Larger Size Bride

Bridal shop specializes in larger sizes

For years computing back and forth from Lodi to work in her mother’s bridal boutique, Sacramentan Sandra Gonzalez was struck by how many less-than-model-thin customers were pleasantly surprised that the shop carried gowns their size.

Gonzalez didn’t think it was unnatural to carry bridal dresses sizes 14 and larger, but evidently women weren’t finding the options they wanted elsewhere.

So despite a down economy, Gonzalez, armed with 16 years experience in the bridal business, has opened her own bridal boutique called Sparkle Bridal Couture in East Sacramento.

The 2,800-square-foot Sparkle opened July 6 at 3200 Folsom Blvd. The store took the spot formerly occupied by The French Hen, a home furnishings and gift shop.

Sparkle focuses on brides sizes 14 to 30 — which Gonzalez refuses to call plus sizes, in part because the average American woman wears a size 14.

“It’s just a different set of sizes,” she says. The store sells designer bridal gowns, dresses and accessories as well as dresses for bridesmaids and mothers of the bride and groom. Also, Sparkle has an “LBD,” or little black dress,” section for special occasions of all types.

Gonzalez, a Land Park resident, says she has the only bridal boutique on the West Coast specializing in sizes 14 and larger. Sparkle keeps more than 100 gowns in stock.

“We’ve received lots of calls,” Gonzalez says.

The shop has attracted brides as well as wedding vendors looking for options for their own clients, she says.

Local interior designer Macrina Rodriguez designed the shop’s decor.

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Brides are beautiful regardless of their size, but plus-sized brides face a challenge in finding a wedding dress that makes the entire planning of your special day pale in comparison. The wedding dress of your dreams is out there, but if you’re a plus-size bride, you will often run into the problem that most traditional bridal shops don’t even carry your size.

Bigger brides (we like to say voluptuous) have hope. There’s no reason to starve yourself or start feeling ashamed of your body; first, we’re going to look at ways of accentuating your beauty and then we’ll tackle the harder task of finding someone to give you what you want – a wedding dress that makes you feel like the goddess you are as you walk down the aisle.

Playing up the Positive: Plus-Sized Fashions that Work As with all fashions for the plus-sized woman, wedding dresses should accentuate what you like most about yourself and subtly play down the things you don’t like. When you begin your quest for the perfect dress, keep in mind the following guidelines that will help you get something perfect even before you try it on: