Wedding Planning-Finding a Dress for a Bride in a Wheelchair

While planning my wedding, the one aspect that I was looking forward to was finding my dress. I love Fashion and shopping so I thought this would be so much fun. I was so wrong! I had in my mind the type of dress I wanted to wear. Me and my sister drove over an hour to the nearest David's Bridal to find a dress. This was during their $99 sale. When I first arrived I naturally went over to find the "perfect" dress for $99. None of them were perfect. I then searched the store far and wide, trying on so many dresses that I lost count. Let me add in that while I was trying on all these dresses, my sales lady was peeking in to check on me. This irritated me to the max. Eventually, I made my sister guard the dressing room so I could struggle in private. Finally, I found the perfect dress. One like I always imagined wearing at my wedding. It was beautiful, had sparkles,was fluffy, princess like and it fit great. Actually it fit great until I pulled it over my legs. It draped over my wheels like little miss muffet and I couldn't move my wheels. I couldn't move my wheels because the dress was so puffy that it covered my whole wheelchair. Bummer! I tried to figure out every way possible to be able to wear that dress. I never figured out a way. Here is what the dress looked like:

 

 

After leaving David's Bridal I spent several weeks checking every store possible for a dress. I even got so frustrated with trying on these dresses, that I recruited someone to try them on for me. My cousin who is just a little younger than me, but at the time somewhat my size, agreed to try on dresses for me. By this time I knew what type of dress I needed for my type of wheelchair and my size. I am tall and slender and usually wear heels (my foot plate on my wheelchair is set for high heels) so I needed a long, slender dress. I decided against a train, but have seen many beautiful ways to use one with a wheelchair. Stay tuned for a post on those. I was still looking for something to go with my princess like wedding theme that had sparkles. There was this little shop downtown that sells formal attire for weddings and prom. It was not on my list but I stopped. That is where I found my dress! The dress was perfect and beautiful! I never tried it on until my wedding day. My cousin tried it on and I knew it was the one. The only problem I had was the dress being too long. Five minutes before rolling down the isle I decided to tie the bottom in a knot so the dress wouldn't snag in my smaller wheels. It looked fine, but I regret not trying it on before the wedding. I've already posted this pic but here is what my dress looked like:



 

 

My advice to other wheelchair brides is to find a dress you like that fits you and your wheelchair. Don't pick something that you don't really like because you use a wheelchair. I shopped around for over a month until I found what I liked. You will be happy that you spent the extra time searching. If you use or have access to an electric wheelchair then you should be ok wearing any dress. I wish I could have found one to use because I would have wore the puffy dress I liked most. Also, another tip is to try on your dress before the wedding. If your dress is too long it can be altered. Don't be like me and wait until the last minute, literally. Please let me know if this helps. If you have any questions about this post that I didn't mention just comment below. If you want a more private conversation you can always email me.

See You Next Time!
Beverly