Yes, I've googled "what to do at a dress shopping appointment". I feel like some specific concerns of mine were still not addressed by the myriad of articles I read, so I'm going to do what I always do...solicit help on Reddit!

So my wedding is over a year away still (12/5/20 despite my flair still saying 11/7/20, I need to update that) but I have my first dress shopping appointment this Saturday at David's bridal. I'm going with my mom, my maid of honor, my best friend , and my FMIL, 3/4 of whom are all more excited than me. I have ideas of what I like saved on Pinterest but I have a few specific worries about how the appointment will go.

First of all, I'm a plus size girl. Like size 18 in regular sizes so I guess that means a 22-24 in wedding dress sizes??? I do plan on losing weight between now and the wedding (I'm already down 7 pounds since the start of September which isn't much but if I keep going at this rate I could possibly be a size 14 or even 12 in regular sizes by next year. I'm trying to be realistic here) but I've been told it's easier to get a dress taken in than out.

That all said, does David's Bridal even have sample dresses in my size? Or at least in a size where I can comfortably try it on and not hate myself? I feel like even though they have all sizes available up to 30, that doesn't mean they have them in store to try on and so I'm wondering if I should call in advance or if I should have already called,.etc.

Also has anyone had any experience being a plus size bride at David's bridal? I've heard horror stories of ladies my size being fat shamed at smaller boutiques which is one of my main motivations to go with David's bridal, but if anyone has any experience, good bad or otherwise, care to share?

PS: sorry if this is all over the place or badly formatted I'm on mobile

TIA!