“That’s it,” I thought to myself. “That’s the one.”

As my eyes settled for the first time on the dress I knew I would wear on my wedding day, I felt the sensation that people say all brides experience: a sense of elation that you’ve found ‘the one’, and the wave of relief that comes with the knowledge that you can finally stop looking.

But I wasn’t looking at myself in the mirror of a bridal boutique when I found her; no, I was looking at an image on the screen of my laptop.

Buying my wedding dress online was not something I had ever considered. I’d always dreamed of that movie moment; you know, the one where the bride is surrounded by her mum and closest friends, drinking glasses of champagne and trying on dress after dress until she steps out in one that makes them gasp in delight. But the reason I chose to buy my wedding dress online without trying it on was two fold. One, the pandemic has meant I wouldn’t get a chance to see my mum and closest friends in my native New Zealand before my October wedding. And two, I didn’t want my wedding dress shopping experience to be marred by the fact that I’m a plus-size bride, and most bridalwear shops wouldn’t cater to someone like me.

“I went shopping for a size 18 wedding dress. Why couldn’t I find one?”