A while back I ranted about how I think brides are best off having their wedding dresses custom made — you’ll get a better fit, exactly the design you want, and won’t have to suffer the attitudes and obscene prices of a bridal boutique.

There was some grumbling in the comments about “Ok, fine: but how do you find a custom dressmaker?” My best advice is start in your immediate circle and work your way out &mash; do you know any seamstresses or amazing sewers? Do any of your friends or family known any? If not, search online or in the Yellow Pages for someone locally. Being able to do fittings in person is a big bonus. If there’s no-one in town you like, then start looking online for seamstresses with styles you like who will work with you via email.

The ladies of the OBT came to the rescue with lots more tips on picking a custom dressmaker, as well as specific dressmaker recommendations:

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Um. Yeah, so I have only one question? Ok - it’s more a comment and plea for resources to be added than anything else. There aren’t a lot of resources out there for plus size brides, let alone plus size off-beat brides. -Karissa

I haven’t spent a lot of time talking about dresses for plus size brides because my advice to y’all is the same as my advice to everyone: HAVE YOUR DRESS CUSTOM MADE. I don’t care if you’re a size 2 or a size 18, apple body, pear body, or cucumber body — a custom dress made to your exact measurements is going to fit you better than anything you could buy off the rack and will cost less than 90% of the dresses you’ll find at any bridal salon.

Remember Angela’s red wedding dress? Custom made. What about Bree’s stunning pin-up style dress? Custom made. Honestly, I don’t know why anyone even bothers with the demoralizing hell of bridal shops. Regardless of your size or shape, you’ll get the best fitting dress if you have it made for you.

That said, if you’re looking for additional resources, I definitely recommend the Plus Size Bridez group on the Offbeat Bride Tribe. But my best advice is to start looking for a good local dressmaker.