My make-do maternity wedding dress

by Bella
(Oxford)

I was 17 and a half weeks when I got married - which was NOT part of our plans as we'd been planning our wedding for over a year at that stage!

I didn't get a maternity style, or a bigger size, because I'd bought my dream dress months before. Luckily, my dress had a lace-up corset back, which was a real lifesaver because my shape changed so much and I was able to have the fit altered too during the day!

I had the corset fairly tightly laced up for the ceremony itself (and for our wedding photos) but when we sat down to eat, I just seemed to balloon. Thanks goodness my mom was able to loosen the corset then ... and twice more over the course of the day!

I would have been so uncomfortable in a dress with a normal back. My dress was taffeta with a boned bodice, and I'm pretty sure you couldn't tell I was pregnant, which was good because some of my elderly relatives were there ... and they're from the generation where you sneak off to marry in private if you're 'knocked up'.

I guess I'm very lucky - I had exactly the wedding I wanted, no one got upset about the pregnancy, and we've got a new baby to look forward to!

If you're going to be pregnant on your wedding day you definitely need to think about the fit of your dress as the day wears on. I'd recommend a proper maternity wedding dress which will stretch and fit you well, or a dress with a corset back that can be adjusted to fit throughout the day like mine was.