{"id":13651,"date":"2023-04-28T18:25:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T22:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/?p=13651"},"modified":"2023-05-02T16:39:53","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T20:39:53","slug":"dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Listened to My Heart & Found the Perfect Wedding Dress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dia&Co customer Nikki Wyatt Williams\u2019 journey to the altar was smooth as can be\u2014she was marrying the love of her life, she had two amazingly supportive daughters, and she was finally able and ready to have the wedding of her dreams. The only snag? Her mother-in-law had a lot to say about what dress she should wear. So, Nikki turned to the Dia&Co National Community Facebook group<\/a> to build up the courage to follow her heart and get the dress she had been fantasizing about. Keep reading to find out what happened\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Nikki Wyatt Williams<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was very, very, very anxious about going shopping for a wedding dress because the first time I went shopping for a wedding dress, there was hardly anything available for a plus-size bride. If I found a dress that fit, that was the one I had to get because there was nothing else. This was in 1990\u2014that was the first time I was married. So, the apprehension about going out shopping for a wedding dress was real, and I was very concerned that I was going to face the same situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had picked out one dress, and I looked at the pictures and was not happy with what I looked like. So I changed dresses and I chose a little tea-length dress, which looked nice. My mother-in-law said, \u201cI hope this one is more age-appropriate<\/a> than the first one you picked out.\u201d It felt like she was shoving daggers into my heart. All I could think was, \u201cAge-appropriate? What does that mean?\u201d I mean, I\u2019m 46, so what does an age-appropriate dress mean for a woman my age? Does it mean that I\u2019m supposed to wear pants? Does it mean that I\u2019m supposed to wear a regular, simple dress?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, I still couldn\u2019t convince myself to get the dress that I ultimately would pick because it was just so grand and so beautiful. It took my breath away. My sister had been telling me, \u201cI think that\u2019s your dress. I think you need to go ahead and buy it.\u201d I had my mother-in-law\u2019s voice in my head telling me it wasn\u2019t age-appropriate, so I went to my dear sisters in the Dia Community<\/a> to ask them what they thought. I posted, \u201cThis is the dress I\u2019m thinking of wearing, but my mother-in-law is saying I need an age-appropriate dress. What are your thoughts?\u201d And boy, it went crazy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I posted, ‘This is the dress I’m thinking of wearing, but my mother-in-law is saying I need an age-appropriate dress. What are your thoughts?’ And boy, it went crazy!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"plus
The “age-inappropriate” dress before the dream dress.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There were so many people who were saying, \u201cHey, stop worrying about what that crazy lady said because she\u2019s just old-fashioned. Just keep being you. You have to be you.\u201d It was just reinforcing what I already knew, but sometimes you get lost. You get bogged down in other people\u2019s comments. They gave me the courage to go back to the bridal shop and buy my dream dress. Now it\u2019s the dress I\u2019m wearing. I spent three times as much as I planned on spending, but I\u2019ve waited a lifetime to get married to the love of my life, so why the heck not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other women out there who can help you see yourself in a better light and learn that you\u2019re beautiful just the way you are. My dad always chastised me. I had a sister who\u2019s naturally very thin, very small. She was a model and was constantly looked at as being very, very beautiful. I was not. I was belittled because I was fat, always on a diet, and never good enough. It\u2019s nice to have a community where I\u2019m loved, just as I am. No one\u2019s trying to better me, no one\u2019s trying to tell me that I\u2019m not good enough. Sometimes you can learn to better yourself once you learn to accept yourself where you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m also a member of the Dia&Co Wellness Community<\/a>. I read the posts, interact with some of the other people, and I try to boost other people up\u2014because it helps lift me up, too. There are other ladies who talk about how they don\u2019t like their bodies, or they feel insecure about certain parts of their bodies. I know how that feels, and it\u2019s just tough. Having this community where you can talk about that, in a judgment-free zone\u2014in a zone where other people will say, \u201cYes, I know what you\u2019re feeling, but I love you anyway\u201d\u2014that\u2019s beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think that I would\u2019ve even been able to be where I am now, to choose the dress that I chose, even a couple of years ago. I probably would\u2019ve picked some \u201cage-appropriate\u201d dress for $99 off the sale rack or something. I was raising my girls by myself and I did not have the ability, budgetarily, to have any real sense of style. I had to buy the cheapest clothes that actually fit me. It took a while for me to start realizing that the way I dressed affected my moods and made me feel negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spent three times as much as I planned on spending, but I\u2019ve waited a lifetime to get married to the love of my life, so why the heck not?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"plus<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t until I got my first Dia Box<\/a> that I started trying things that I was always afraid to try. I stepped outside my comfort zone and started trying really new things. Really new. People started noticing at work. I just started holding my head a little higher and holding my shoulders back. It just changed the way I looked, the way I felt. Now I spend time before I go to bed at night putting my outfit together so that I don\u2019t have to do it in the morning. I just feel so much more put-together. Even my bosses say, \u201cWow, you look so much better. What are you doing?