Plus Size Handfasting Dresses for Pagan Weddings

Just to clarify, I'm no seamstress.  My towering achievement with a needle and thread was once attaching a button back onto my jeans, so it didn't fall off again. That's up against some stiff competition from my repairing a rip in the knee of another pair, proudly putting them on afterwards and promptly opening my stitching again.

You may have gathered by now that I didn't create these gorgeous dresses. So what is my role here? I'll bring you a collection of wonderful plus size handfasting gowns collected together from across the cyberworld. But you could have done that.

I also drop into the mix a whole lot of knowledge.

Given that the company have slapped their URL in the middle of the picture, I bet you could take a wild guess about who supplies this white plus size Pagan Wedding dress.

But URLs don't let you know their real world address, and it's remarkably fitting for the occasion.

Wedding and Bridal Boutique are based in Christchurch, Dorset, in England. The Wiccan historians amongst you will probably have their eyebrows halfway in their hairline by now, as that is the birthplace of modern Wicca. Gerald Gardner moved there in 1939. Amongst other strange encounters, he insinuated himself into the previously exclusive - and fading - New Forest coven.

The rest is history and the reason why you're looking for a Pagan plus size handfasting dress, as opposed to that of another religion/spiritual path. And yes, the shop does ship internationally.

As for other Pagan attributes, this Wiccan plus size Bridal Wear is white - the color of the Maiden. That makes it particularly perfect for handfastings held at waxing moon, or in the Spring months. Or for a Wiccan Bride who is young (at heart if not years), full of energy and/or embarking on this handfasting as a bright new beginning.

What it's not fabulous for is traipsing out into a field or halfway up a hill. White shows up the mud and dust terribly, and us Wiccans do love to get handfast in the middle of nature. Compare terrain to the handfasting gown and see what you think.

Though not pictured, there's much talk in the write up on the page about a colored train. Might I suggest red or burgundy? You're incorporating the hues of the Mother there.  A touch of pink would also work, as in the dresses below, which are both available for Pagan brides in plus sizes.

Or you could stop being subtle about it and incorporate boldly that red touch of the mother, like in this stunning designer handfasting dress by Alfred Angelo:

I'm not sure that he had Pagans in mind, when he was inspired to create that white and red plus size wedding dress. Nevertheless, the symbolism could really work.

The white of the Maiden is opening up to reveal the Mother. That's very much indicative of a Pagan bride's journey through her handfasting. In addition, there's the embroidery, all invoking elements found in the natural world.

Personally, I think it passes muster as a Wiccan handfasting gown!  And the same applies to another variation on a theme, the Jolly Bridal white and red handfasting gown below.

There is some lovely fine detail in the needlework on this Maiden to Mother handfasting dress. Leaves and branches interweave, cladding the bride like a Lady of the Wild Wood, which is absolutely fitting here.

Though not particularly Pagan, the back of the bodice laces up beautifully, and it's red too, which provides a bigger nod to the Mother aspect than you may suppose from the front view.

A wonderful dress which would look great as a Pagan handfasting gown for a plus-sized bride.

I've been an initiated Alexandrian Wiccan since the early 1990s. I've been a High Priestess since the later '90s. Still vaguely Alexandrian, but teetering over into Progressive, then giving up on labels and calling it Alexandrian-Progressive with a deep Welsh hue all over the spirituality.

Janet Farrar thought it was all good. She affirmed my third degree initiation with an extra one of her own. There we are pictured above, wearing table decorations as hats. As you do. Moving on...

Despite the evidence, I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to dressing brides for their handfasting. What I lack in dress-making talent, I certainly make up for in knowledge about colors, symbolism, legends and all of the things to factor in, when you're choosing a plus size Pagan wedding dress.

My promise to you is that I'll be completely honest with all that I present, so that you have that knowledge too, as you decide which Pagan bridal plus sized gown you're buying for your handfasting day. 

And if your answers aren't there, just comment at the end. I generally pop in at least once a day, and I'll get to your query as quickly as I notice it there.

If you're only going to run with a white handfasting dress because that's the color of the Maiden, then you have a very wide choice. Bridal wear in white is the most common choice in the Western world! 

You'll find several pages worth of plus size wedding dresses in white here - including plenty that draw their designs from Ancient Greek ladies, divine and mortal alike - and a whole lot more over here, or here.

However if you wish to incorporate a particularly Pagan element, then Simply Bridal offers a plus size white wedding dress that fits the bill.

The Sybil can be found throughout the myths and legends of the Classical Era. She was in turn priestess, through whom the Gods spoke, and prophetess, like the famous Oracle of Delphi. This Charmeuse handfasting gown was inspired by depictions of the Sybil in art.

While many stores do carry red handfasting gowns, plus size and otherwise, there remains a limited choice when compared to the ubiquitous white.  A way to expand the selection is to head into the prom dress categories, they're often designed very like wedding gowns, and often cheaper.

