I haven't read all the comments but what about trying 'rent the runway'. Vix posted about it in great detail a while ago. Atleast, you will get to try a lot of dresses and narrow down what brands/sizes work for you.

Have you ever tried Byron Lars? Anthro has a few of his dresses right now, but you might keep your eye out when the season changes up, too.

Very exciting!

And in London! So fun!

That's great that you have a lot of time to look, I'm sure you'll come across something, especially since you are keeping all options open. I love Sal's picks from Anthro, gorgeous!

I hear you, Janet. Trust me, you won't look matronly!

May I suggest that you don't get too hung up on needing to wear the outfit again and again in future. That might complicate things.

I can vouch for elpgal as well for Rent the Runway. I just have to be careful about ordering things with sleeves since my top half often needs a petite length, which is not always available. My favorite dress ever was from RTR, and I wore it to two events (with different crowds).

Thanks, all! I’m on my phone so it’s hard to respond individually, but you’ve all given me some good ideas.

I thought I’d get a jump on the process. I ordered these four dresses — casting a style net fairly wide for now, just getting an idea if any of these could work. I always seem to look so much better in printed dresses than solid ones for some reason (I guess maybe because prints keep the eye moving around and help camouflage lumps and bumps). Also being careful at this point to order from places with lengthy return windows. We’ll see what happens! Thank you for all the great ideas and feedback.

I like your picks Janet and hope one of them works!!

I love that teal high-low hem one Janet! Stunning.

Swooning over the dRA one! Love the Tahari too.

What fun, having to buy a beautiful new dress! You have some great choices there.

I’m with Angie about not putting too much emphasis on being able to wear the dress again and again... that’s a lot of pressure! Lol. Will it be a day wedding? Church?

Maybe you could try starting with shoes instead? I still remember three weddings in which I was wearing less than ideal shoes because I started with the dress and scrambled for vaguely appropriate shoes. Once I had shoes intended for trousers with a skirt, once I had sandals which were too cold and too casual, and once I had shoes which were too warm and too dark for my dress. Of course, I don't actually remember my footwear from any of the weddings wherein I got the shoes just right.

I like Angie's ideas. I've decided that I will never shop for a dress again--it's just to hard to fit the body I have now. I don't expect to attend any "big" wedding any time soon, but I intend to be on the lookout for a two piece suit or even a pants outfit.

What great fun for you! A wedding in London--how lucky you are. For some reason I think London wedding=a gorgeous suit in a beautiful color. Some old movie inspired I'm sure.

3style, that’s a good idea, but I find shoes WAY easier to shop for than dresses! I have some beautiful nude Rockstuds that I hope to wear for the wedding.

I wouldn’t rule out a suit, but I’m not sure that would be easier. I have paid no attention to suits in years though — I would not want anything office-y. I wouldn’t even know what designers to look at!

I imagine you in a dress (not a suit).

I know my favorites from those dresses, but of course what matters is how they look on you. I don’t know what Rockstuds are, so look forward to seeing them in pictures too.