Florida elopement and a $185 dress that felt like a million bucks.

I'm from a long line of people who hate wasting money. I'm built for bargain bins, hand-me-downs and "it'll do," not trying to plan a last-minute Florida elopement while panicking over plus-size price tags.

Every time I think about wedding dresses, I forget how expensive plus sizes get until I actually start looking. One quick search turns into $500, $600, $800. I start throwing my phone down, picking it back up five minutes later, and generally feeling like I don't deserve a nice dress.

And because I'm already self-conscious about my body at 290 lbs, bad fitting clothes affect absolutely everything for me. My confidence drops, my anxiety spikes, even the thought of my own wedding starts feeling heavy instead of happy.

Cheap wedding dress websites are also just not built for big girls. They're amazing at making size 2 models look ethereal, but once you click "plus size," everything suddenly becomes frumpy or outrageously priced. Add in the fear of ordering something online that won't zip up, and honestly it can feel impossible to find anything.

Over those two panicked weeks before Florida, I realised the biggest difference comes from the smaller things. Letting go of what I thought I had to spend. Trusting a $185 dress I almost returned. And, surprisingly, ignoring every voice that said "no way that'll fit."

That dress looked like a $1,000 gown. People beeped and cheered crossing the A1A. My husband was floored. I would buy it over and over again.

That's why cheap doesn't have to mean cheap-looking – and why one $185 gamble became the best wedding decision I ever made.