Wedding guest dress ideas?

[SpringCrane]

Hi ladies... I'm going to a good friend's wedding in a couple of weeks, when I'll be 11+ weeks. The wedding is on a working cattle ranch, and definitely on the casual end of the spectrum. We would like to keep the state of my uterus a secret for a bit longer, but my belly is making it difficult. I'm not really the best when it comes to fashion, so what sort of dress styles should I be looking for? What dress styles tend to hide a growing belly? It's likely going to be quite warm, so layering up might prove unpleasant.

I'll be having a second scan the day before heading up to the wedding, so if all looks well and it proves very difficult to hide, I might try to convince my husband to let the news out... though maybe a wedding is a rude time to "announce"?

I just feel like I'm either going to look super pudgy in a dress that's barely fitting or obviously pregnant in a maternity dress.

(I'm embarrassed to say I'm rather body conscious and struggle with body image issues, and the wedding is going to be packed with super fit runners, so I'm worrying more about this than I really should...)

 

[KozmikKitten]

I think you'd want to look for an empire waste dress - something that is fitted right under the boobs and flows out from there. (These are typically considered the "pregnant look" dress but are still popular among non-pregnant women, too).

I would say not to officially announce the pregnancy at the wedding. However, if you are comfortable, and someone happens to ask you outright (which is so rude!) then you could decide to tell if you wanted to!

 

[Scout]

I don't know your style, but I'd probably wear a skirt and a pretty tunic, or something flowy. Actually, I'd just take a trip to the mall and try some stuff on...any excuse to shop. And maybe get into the mind set that a baby isn't the same a being pudgy and even if you look that way it's only temporary. I know it's hard as I had body image issues for years. When I was pregnant with daughter, I had to keep telling myself that it's a baby and just focus on that. And yeah, I wouldn't share the news of a pregnancy at a wedding as I'd be afraid it'd take some attention from the bride and her day. With daughter, I didn't tell anyone until I was 24 weeks and it was actually really fun to have the secret. Have fun at the wedding!

 

[LoraLoo]

I would go for a skater style dress with a nice little blazer x

 

[MichCuc]

Empire waist is prob your best bet. Look for one with a flowy skirt. Even if people suspect, by looking, that you're preg, they won't ask, and you don't need to tell. I've never had someone ask me, even when flaunting a questionable belly at 4&5 months. Most people are polite and won't want to embarrass themselves if you're not. even if your husband agrees, I wouldn't announce at someone else's wedding, keep the attention on the bride and groom - it's their special day

 

[SpringCrane]

Thank you so much for the advice and suggestions! I'll have to find some time to do a little shopping... Darn ;-)

 

[Canadianjules]

Hi ladies... I'm going to a good friend's wedding in a couple of weeks, when I'll be 11+ weeks. The wedding is on a working cattle ranch, and definitely on the casual end of the spectrum. We would like to keep the state of my uterus a secret for a bit longer, but my belly is making it difficult. I'm not really the best when it comes to fashion, so what sort of dress styles should I be looking for? What dress styles tend to hide a growing belly? It's likely going to be quite warm, so layering up might prove unpleasant.

I'll be having a second scan the day before heading up to the wedding, so if all looks well and it proves very difficult to hide, I might try to convince my husband to let the news out... though maybe a wedding is a rude time to "announce"?

I just feel like I'm either going to look super pudgy in a dress that's barely fitting or obviously pregnant in a maternity dress.

(I'm embarrassed to say I'm rather body conscious and struggle with body image issues, and the wedding is going to be packed with super fit runners, so I'm worrying more about this than I really should...)

When I attended my brother's wedding at about 8 weeks I looked pregnant due to bloat. Everyone knew already and were commenting on my bump. By the time I hit 11 weeks there was no bump in site as the bloat had gone down and the uterus wasn't too big yet. Now at just past 13 weeks I only have the tiniest bump when my bladder is very full, otherwise none, and it isn't noticeable under clothes. So you may be like me; if your current bump is bloat-related (which I think is common at 8-9 weeks or so) it may be non-apparent by then. That said, I'd go with something with a little flow or maybe ruching to hide the bump, because some ladies definitely have a real bump by 11 weeks!

 

[zmzerbe]

When I was pregnant with DS I was very pregnant looking by 11 weeks already and by then my bloat had gone away. I resorted to wearing loose fitting clothing, but keeping the attention to the waist and above. You could wear an empire waist with a somewhat busy pattern and that would hide any baby bump nicely. Black is also a great option because of how slimming it can be.

 

[SpringCrane]

Do y'all think it'd be rude to make the wedding (or actually rehearsal dinner) the first time our friends see me dressing without hiding the bump? I would never announce announce at a wedding, like grab the microphone and shout it out, but if I dress in something that doesn't try to hide the belly but is actually maternity, is that considered rude too? I'm going to plan to dress to hide the bump because my next scan is the day before we leave and I'm still nervous about bad news... But if it IS good news and all looks well... Is it OK to just wear a maternity dress? I have some from my last pregnancy already.

The bride and groom are close friends, and they are not really the sort I envision getting cross over anything at all, let alone the news they are going to be aunty and uncle again, but wedding days are special and I don't want to be dense and do something stupid.

But my belly is seriously obviously pregnant. I dressed to hide it yesterday and a friend that knows said it was glaringly obvious. It could possibly go down during a post-bloat, pre-bump phase, but it didn't happen last time. It feels like a pregnant belly. Firm, not squishy. How, I don't know. The baby is like the size of a blueberry or something...

I'm really appreciating everyone's suggestions though! Excited to go shop!

 

[Canadianjules]

I think no one could fault you for wearing clothes that fit you! I might tell the bride and groom sometime before the wedding if you feel comfortable (since they are good friends), so it is not a surprise to them and then let other's ask if they dare!

 

[zmzerbe]

I don't think it would be a bad thing to dress your bump comfortably. They can't blame you for being pregnant on their wedding day lol. I also don't think that your friends would want you to feel uncomfortable or feel like you need to hid anything from anyone either. If you dressed to hide the bump a big focus of your day would be, "I wonder if anyone can notice... do you think this covers this up well enough? do I just look fat right now? What if they think I'm getting fat..." and so on and so forth.

 

[Angel_blues]

Why don't you tell your friend and ask her if she would prefer you hid the pregnancy? That way you are 100% sure of your decision because you included her feelings into it. That's what I would do.

Not saying tell her now but maybe 2 weeks before? Give her time to let the news sink in

 

[MichCuc]

I wouldn't worry about it so much. If you have a bump, great. If its covered, great. I really honestly can't think someone would ask you at only 11 weeks. I'm 11 weeks, I have serous bloat, I look 4/5 months, and no one has asked me who doesn't know. And I dont hide my belly, because, let's be serious, who has time for that?? lol

Wear what is comfortable. If someone asks, and you want to tell, go for it. I hate to say it, but these days, lots of women have pouchy belly's pregnant or not... so no one really knows if there's a baby growing, or they just ate too many donuts... and people tend to err on the side of caution, and not ask a rude question.

 

[SpringCrane]

I think I'll plan to find something I'm reasonably comfortable in that disguises the belly and if we have positive news at the next scan, I'll just decide when packing that night (with husband's input) whether to wear the planned outfits or more bump-revealing ones. If I do allow my bump to show, I'll make sure to give the bride and groom a head's up before the rehearsal dinner somehow.

Best case scenario: we get good news and husband agrees to let it be obvious (and the good news lasts...!)