Wedding Dress For 54 Year Old Bride

by CAROL P.
(HINCKLEY, IL. USA)

I'm 54 years old and this will be my 2nd marriage. My first marriage I wore a dress that I had from school(I got married at 17). I never had a "wedding". This has always been my dream, but I don't know if I'm too old to wear a wedding gown down the aisle. I'm about 5'4 and weight about 183. I have a large stomach and butt. Top section I'm a 42c and I have somewhat large arms. My legs are perfect shape. I need help on style that will hide most of my stomach areas. What does someone my age do?
Help! Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Carol



Hi Carol,

I first want to address the fact that you can wear a wedding gown (with or without train), no matter what age you are. The trick is to find one that is complimentary to your figure and age appropriate.

Empire Style

Now as to which styles would look good on you... I have included some pictures above, of some basic wedding dress styles that I feel you would find to be complimentary to your body shape. You will notice that two styles have an empire waist. When a person is bigger around the middle, an empire waist wedding dress that flows over that area is usually the best choice.

One thing to note though... if a person has a protruding stomach, one that sticks out past the bust, this style can make a person look pregnant. In that case it would be best to wear shaping garments that would reduce the stomach, or choose a different style.

Princess A- Line

Another style choice would be the princess a-line wedding dress style (Bonny 1713). This style is complimentary because it can give an illusion of a smaller waist area. The cape sleeves on this style can hide heavy upper arms.

Dropped Waist Style

Wedding dress style 1900 by Bonny is a dropped waist with a fuller skirt and has a more tailored fit. You might not think so but I have seen this style look great on brides with your shaping. Again, wearing the right bridal undergarments really make a difference.

Now as you may notice with the pictures above, I didn't include strapless necklines or halter neckline styles since most brides over 50 would prefer not to wear these styles. But if you like these necklines... the basic silhouettes above will work with a strapless or halter neckline as well.

These are just suggestions but be open to trying on other styles because some details like asymmetrical design details, draping and pleating detail on the gown will slim the midsection.

Have fun wedding dress shopping!!!

P.S. If you want further help privately, just feel out the "contact me" form.

Desiree

Update 12/8/12: The wedding gowns pictured may no longer be available. But you can use the pictures and the advice above to help in choosing your wedding gown.