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Wedding Dress Won’t Zip

It is just before your wedding and your wedding dress won’t zip up! Well, don’t worry as there are various tactics that you can try.

Here are the top guidelines to follow:

What to Do If Your Wedding Dress Won’t Zip Up?

If your wedding dress isn’t zipping up, there are several things you can try on the day of your wedding – this includes getting others to help you, ensuring the dress is properly placed, wearing in the garment, and trying shapewear for starters.

How to Do Up a Dress That Won’t Zip Around the Rib Cage

If your dress is not zipping on the day of the wedding, the first thing you should do is avoid panicking. There are many different things that you can try.

You can find a step by step guide here:

Man Helping Bride Button Wedding Dress

Step 1: Place the Dress Properly

The first thing that you need to do is to make sure that you are wearing your dress properly. For instance, is the neckline and waist at the right position? If not, then you don’t have the dress adjusted at the right places.

Start by making sure that the waist of the dress is perfectly aligned at your own waist. Then, make sure that the neckline, shoulders, etc. are in place as well.

Step 2: Get At Least Two Others to Help You

A lot of brides don’t realize that most dresses require at least two people to help when zipping up this dress. Therefore, ask two of your bridesmaids on anyone else around you to assist you.

One person is going to hold the two sides of the zipper together. Don’t do this at the top of the dress – do it a couple of inches above where the zipper is currently resting.

The other person will be pulling the zipper up.

Step 3: Let Out Your Breath

Start by taking a deep breath in and then letting it out in a whoosh. Do this until you feel your stomach caving in. Let out your breath for as long as you can manage.

As you do this, then the person behind you should start zipping up the dress. As the zip moves up further, the person holding each side together can slowly move the position upwards a few inches at a time as well.

Wear the Dress for a While

If the above tricks didn’t work, don’t freak out just yet. In some cases, the dress simply needs to be worn for a while.

The longer that you wear it, the more that the fabric will expand, allowing you to zip it. So, wear the dress for about 15 minutes and then try once, using the tips mentioned above.

Get Rid of Your Bra

Fancy bras tend to have a lot of padding in them and this may be preventing you from zipping up your dress. Remove your bra and then follow the instructions above.

If there is any removable padding in the dress, then you should try to take these out too as they will give you a bit more room in the dress.

Try Shape Wear

It is a good idea to ask someone to buy you some shapewear. Now is not the time to scrimp – buy high quality compression shapewear. This will smooth out any bulges so that you can slip into your dress more easily and zip it up.

buttoning the wedding dress

As you are having trouble with zipping up the dress around your waist, look for shapewear that ends just under your bust. This will avoid any rolls or bulges from appearing anywhere and can offer you better support.

Just be mindful of the cut of your dress and look for shapewear designs that will not be visible with your dress on. Also, it is best to choose a nude color or one that is closest to your skin tone to ensure that it isn’t seen through your dress.

What to Do With a Dress That Won’t Zip Up Before the Wedding Day

It is always a good idea to try on your wedding dress a few days before your wedding or at least the day before the wedding.

Remember that everything from unexpected weight gain to bloat can change how you fit into your dress.

Try on the dress with the help of at least two people. If you can’t fit into your dress, try buying shapewear immediately and then seeing if the dress will fit.

If you do fit into your dress, consider how comfortable you are. Can you breathe easily? Can you move around without an issue? Remember, the last thing that you need is to be uncomfortable or immobile on the day of your wedding.

If the dress doesn’t fit or it is just too tight to be comfortable, reach out to your seamstress immediately.

In case the dress is only a couple of inches too tight, the seamstress may be able to add a panel at the back so that the dress can zip up more easily.

On the other hand, if the gap is just too big, you may need to turn the dress into a corset back. Keep in mind that this can take longer to do and can cost around $200 or even more.

As this will be a rush order, you may be charged extra for this job.

How to Avoid Fitting Problems with Your Wedding Dress?

The first thing is to actually get your size. Don’t buy a dress too small even if you are planning losing weight.

If you do want to lose weight before the wedding, try a weight loss plan first and then go shopping for the dress.

Although a lot of people want to lose weight before their wedding, not many succeed or they don’t lose as much weight as they want. Keep in mind that the months leading up to the wedding can be quite stressful and a lot of people end up gaining weight.

Consider the possibility of weight gain and get a corset back dress at the very beginning. This way, even if you gain a few inches around the weight, the corset can be accommodated for this weight gain so that you don’t have to make major changes.

What Should You Do If Your Dress Won’t Zip Up?

You should start by getting at least two people to help you with the zip, position the dress properly and then let out a breath and have the people pull up the zipper – you can also try shapewear to remove any rolls or bulges.