alterations omg!!

dluberts

I went this weekend to my first alterations appt. I expected to spend a little bit of money and thought I was prepared..WRONG! After everything was said and done it ended up costing me 294 dollars! All in all with both the cost of the dress and alterations im still under 800.But still! I didn't think the alterations would be that much since the dress wasnt that far off from my size. Any body else run into alterations schock too??

FutureMrsN3312

I really lucked out with my dress.  FI's aunt had her own bridal shop.  Closed it after her husband died but still has her tax id number.  She was able to order my dress and I paid the actual cost!!! She's also taking care of my alterations at no cost.  Of course I'll get her a generous gift for saving me so much money.

One of my bridesmaids is in another wedding in February.  The dress they ordered was $185.  I thought oh that's great!  Then she said the alterations were $200.  I said oh, all together that's not bad.  She goes no no no.  $185 + $200.  I was like WHAT?!?  That to me is insane!!

dluberts

It IS insane! They literally only have to take my dress in about an inch, out in some bra cups, and hem it.I did opt for the more expensive buslte option but geez! I still cant believe it cost that much! You are one lucky lady for sure! I bought the dress on clearance for 424 bucks..half off the original cost, so im still not even hitting the original price number but it just left me sick feeling yesterday!

tammym1001

I'm dreading going in for my alterations appointment. I have to have it hemmed, the waist taken in, the hips taken in, and a bustle. Ugh! I don't even want to think about how much it's going to cost. Plus my entire dress is lace so I know that will up the price.

pumpkinsandturkeys

I don't go for my first alterations appt until January, but I'm hoping that the fact that the skirt of my dress is tulle will save some hemming costs, etc. The dress fits me almost perfectly now, so fingers crossed! However... When I was a BM in my best friend's wedding, the bridal salon ordered all of our dresses wayyyy too big (no idea how -- must have mis-measured), and my dress had to be altered down about 3 sizes! She literally had to take apart the entire bodice, boning and all, and reconstruct it. All in, it cost over $250 to alter a $200 dress. Nightmare.

dluberts

omg..I would've told them to reorder my dress.I would not have paid for their mess up.That's an aweful story!

Kristen625

Yeah when I was in DB on friday, I talked to the alterations lady, and my dress needs to be taken up at the shoulders (I have straps on my dress), hemmed, and a simple bustle.  She said the shoulders would be $30 and the hemming would be $150 which is what I was expecting.  I don't remember what the bustle was going to be, but again, I'm going the simplest rout there.

vmj23

I've heard how expensive alterations can be.  The place I bought my dress includes alterations in the price, thankfully (although, the dress was far from cheap) but doesn't include the bustle, so I am anxious and worried to find how much that is going to cost me. 

Kristen625

@jenni1221 from what I have heard, the more simple you are with the bustle, the cheaper it will be.  If you're looking at doing a french bustle or something equally extravagant the price tag goes up from there.  I'm having a single pin because my dress really doesn't need anything more then that.  In fact if I did more then that, my dress would look ridiculous.

vmj23

@kristen625 - i know nothing about the styles for bustles!    I am all for simplist option available.  

 

This is my dress: http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?style=19503&page=2&pageSize=36&keywordText=&keywordType=All 

So i def need to have it bustled..no clue how to have them bustle it though. 

dluberts

i have a chapel train on my dress so i had to have it bustled.she showed me a couple of styles and the one looked aweful!so i went with the over/under bustle. which was the more expensive option but it just looked so much nicer and it cost me.but i didnt want to be wearing the ugly bustle(which was the simplest option..)for my dress simple wouldnt work.

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Strapless-Organza-Corset-Gown-with-Beaded-Lace-9OP8822

pumpkinsandturkeys

@dluberts When we ordered the BM dresses, they made us all sign contracts saying that they weren't liable for any sizing issues, because we were freely choosing the size they ordered. I watched her measure me, and while the numbers seemed high, I was a little heavier then and trusted that she knew what she was doing. A few of the other girls ordered a size down, but I didn't want to risk looking like a stuffed sausage, so I went with their recommendation (and they kept strongly discouraging me from sizing down). They were so awful about the whole experience that we swore we'd never go back, and had an independent seamstress do the alterations. (Edited to correct spelling)

FutureMrsN3312

@jenni1221 I almost bought a Maggie!!!

It was recommended by 2 different seamstreses to have a single bustle.  It would take the end of the dress and bustle it to very top of my ass crack.  Sorry there was no other nice way I could think of wording it.

Something like this:

klburke88

FutureMrsN3312 I think that actually looks pretty good! 

missangelinamiley

I got my dress on sample sale and was so excited, then got the alterations price and it was almost half the cost of the dress. I live in the SF Bay Area and it's certainly one of those most expensive places to live so a lot of services cost more than typical too.

There are many pluses  to hiring this particular seamstress though, she's got great reviews and in my town very close to my home, so I'd rather pay for convenience and quality work over a discount and a risk.

Kristen625

@jenni1221 First of all, gorgeous dress!!! Second, I think (and PLEASE talk to your seamstress before making any final decisions) with the style dress you have, a simple bustle with a single pin, much like @futuremrsn3312 would be fine.  Mine also has the single pin and comes out of my crack too And @futuremrsn3312 the bustle you have for your dress is beautiful I think!  You can really see the detail of the dress.

FutureMrsN3312

@Kristen625 that's actually not my dress   (I will have a single bustle too) But the only picture I could find via Google that showed what I was talking about.  Most of the time they bustle to that point on your butt so that the details of the dress are still shown.