\u201d I\u2019m just dressing better. I just care more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is my second wedding, but it\u2019s also my last\u2014so I\u2019m gonna do it right. I got married at 19 my first time, and we had to make do with a lot of things. When you\u2019re 19, you\u2019re kind of stupid. You don\u2019t have much money, Dad\u2019s paying for it, yadda yadda. Well, this time we\u2019re paying for it and I\u2019m going to get exactly what I want. I got the man I want and I\u2019m getting everything else I want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am most excited about seeing my fiance Kevin\u2019s face when he sees me in my wedding dress. He\u2019s not seen it yet. He doesn\u2019t have a clue. I can\u2019t wait to see his face when I\u2019m standing there at the end of the aisle and walking down toward him. I just can\u2019t wait. It\u2019s about us, you know? The two of us joining our families together. I\u2019m not interested in any of my mother-in-law\u2019s old-fashioned ideas. She doesn\u2019t know me as well as I know me. I\u2019ve got a big tiara and a giant dress. If I\u2019m gonna be queen for the day, you better believe I\u2019m gonna play the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to take part in the amazing conversations started in the Dia&Co National Community Facebook group? Request to join today!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dia&Co customer Nikki Wyatt Williams\u2019 journey to the altar was smooth as can be\u2014she was marrying the love of her life, she had two amazingly supportive daughters, and she was finally able and ready to have the wedding of her dreams. The only snag? Her mother-in-law had a lot to say about what dress she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":13809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"class_list":["post-13651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fashion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNikki's Search for Plus Size Wedding Dresses - Dia & Co<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why the Dia Community was the support system bride-to-be Nikki Wyatt Williams needed to overcome criticism from her mother-in-law.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nikki's Search for Plus Size Wedding Dresses - Dia & Co\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why the Dia Community was the support system bride-to-be Nikki Wyatt Williams needed to overcome criticism from her mother-in-law.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dia & Co\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/diaandco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-28T22:25:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-02T20:39:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2052-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2004\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marge Hudson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@diaandco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@diaandco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marge Hudson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/\",\"name\":\"Nikki's Search for Plus Size Wedding Dresses - Dia & Co\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2052-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-28T22:25:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-02T20:39:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12fa817987a28e5e481cfbdfaa4a81de\"},\"description\":\"Why the Dia Community was the support system bride-to-be Nikki Wyatt Williams needed to overcome criticism from her mother-in-law.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2052-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2052-1.jpg\",\"width\":3024,\"height\":2004},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How I Listened to My Heart & Found the Perfect Wedding Dress\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Dia & Co\",\"description\":\"Dia & Co is the premier personal styling service for plus-size women. Try on clothes at home, keep what you like, return the rest to us!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12fa817987a28e5e481cfbdfaa4a81de\",\"name\":\"Marge Hudson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nikki's Search for Plus Size Wedding Dresses - Dia & Co","description":"Why the Dia Community was the support system bride-to-be Nikki Wyatt Williams needed to overcome criticism from her mother-in-law.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nikki's Search for Plus Size Wedding Dresses - Dia & Co","og_description":"Why the Dia Community was the support system bride-to-be Nikki Wyatt Williams needed to overcome criticism from her mother-in-law.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/","og_site_name":"Dia & Co","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/diaandco\/","article_published_time":"2023-04-28T22:25:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-02T20:39:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":3024,"height":2004,"url":"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2052-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Marge Hudson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@diaandco","twitter_site":"@diaandco","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marge Hudson","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/","name":"Nikki's Search for Plus Size Wedding Dresses - Dia & Co","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2052-1.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-28T22:25:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-02T20:39:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12fa817987a28e5e481cfbdfaa4a81de"},"description":"Why the Dia Community was the support system bride-to-be Nikki Wyatt Williams needed to overcome criticism from her mother-in-law.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2052-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2052-1.jpg","width":3024,"height":2004},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/fashion\/dia-community-plus-size-wedding-dresses\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How I Listened to My Heart & Found the Perfect Wedding Dress"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/","name":"Dia & Co","description":"Dia & Co is the premier personal styling service for plus-size women. Try on clothes at home, keep what you like, return the rest to us!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12fa817987a28e5e481cfbdfaa4a81de","name":"Marge Hudson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13651"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89303,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13651\/revisions\/89303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}