When I got married my confidence was not in the best place, I had been through a traumatic birth, I had gone from a size 14 to 18 and I struggled to control my anxiety enough to even leave the house. So much had changed over the years of getting engaged and having a child and I felt lost and unimportant. So when it came to shopping for my wedding dress, I felt scared of drawing attention to myself and ridiculous at the notion that I could be beautiful.

I remember walking into one shop in Northampton and feeling laughed at as a women came up to me stating that they didnt 'do' my size there. As you can imagine I left feeling upset and humiliated. From then wedding dress shopping just became something that had to be done, not something that should be enjoyed. So when I heard of Perfect Princess Bridal, a place that specialises in plus size wedding dresses and accessories, I just had to show my support. No one should be humiliated for how they look, and everyone deserves to feel beautiful on their special day. So I took a little trip to Bath to be apart of the Perfect Princess Bridal Plus Size Catwalk.

When we arrived we were welcomes into the stunning MacDonald Hotel and Spa and showed where the catwalk would take place. Everyone was working hard to create a whimsical garden theme, with a grass looking runway, a dark background with light up flowers hanging down and trees decorated with sparking lights. We were then lead into a room filled with an array of beautiful dresses and happily chattering ladies. I met the lovely owner of Perfect Princess Bridal, Lynn, and was introduced to the other plus size beauties also modelling for the show.

I sat down to have my hair and make up done by Lana and Josie from Flowers & Fringes. Lana had dreamed up some beautiful soft romantic looks with an 1800s vintage feel. I loved that fresh flowers were used in my hair as well as some beautiful hair pieces created by Polly Edwards. I went through many changes with them to suit the different dresses for photoshoots, and lastly ending with bolder red lips and an up-do for the Catwalk. Flowers and Fringes were lovely to work with, it was great getting to try some difference styles. Lana is creative and very friendly, she has her own salon based in Bristol and does wedding hair and make up. For any brides to be, I highly recommend.

After hair and make up was done, I got to try on the dresses picked for me. There were magical gowns from Allure Bridals, Veromia Ltd, Callista and more. Lynn sure has an eye for picking out dresses to make a lady feel special. Once our dresses were fitted, we headed down into the hotel to take some shots of some of the selected dresses. Photos were taken by Leon Day Images, a wedding, events and portrait photographer based in Saltford, Bath. He was very professional and friendly and had a great knowledge of how to light and pose a plus-size lady, without making it an issue that she is plus-size (which makes a world of difference on your wedding day). Also filming the whole event we had Ben from Ascendancy Videos, he creates show reals for businesses and is based in Bristol. I don't know if Ben does wedding videos, but I can imagine his friendly, reserved and encouraging demeanor would offer the prefect atmosphere for a nervous couple to be around.

Picture credited to Leon Day Images.

This mermaid tail, Allure Bridals gown, with beautiful beaded and lace detailing was one of my favourites of the day. I would never of dreamed that this style of dress would suit my figure, but I felt fabulous wearing it.

Picture credited to Leon Day Images.

This Sonsie dress by Veronia was also another favourite of mine. It also had stunning lace detailing and elegant lace selves. It was not only a gracefully, classic dress but was also light and comfortable to wear.

After a rehearsal on the catwalk, a restyle and touch up by Flowers & Fringes and a short rest, we all got back in our dresses and started the show. we had some wonderful helpers back stage, making sure every thing ran smoothly and everyone supported each other beautifully. It was hectic but enjoyable. It was lovely to see a group of women coming together and support each other at doing, and feeling there best.

Thank you for reading my blog, I had such a wonderful day. As we all know by now, nothing makes me as happy as dancing around in stunning dresses, meeting beautiful people and hopefully showing some brides to be that beauty does not depend on your size. Thank you to Lynn for having me and for this wonderful message you are spreading. Also thank you to all the wonderful ladies who helped me get ready and who made me feel welcome. If you are a plus-size bride to be in search of your dream dress, I highly recommend a visit to Perfect Princess Bridals. You will feel so special and comfortable, and you will have the much deserved enjoyment that the wedding dress shop should be.
Colleen from Curvy Changes (featured in this image from the day by Leon Day) is an absolute stunner, she is new to fashion blogging and is a proud plus-side bride to be. If your looking to read more on a plus-side brides, wedding run up, her blogs the place to be.