This is the back view of my dress.  My bustle will be between the butt buttons

Kristen625

@futuremrsn3312 omg that dress is gorgeous!!!!  And your bustle will look awesome too with that style!

vmj23

Kristen625 said:

@jenni1221 First of all, gorgeous dress!!! Second, I think (and PLEASE talk to your seamstress before making any final decisions) with the style dress you have, a simple bustle with a single pin, much like @futuremrsn3312 would be fine.  Mine also has the single pin and comes out of my crack too And @futuremrsn3312 the bustle you have for your dress is beautiful I think!  You can really see the detail of the dress.

Thanks!

 

I hope a bustle like that works for my dress.  I can't wait for it to come in so i can put it on again!!   I don't want it to be all puffy or weird looking in the back once bustled, but think that bustle looks really good on that dress, so hopefully it will work similiarly with mine!

 

FutureMrsN3312   Love your dress!!

dluberts

i tried the single bustle option and it looked funny,not only that,the weight of my dress would pull too much on the button and stress the fabric and i didnt want it to tear or break off.

pumpkinsandturkeys

I have NO idea how mine will be bustled, which is making me a little anxious now. The skirt is all tulle, in varying lengths of layers and kind of gathered up in places -- it reminds me of a cloud! Haha. But there is a bit of a train... So how the heck do you bustle tulle?

dluberts

with a button and loop I imagine.

00kim00

$295 really isn't bad. I was expecting something of that range. My dress is really simple, and the basic alterations--bustle, hem, take it in a little--along with changing the neckline from straight across strapless to sweetheart is supposed to be about $300. I also live in the San Francisco area, though, and everything is expensive here

akopitzke

When I bought my dress the shop was running a 20% off sale (it was the weekend after Thanksgiving so lots of discounts!) but unfortunately the designer I picked wasn't participating. In order to still offer some sort of "perk" the shop gave me what would have been the 20% off in credit to use towards my alterations. It's around $350 in credit so I'm really hoping it will cover the entire cost of my alterations. The lady there said that it averages around $400 to have alterations done. I know I will need the bust taken in a little but hoping to not need much else. I guess it will come down to how much weight I lose between now and then! It is a corset back though so hopefully that will keep the cost down. I do need a bustle though but haven't figure that out yet. My first fitting isn't until May 3rd but I've been assured that there will be plenty of time to have the dress altered before my May 24th wedding... (freaking out still about this!)

pumpkinsandturkeys

@akopitzke Your first alterations appt is May 3rd?? I have the same wedding date as you and I'd be anxious about that (not trying to cause you stress, but being honest). My dress doesn't need much done to it either, but they still recommended I go earlier rather than later -- just in case. My first fitting will probably be late Jan/early Feb.

00kim00

@akopitzke, i also have the same date. My first fitting is mid-March. May 3 seems late unless you plan on losing weight right up to the last minute and you're seamstress isn't very busy

akopitzke

@pumpkinsandturkeys @00kim00 unfortunately this was the soonest I could get in. Because I didn't get my dress ordered until right after Thanksgiving, it won't be in until the end of April/beginning of May. The whole process is making me nervous but the salon keeps telling me it will work out fine. They said they normally do alterations according to wedding date and since mine will be shortly after, my alterations will get done right away. but yea, definitely not my choice. I guess this is what happens when you have a super short engagement (7 months total)!

garnetandgold60

I don't have my dress in until early March (and it's KILLING me! I want it!) so I have no idea about alterations. However, I'd love some advice about trains/bustles.

My dress is Maggie Sottero Esme (I don't have a pic, sorry...my FI looks at my phone so I don't have pics of the dress on it) and the bottom is entirely tulle/gauze. It comes with a train, but I don't know if I want to chop it off or not.

My wedding's outside on grass and so I feel like a giant tulle train is just going to get stained and gross, plus how the heck do you bustle an entirely tulle train? I feel like it'll look weird.

My grandmother (whom I'm very close to) is saying I'll regret cutting it off because I won't feel like a bride (which is silly...it's a princess style white, poofy dress) but it's still a little concern for me that I'll miss having the drama from the train. (Wedding's at a 150 year old FL house on a river)

Should I just cross this bridge as I come to it and not borrow trouble?

pumpkinsandturkeys

@Klc09d My dress is a full tulle skirt, too, with a substantial train. We're getting married at a winery and I'm sure I'll be tracking it all through grass and dirt as we take pics in the vineyard -- hopefully my sister can hold up most of it! haha

I never pictured myself as a big-train kind of bride, but I think it's going to look great in photos, and it really does make the dress a little more special and add some drama and visual interest.

I have no idea how they're going to bustle it, though... I'll let you know how it goes!

garnetandgold60

@pumpkinsandturkeys definitely let me know how it goes with the bustle. Even in fittings I'm curious!

I think I'm so "Anti-train" was that when I tried the dress on in the shop it was a size 12 or so and so the train just seemed SO long and big...I'm sure when my actual size dress comes in it'll be more manageable.

Your venue sounds gorgeous, I will eagerly await the pics and swoon appropriately (I love me some wine!)

dluberts

@klc09d I have a large train on my dress ,it also has multiple layers of fabric. The seamstress can bustle it, it may just cost more. What they will do is add buttons or loops on the under side of your skirt to pull up the bottom of the dress, then theyll add buttons or loops to the outside if you dress to pull the train up, here's the pictures from the davids bridal website to give you a general idea for the train part,(fyi the train is alot longer than it looks in the photo)The last photo is almost exactly what I have for a bustle option, its just not a picture of my dress.lol