The Empire Strapless gown below was billed by Dido Bridal as a prom dress, but it would be perfect too donned as plus size handfasting attire. Another good place to look are special occasion sections. David's Bridal had this beautiful plus size red taffeta gown there, a fabulous choice for a bride at her handfasting.

We've already looked at how Wiccan bride dresses in particular may incorporate Maiden and Mother, but there's a third one in that trilogy.

Handfasting gowns may just as easily bring in the Crone's traditional black too.

This strapless, satin, taffeta creation by Only Us Weddings looks from the picture to emphasize the Mother's red. But that's only the bodice and a sweeping strip down the left hand side. Most of the bell like skirt is actually black.

It all reminds us that there is no real differentiation. The Crone is behind the Mother and the Maiden too. The Three are all One and the same.

Further Pagan credentials may be added in the form of the floral features riding from the bodice to halfway down the frontal hem. Tenuous, but nevertheless beautiful and bold.

Naturally there are plenty more options in this color scheme too.

Or how about one which encompasses all three Triple Goddess colors - white, red AND black?

Like this strikingly different potential dress for a Pagan wedding available in plus sizes below.  It even has a floral design, which no-one can deny has its place in Paganism.

There's a case that could also be made for the style incorporating certain elemental features. The pattern on the skirt implies flames, with the hem beneath suggesting earth in charcoal or peat. Tassels hang down floating in air. Though even my fertile imagination is struggling to find anything suggestive of water here.

For Pagans raised within a Christian family, then black as a wedding dress must seem very strange. That is the color more commonly associated with mourning than a joyous occasion like a handfasting. But that's only modernity.

Historically black or dark blue were the most common bridal dress colors across Christendom, let alone Paganism. Practical brides - particularly those for whom a new gown was a rare extravagance - went for wedding gowns which could be worn in daily life too. Which meant hues which didn't show up the dust of housework nor the grime of gardening. It's only today that we would even countenance a beautiful dress, bought at great expense to be worn once, then packed away forever.

This is the kind of wisdom held by Crone brides of all ages. There is the capacity to be sentimental without losing common sense. To know and learn from the lessons of the past, and to apply it in ways that enhance the present without constricting progress with too many rules.

Not that anyone is expecting you to do the household chores in your new black Pagan handfasting dress. It's enough today to know that you could.

Black plus sized handfasting dresses might suit older brides, but only those who can lay claim to the title Crone. Not those who have merely lived long enough to acquire some wrinkles. These darker hues might also appeal to younger Crones. Those who gained the knowing while their skin was young and elastic enough for the experience not to etch a single line.

Pagan brides marrying in winter might opt for black Pagan handfasting gowns too. Or those tying the knot at the very gateway of winter - a dark Pagan wedding dress for a Samhain handfasting would be perfect.

Though the real wise Crones will hold a huge fact very dear - Pagan brides can wear whatever color they want, up to and including black, regardless of age, wisdom, status or season.

Vogue007 - the company behind this very Pagan bride's dress - certainly know what they are about. It describes the bodice as adding a 'powerful presence to the female, and the goddess will soon be vividly portrayed'.

Ok, designers can add anything to sell their product, but I really think they're onto something with this one. Vogue007 talk about the mermaid inspiration behind their bodice. Personally I thought 'fey'. Whichever way we're jumping, there's an Otherworldly aspect to the gown.

The colors - white and black - put us between Crone and Maiden. Perhaps a good match for an older, wiser bride preparing to begin anew with this marriage. Wiping the slate clean from a difficult past. Though those hues don't have to imply sorrow. There are plenty of scenarios wherein the Crone hands over to the Maiden, not least a wedding held at New Moon.

Two more black and white plus sized Pagan handfasting gowns are below for those who feel that the color code fits them perfectly.

However, if you're reaching for the Maiden, but don't feel wonderful in white, then there is another common option in Paganism. No Goddess is more invigoratingly youthful than the May Queen and She wears green.

This might not be the traditional meringue type handfasting dress design, but it's certainly a wild, free and floating about in frenzied abandon. There's so much fabric in the skirt that it'll drift dramatically in any given wind, helped along greatly if you do a few twirls.

Plus the embroidery takes its inspiration from the natural world.

Though there are also options if you were looking for a more commonly designed plus sized green Pagan wedding gown. Ignoring the fact that the model below is not quite the right shape to be displaying a handfasting dress in plus sizes, the gown does come in several larger fits.

However, not every Pagan is comfortable wearing green wedding dresses, despite the scope for bridal colors being open wide. While there is a long tradition of goddesses in green - and She dons those shades for Her own Great Marriage - there are those who think you shouldn't attempt to upstage the Lady on Her big day.

But then last time I looked, there were no rules in Wicca - beyond the consensus on Harm None - and I'll be the first to kick back against any attempt to impose some. As for the wild May Queen brides, who EVER told Her what to do?