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Back Fat In Wedding Dress [Why & What To Do]

It is no secret every bride on this planet wants to look her very best on her wedding day. We get it, it is supposed to be one of the most exciting events of your life, and you want to look back on those photos and memories with no regrets. Now, I have to say that losing weight and being your thinnest self is not a requirement for looking beautiful on your big day – you are stunning just as you are – but back fat in a wedding dress is something many brides are worried about.

So, how do you avoid visible back fat when you wear your wedding dress? There are a few things you can do to reduce wedding gown back fat, such as ensuring your dress is professionally altered, choosing a more flattering back shape, and even choosing the best-fitting bra for your body. However, It is normal to have a little bulging, especially if you are wearing an insanely tight wedding gown.

If you want to reduce your wedding dress back fat, keep reading. 

I have a few excellent tips that you can use to reduce visible back fat and how to look thinner, even if you do not want to lose weight, in your wedding gown.

How Do You Hide Wedding Dress Back Fat?

Back fat is normal. Unless you are naturally very skinny, you may likely have a little bit of visible back fat when you pop on your wedding gown. 

However, there are a few ways you can reduce and even hide your wedding dress back fat.

Avoid Tight Dresses

This one is pretty obvious. 

An overly tight dress is always going to pull closer into your body, and if you have a slightly squidgier back, that back fat is inevitably going to become more obvious. 

If you want to hide this, choose a loose-fitting dress. This is why it is so important to try on a variety of dresses before you pick the one. 

Make sure your wedding dress is correctly altered for your body by a professional seamstress.

This will also reduce the risk of an overly tight dress and the appearance of back fat that might ruin your dream aesthetic. 

Choose The Right Bra

Your bra is like the scaffolding of your wedding gown, especially if your gown is strapless.

How you support your girls will have a trickle-down effect on how well your wedding dress is going to fit. 

Not only do you want to choose the best fitting bra – go to a professional bra fitting to ensure your bra is the correct size – you want to choose the best bra style that compliments your wedding gown style. 

A well-supportive and properly fitting bra will hug all the right places and reduce the amount of visible back fat you have when you wear your wedding gown. 

Read more: Best Bra For Wedding Dress [My Top 3 Picks & Why]

A V-Shape Back

The actual shape of the back of your gown can have a massive effect on whether you have visible back fat or not.

Gowns with a horizontal back can emphasize any back fat you may have.

However, a v-shaped gown will reduce the visible back fat you have to almost nothing.

Keep in mind that v-shape backs may limit the types of supportive bra wear available, and this shape may not be suitable for brides that need a lot of breast support. 

Pick The Right Shape Wear

Just like your bra, the kind of shapewear you choose can affect your final silhouette.

Always choose shapewear that does not end right at any important silhouette lines. Such as your waist or around the top of your dress. 

Shapewear can slip and move around a little throughout your wedding day.

Even if you leave the house with no bulges, you could very well have some sneaky back fat by the time photos roll around.

Cover Your Back

If none of those tips have worked, or you are still feeling a little self-conscious, you can always opt to just cover up your back. 

You can do this with a gown style that does not leave your back on show or opt for a lace bridal bolero, wedding shawl, or even a faux fur stole for a little winter glamour. 

Why Does Back Fat Show In A Wedding Dress?

Back fat can show in a wedding dress if it is the incorrect size, it’s not altered properly, or you have chosen a style that does not compliment your shape and body. 

Firstly, what you call back fat is often just skin. 

Wedding dresses are purposely worn a little tight, especially if you have a strapless style, to keep your gown in place. 

This can dig into your skin a little and give you that back-fat look that a lot of brides want to avoid. However, in most cases, it is mostly just skin.

How To Look Thinner In A Wedding Dress?

Although we are moving away from the pre-wedding crash diet era, and thank goodness because that was a whole other level of stress our brides-to-be did not need, you may still want to look your best. 

Even if you do not want to lose weight before your big day, here are a few ways you can look slimmer in your wedding gown.  

Add Vertical Lines

Vertical lines have always been the fashion industry’s biggest trick when it comes to looking slimmer.

However, this does not mean you need to choose a wedding gown that emulates Beetlejuice.

There are some really subtle ways that you can include vertical lines into your dress without going for the monochrome black-and-white look.

Consider adding pleats to the skirt of your gown if you can.

This will instantly add vivid vertical lines to your gown, making you look slimmer to the eye without altering the color of your gown. 

The same goes for any corsetry you may have.

Visible corset bones have become very popular, and they are an excellent way of magically elongating your torso and making you look thinner.

Another way of adding vertical lines to your gown is by choosing a halter neck style.

You may have been avoiding this style thanks to the old thought of halter necks making your shoulders look broad.

However, these vertical lines will help draw the eye down rather than out, giving you a slimmer look.

Choose The Right Undergarments

I have said it before, and I will say it again, your undergarments are like scaffolding.

They hold everything in place and give your wedding gown the best possible canvas to sit on. 

Splash out on a professionally fitted undergarment set that will not only be beautiful but will support and enhance your figure.

This will keep lumps and bumps at a minimum and make you look slimmer on your wedding day.

Read more: Should I Wear Spanx Under My Wedding Dress? [How To Decide]

Consider A Fit And Flare Style

One style that is universally slimming and suits almost every single body type is the fit and flare.

This wedding gown style will hug you at your slimmest, your waist, and then billow out beautifully from there.

This draws the eyes to your slimmer waist and mimics that dreamy hourglass shape. 

Another popular fit-and-flare wedding gown style is one that hugs you until just below your hips and flares out from there.

This particular fit and flare style is perfect for curvy bodies and shows off your figure beautifully. 

You can also include subtle vertical details in a fit-and-flare style while still getting that beautifully fitted design you have had your eyes on.

Accentuate Your Waistline

For most of us, our waist is the slimmest part of our bodies.

So, if you are hoping to look a little thinner in your wedding dress, make the most of it and accentuate this part of your body.

You can do this with a gown style that draws focus to your waist, or you can add a belt or other appliqués that make your waist the wow part of your bridal attire.  

Do Not Scrimp On Alterations

This is the biggest consideration if you want to look as slim as possible on your big day. There is nothing worse than an ill-fitting dress.

It can make you look frumpy and lump in all the wrong places and add extra pounds where there are not any.

Always budget for professional alterations to ensure your dress is designed perfectly for your body.

A perfectly fitting dress will have you feeling like a queen all day.

Do You Need To Look Thinner On Your Wedding Day?

The days of body positivity and loving the figure you have are in, but that does not mean it is bad if you want to look a little slimmer on your big day, even if you do not want to lose any weight.

A few simple tricks, like vertical lines and fit and flare styles, plus some solidly supportive underwear, can have you looking thinner on your big day and reduce the risk of visible back fat.