wedding outfits and breastfeeding

[sully]

my brother is getting married next month (his very kind wife to be even offered a play pen to 'keep' Pumpkin in for the day...ahem.) anyway, i digress. Pumpkin will be 13 months but im sure will still be feeding a fair bit in the day. Any recommendations/tips/tactics on how best to look the part but still be able to feed subtly (will i have to forego a nice summer dress?). Im not one for dressing up except for special occasions so i Cant say Ive had any practice! And Pumpkin isnt known for feeding quietly and subtly anymore either, but i dont want to be in a situation where she wants milk and i Cant find anywhere private. Thanks

[Nix]

I always breastfed at special occasions including my own wedding. I just wore a dress with easy access to boobs and brought along a pashmina/blanket. At my own wedding I felt quite self conscious as I was the bride so I asked the venue if there was somewhere private I could sit and they let me into the staff office. You might find at 13 months with all the excitement of the day, your girl feeds less than usual.

[Jelly Belly]

A wrap dress works well or you could splurge on a dress designed for feeding (I have 2 - one flattering and one not so). Otherwise I go for something with a deep V and use my wrap or a pashmina for some extra coverage. Feeding with whichever girl in a cradle hold in a ring sling also worked well as I had the tail to use as extra cover. Obviously you make the sling to match you outfit...

For the last wedding we went to I had a dress that could be strapless so I used the optional straps and just unclipped the relevant side and draped my sling. I also had a succession of people at the wedding approach me to comment about how fabulous it was to see someone feeding and tell me how long they had fed their babies for and how much they both enjoyed it - apparently Cypriots are very pro BF!

[Fozza]

I borrowed our friends room (then forgot to give him the key and caused all sorts of problems later when he was drunk!)
Anyway, I got a maxi dress with cross over front from Monsoon. It was black with pink flowers...lovely. With a scarf or muslin to cover the boob a bit. Shop hard, you will find something.
Oh yeah a ring sling will come in handy too.

[PicNic]

Someone on here suggested a button front dress when I was looking for something for DDs baptism. I got a lovely one from Jasper Conran and there were loads of others around that looked more summery too. Might be another option for you

[PolarBearGirl]

I had a chiffony wrap top which came with a vest, I pulled the vest up & top down - not too much boob on show! a wrap is great too. At most hotels there's a quiet bar (when ppl are eating) or high backed chairs in the lounge/reception, so i always managed to find somewhere quiet.

[MrsC]

I'm going to have a similar problem in July when my sister gets married. I'm her bridesmaid and the dress isn't very breast feeding friendly. E will have just turned 6 months so the combined wisdom is that it will be ok because she'll be on solids by then so won't need breast feeling much. My sister reckons I can feed her in the loo. Erm, I don't think so! I think I may just take the dress to a dress maker and see if they can adjust it to have breast feeding flaps sewn in or something.

Anyway, onto your problem. You could always wear a smart top and skirt if you can't find a suitable dress. And I'm sure there will be loads of corners and the back of the room to feed discreetly. Good luck

[miss_p]

I tried on this dress yesterday as a possible wedding outfit for a few months time. I thought at the time that it would have been perfect for the last wedding I went to where I was bf-ing and had trouble finding something to wear. I won't be bf-ing this time, but I will be 5 months pregnant and I think it'll work nicely for that too.

http://www.joules.com/en-GB/Womens-Dres ... il.raction

[busmother]

A friend of mine was bridesmaid and BFing, brought a large yellow t-shirt to put on over the dress while she was feeding. Then forgot to take it off for the rest of the day. Pashmina sounds like a better bet.

[catkin]

I wore a nice skirt, loose blouse and jacket.
In fact, got a big family do next week, only problem is i still have a bit much post-baby belly, and not sure if my nice skirt will fit yet Still, may be an excuse for a shopping trip

[sabrina fair]

My solutions have been a nice skirt and two strappy vests and a shrug over the top. Two vests mean that one can be pushed up and the other covers the belly. The shrug also helps to cover up. At another wedding I just wore a dress with a soft v-neck and a pretty cardi, so that I could feed over the top of the dress but under the cardi.

Also, at the playpen (like a 13-month-old would be happy in there all day!) and at feeding a baby in the toilets!

[thebean]

I was a bridesmaid last year when jack was 14 weeks it was a halter neck dress and I got a clasp fitted so I could undo the neck. luckerly the wedding was at four so my wonderful DH just had him in a sling most of the evening and he slept. When he did feed I used a cover (borrowed from a friend) which worked well.
Jack is now 12 months and doesn't feed during the day so as others have said it probably won't be to much of a problem.

[FestiveTidings]

Loving the dress posted by miss p!

I had a christening a few weeks ago and wore a dress with a deep v so I could plop one out where appropriate. I also phoned the venue beforehand and asked if there was somewhere quiet that could be used on the day and they were most accommodating. If its in a hotel, I would perhaps see if you can borrow the room of someone staying there. Pumpkin may not want to feed as much but there is the possibly of needing some quiet time with mummy too so it's always handy.

[frecklemama]

When I went to a wedding when DS was 3 months old I wore a wrap dress, which worked out perfectly for feeding and looking nice...

[ToothFairy]

I made a wrap dress for BIL's wedding last year, and it worked fine. Elsie was just over a year, but very shouty so boob during the ceremony was essential!! I only made the dress because I wanted it to match a wrap I'd bought