Wedding Dress Guide for Women 5 foot tall and under - Petite Dressing (2024)

If you are 5 foot and under, finding the right wedding dress can be a challenge. I’m speaking from my own experience as someone who is 5’2″, as it was quite a journey for me to find my wedding dress! Besides, I have a petite clothing line for women 5’4″ and under, so I constantly get feedback from thousands of my customers, many of whom are 5 foot and under.

Based on my own experience as well as feedback from my customers, I’ve put together this guide to help you find your perfect wedding gown for your big day.

Mermaid style dress

The mermaid-style wedding dress is considered one of the most feminine wedding gown silhouettes in existence. This style emphasizes the hips and busts of petite women beautifully. So, if you’re looking to flaunt your curves on your special day, you can do this in a mermaid-style wedding dress.

The flared skirt of your mermaid-style dress will add a lot of drama and volume to your frame, just the right amount to make you stand out elegantly. Step out in style with a wedding dress that hugs your midsection area and flares out like a fishtail.

This is the perfect replacement for the ball gown wedding dress that is not flattering for petite women. You can get an equal dose of drama with the mermaid-style gown and you still get to show off your feminine curves. This is all thanks to the moderate volume of the flare skirt that complements rather than overwhelms your petite frame.

Be sure to look out for mermaid-style dresses with an elevated waistline. When the waistline sits higher than your natural waist, this helps in creating the illusion of longer legs. This way, you look taller than you actually are and can complete the look with heeled pumps.

Belted wedding dress

A belted wedding dress is a great choice for petite women with a short torsos. A belt can help you combine your outfit, especially when it sits above your natural waistline. So, this will give you a curvy silhouette that has the illusion of an hourglass figure.

Of course, it’s okay to make the belt a stylish addition to your wedding dress. You can make this beaded, highlighted in lace, or choose any other special detail that you love. A lovely belt can give your dress that amazing extra sparkle.

So, not only is a belted dress one of the best ways to achieve a curvy silhouette, it can add a lot of glitz and glamor to your gown in a simple yet elegant way.

A-line flowy dress

Here’s another amazing choice for petite brides that want to rock one of the best wedding dresses out there for their big day. The A-line flowy dress which hugs your hip and accentuates your waistline is definitely an amazing choice.

Just like the name of the dress sounds, it takes the shape of the letter A with a tighter hip line that flares gradually toward your ankle. One look at this style of wedding dress and you can tell that it’s a classic that will remain relevant for several more years.

It’s perfect for casual ceremonies outdoors or a more traditional ceremony indoors. No matter the wedding setting, you really can’t go wrong with an A-line flowy dress as a petite woman that’s 5 foot tall or under. This dress style helps to create a feminine silhouette that emphasizes only the most charming assets of your body.

Remember to keep it simple, as you don’t want to go for an A-line dress that overwhelms your petite body. Go for a flowy style but avoid styles with an exaggerated ball gown shape. This will make you feel so awesome and you’ll tell from the moment everyone looks at you in admiration when you step out in your wedding dress.

Fit and flare wedding dress

Fit and flare wedding dresses are more common than you think. There’s a good chance that many petite brides this month would be wearing a wedding dress that incorporates this style and it’s not difficult to see why. Most petite models I’ve worked with have been able to rock fit and flare dresses freely because it has an amazing silhouette for short women.

This works best for wedding dresses that are midi or exactly knee length. The magic with the fit and flare dresses is in how the fitted top half draws more attention to your bust area while the length is just right to show off your beautiful legs.

All these are possible in a classy way that emphasizes your beautiful silhouette. This works well for petite brides because it’s always a good idea to draw attention upwards rather than toward your legs. If you have a body shape without a defined waistline like a triangle shape, this also works perfectly for you.

The flared skirt in the fit and-flare wedding dress can create the illusion of a smaller waist, which gives you a curvy silhouette that’s just enough to give you the outlook of an hourglass shape. So, it’s time to try a few fit and flare wedding dresses to see which one works best for you.

Sheath wedding dress

What makes a sheath wedding dress so special and why should you consider one as a petite bride? Well, this is the perfect choice for women under 5 feet tall that love simple yet minimalistic designs. The sheath wedding dress is designed to have its seams run vertically from your shoulders to your hips.

This automatically gives it a slimming effect that molds perfectly with your body figure. You’re going to love how the sheath wedding dress accentuates your figure and makes you look breathtaking as you walk down the aisle. Many sheath wedding dresses are made from chiffon material, which is a huge plus.

The softness of this material allows it to drape freely around your body, while it’s lightweight so you don’t feel like you’re lugging around a log of wood all day. This is the perfect wedding dress for destination weddings at some of the most beautiful resorts in the world, or even on a beach.

So, if you don’t mind showing off your lovely figure, you should get a figure-hugging sheath wedding dress and see how that long and lean silhouette makes you stand out as a petite bride with style.

Avoid ball gowns

I may have said this before but there’s a need for emphasis. Ball gowns are a huge no for petite brides. Many women look forward to wearing the classic princess gown for their special day. While it’s tempting to want to wear the classic Cinderella dress where the skirt puffs out in a huge ball, that’s a pretty bad idea for petite women.

This huge puff makes ball gowns a less-than-flattering choice for petite brides and I’ve seen this time and time again with petite models. Here’s the truth. Ball gowns are too puffy and that means they will expand your body horizontally.

So, when you put on this style for your wedding dress, it will end up making you look shorter and much bigger than you actually are. That will only be overwhelming on your petite frame, especially as it will be a lot of work moving around in this.

Avoid long trains

For many years, trains on wedding dresses have been known as a packaged deal. It can make you feel incredibly special and of course, adds a lot of extra elegance to your outfit. However, the most important thing here is to make sure that the train is just the right length for your wedding dress and body type.

For petite women who are 5 feet tall and under, the goal is to wear a wedding dress that’s long enough to make your petite frame look taller. However, when it’s just a bit too long, it ends up being too overwhelming on your short frame instead.

So, balance is important. Pay attention to how you feel when you test out various lengths of wedding dresses. Does it feel like you’re being drawn backwards or were you close to tripping multiple times? Extra-long trains draw focus downwards which can give you a bottom-heavy outlook.

A huge advantage of picking the right length is that it leaves you feeling comfortable enough to get through your big day without any extra weight.