u/Ignored_Instructions

Hi! The fiancé and I are planning our honeymoon to be a Lord of the Rings sightseeing tour with nature and culture sites. Does anyone have any suggestions for how we can see a good chunk of Lord of the Rings sites without having to drive for large chunks of the day every day? We got an itinerary for a 17-day self-drive tour from a travel company, but the shortest amount of driving we will be doing in a given day is 2.5 hours.

We understand we have a lot of ground to cover and we will be seeing the sights as we drive, but we also aren’t sure how we feel about spending a huge chunk of our honeymoon in the car. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Edit to add basic itinerary:
Day 1: Auckland Arrival + Wētā Unleashed
Day 2: Auckland to Cambridge via Hobbiton (Evening Banquet)
Day 3: Cambridge to Tongariro National Park (Ohakune)
Day 4: Tongariro National Park to Martinborough via Putangirua Pinnacles - "Paths of the Dead"
Day 5: Martinborough to Wellington via the Hutt Valley & Kāpiti Coast
Day 6: Wellington Lord of the Rings Full Day Tour
Day 7: Wellington to Nelson
Day 8: Nelson (Lord of the Rings)
Day 9: Nelson to Hokitika
Day 10: Hokitika to Lake Wānaka
Day 11: Wānaka to Te Anau
Day 12: Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) Day Trip
Day 13: Te Anau to Queenstown (Mavora Lakes LOTR)
Day 14: Queenstown Full Day Lord of The Rings Tour
Day 15: Queenstown to Lake Tekapo via Aoraki Mount Cook Village
Day 16: Lake Tekapo to Christchurch via Edoras
Day 17: Departure

So, I did the classic thing of diving right in to a project without making a mockup bc I’m on a bit of a self-imposed time crunch (I don’t have to sew my own dress for an engagement shoot in just over a month, yet here we are). Just finished putting all the top pieces together, and wouldn’t ya know, it doesn’t fit.

When picking my size (I went with size 12) I did take into account the finished garment measurements which made it seem like I’d have room at the waist. I attached a pic of the sizes with the measurements I’m closest to highlighted. If it hadn’t been for the finished garment measurements waist being 35 inches for a size 12, I would have come here first to ask for advice adjusting this pattern and its princess seams. I know with that uncertainty my lack of a mockup is even stupider, but I’m beating myself up already for it.

Does anyone have any advice for how I can size up the waist for this pattern (flat attached as well)? The princess seams make this feel extra tricky.

Friend suggested I do a corset back and I do have one I could sew in that would be a perfect match. Thoughts if that would work to solve my problem? I just don’t know if adding a corset back would cause the princess seams to be misaligned or something

LOTR, without too much driving

Between sizes, need help