometimes can be let out up to two sizes as well.”

Note what Azazie’s second sentence adds: taking in is stated flatly, letting out is hedged with “sometimes”. The asymmetry is in the wording, not just the advice.

You need three numbers to use this, and the same retailer publishes how to take them: bust is “around the fullest part of your chest, keeping the tape parallel to the floor”; waist is “around your natural waist, which is the narrowest part of your torso, usually a couple of inches above your belly button”; hips are “around the fullest part of your hips and seat, usually about seven to nine inches below your natural waist”. Our guide to how to measure your bust covers doing it on yourself without a second pair of hands.

The rule has a stated limit, and it is worth knowing where

“Order by your largest measurement” works because a dress can be taken in. Azazie also publishes how far: “Dresses can be taken in up to two sizes and sometimes can be let out up to two sizes as well.”

Two sizes is a ceiling, and it is stated. So the rule holds as long as your three measurements sit within about two sizes of each other. If your hip lands two or three sizes above your bust — which is ordinary, and more likely the further up the size range you go — ordering for the hip means asking an alterations team to take in the bodice by more than the page says is routine.

That comparison is ours, drawn from that one sentence. It is not a warning that it cannot be done; it is a reason to find out before the dress arrives rather than at the first fitting. Azazie lists exactly this situation as one of the cases its own free custom sizing is for: “Your measurements span more than two size categories.”

What “plus size” covers on each of the two

David’s Bridal publishes plus size wedding dresses “in sizes 14W–30W”, and states that “our design team uses real customers’ measurements and a size 18 fit model.”
Azazie publishes “sizes 0–30 in standard sizing, labeled A0 through A30”, covering “bust measurements from approximately 31 inches to 63 inches.”

The fit-model detail is worth pausing on. A size 18 fit model is the body the pattern was fitted on. That is a piece of information about how the garment was made, offered voluntarily, and it is the kind of thing worth asking any brand that does not publish it.

Now the calendar, which nobody puts in one place

Each of these pages publishes part of a timeline. Neither publishes the whole thing, and the arithmetic below is ours.

From Azazie, for made-to-order items:

“Production typically takes 2-6 weeks”
“1-10 days for delivery”
Order “at least 4 months prior to your event”
“During January to March, production times can extend by up to 10 weeks”

From David’s Bridal, for alterations:

“Three fittings is the standard for most wedding dresses”
First fitting “8–12 weeks before the wedding”, second “4–6 weeks before”, third “1–2 weeks before”

Put those end to end. If you intend to have the dress altered, it has to be in your hands before the first fitting — which is 8 to 12 weeks out. Production and shipping in front of that is another 2–6 weeks plus up to 10 days. And if you are ordering between January and March, the same page says production can stretch by up to another 10 weeks.

That is why Azazie’s “at least 4 months” is a floor rather than a target. The alterations schedule is a wedding-dress schedule, not a guest-dress one, but the structural point carries: the fitting appointment is a date, and the dress has to exist before it.

If you are already inside that window

Ready-made is the other lane, and the same page gives its numbers: processed “within 2-7 days”, “1-10 days for delivery”, and order “at least 1 month before you need them”.

So the practical fork is not “which dress do I like” but which of the two clocks you are on. Four months and a month are different plans, and the choice between them is usually made by the date rather than by the dress.

What to settle before you shop

Your three measurements, taken as above, written down.
Whether you are altering. If yes, the first fitting date sets your real deadline, not the event.
Which lane — made-to-order or ready-made — the calendar leaves you.
The dress code, last. Whether the invitation says black tie or something vaguer changes what you are looking for, and the two etiquette guides we read do not agree on black tie: see black tie vs white tie.

If it is a floor-length gown you land on, plus size evening gowns covers which measurement dominates for each silhouette and when a brand’s own custom sizing is the better route.

What we are not telling you

We have not bought, worn or altered anything, and nothing here recommends a retailer. Every figure is quoted from one of the pages linked above, both of which sell what they are describing. Production and alteration schedules change, so check the current numbers on the page before you plan a date around them.

Frequently asked questions

Which measurement should I order by if they fall in different sizes?

Both retailers we read say the same thing: the largest one. David's Bridal writes 'Order based on your largest measurement' and explains that 'Letting out a seam is much harder than taking one in.' Azazie puts it as 'It is easier and less expensive to take in a dress than to let it out.' That is two independent pages agreeing, which is worth noting because the etiquette guides on dress codes do not agree nearly so well.

How far ahead do I need to order a made-to-order dress?

Azazie tells customers to order made-to-order items 'at least 4 months prior to your event', with production 'typically 2-6 weeks' plus '1-10 days for delivery'. The same page warns that 'During January to March, production times can extend by up to 10 weeks'. Ready-made items are different: that page says those are processed 'within 2-7 days' and can be ordered 'at least 1 month before you need them'.

How long do alterations take?

David's Bridal publishes a three-fitting schedule: 'Three fittings is the standard for most wedding dresses', with the first '8–12 weeks before the wedding', the second '4–6 weeks before' and the third '1–2 weeks before'. That schedule is for the bride's own dress, not a guest's. What carries across is one structural point, and it is ours rather than theirs: whatever you intend to have altered has to be in your hands before the first fitting.