Alterations with Davids Bridal

futuremrsfuhrer · March 2014

Has anyone had any bad experiences with them and alterations? I have my first dress fitting April 26. Ive already had issues with them and my dress, now im nervous about them even touching it.

lookame3639 · March 2014

An old manager had issues with them. She had her dress altered and each area it was altered broke on her wedding day (a strap came off, bustles all broke, ect).

My seamstress has fixed many dresses that were poorly altered by DB.

futuremrsfuhrer · March 2014

Wow! Well thanks for that tip! My Coordinator who's also a longtime family friend use to be in the wedding business as well as making wedding dresses. I'll be having her look over it after its done or even have her come with.

hyechica81 · March 2014

go elsewhere to a small bridal shop most will do outside alterations you will get a better price and a better finished dress many of the semstresses at db are hired and trained to do stuff most are new to it they are good for a quick hem or two but i would never trust them for anything else

[Deleted User] · March 2014

I had a great experience. But the only alterations I had done were my bustle and converting the zipper to a corset back. They were pleasant to deal with and did a great job. Because of some of the details on my dress I felt more comfortable having them doing the alterations because I figured they had experience with working with my dress since I bought it from DB and if they messed it up, it would be easy for them to replace the dress.

ElcaB · March 2014

I've heard very bad things about DB alterations. Not only have I heard their alterations aren't the best, but I've also heard they charge you an arm and a leg for them.

I'd play it safe and go somewhere else.

suburbanstepmom · March 2014

I purchased by dress at David's Bridal, but then gave them the shake and went to a small tailor shop in my area to have the alterations done.

Not only were the alterations about a quarter of the price David's Bridal would've charged but they were also so much more accomodating and warm/friendly. Overall, a much better experience going there for fittings, etc than I had at DB.

mrsb53 · March 2014

Wow, this is good to know. My dress just arrived at David's Bridal and I was going to make an alterations appointment, but now I might reconsider.

futuremrsfuhrer · March 2014

Thank you so much for the feedback ladies! I am getting 20% off my alterations but after hearing all of this, Im just blown away but then again im kind of not suprised. Ill definitaly be calling around.

CMGragain · March 2014

David's Bridal is a franchise. Each store is run separately, like McDonalds. They all carry the same dresses, but each one has their own alteration services. The quality will vary with the store. Generally, their prices are higher because the store takes a cut.

moonmellyfish · April 2014

My dress just arrived and I have an appointment at Davids tomorrow to try it on. I'm curious, how do you handle the "I'm doing the alterations somewhere else" conversation? Do you just try your dress on and then change and leave? I don't want them to start pinning me up if I'm taking it somewhere else.

hyechica81 · April 2014

@moonmellyfish tell them you just want to try the dress on to make sure nothing is wrong with it and that it fits properly but you are taking it elsewhere to do alterations dont let them talk you into anything . once you leave the store with the dress you cant return it. so make sure it fits right and nothing is wrong if everything is ok then leave the store

countrygirl061513 · April 2014

I guess I am the odd man out here. I had DB do my alterations and had a great experience. I did spend about $300 but had the straps shortened, the hem shortened, bustle added, and it taken in half a size. Also my dress had an overlay. I thought they were reasonable.

moonmellyfish · April 2014

Turns out I didn't have to have the "break up conversation" withy them at all. I tried the dress on (thank God it's a little too big instead of too small) and out the door I went! I still. Have 7 months to decide where to get the alterations. Either way, I'm thrilled and still love the dress. I cried again today when I picked it up.

Classy_Dame_009 · April 2014

Each shop has different seamstresses, so it varies quite a bit from store to store. Just depends on the experience level of the seamstresses employed at the shop near you. It would be best for you to ask around locally to see what kind of experience the brides in your area have had.

I worked as a seamstress at my local DB for about 5 years... We had a great little team there for a while and put out work we were proud of. On the other hand, my boss at the time had to sometimes travel to the DB on the other side of the state to sort of "rescue" their struggling alts team. The simple fact is, sewing is a dieing art in our society, and its hard to find people who can sew, let alone ones who specialize in formal gowns.

As for independent alterations services, whether at other bridal salons, dry cleaners, local craigslist ads... again, it just completely depends on the experience level of the seamstress. They are not automatically experts just because they don't work for DB. Get references/recommendations/reviews just the same. I've seen good work come from independent seamstresses, and I've seen some scary things too! My favorite "working-under-pressure" story to give during job interviews is when I was at DB, and a bride came in ON HER WEDDING DAY to buy a new dress! A family friend altered her gown as a wedding gift, and she did not get it back until the day before the wedding, only to find they had ruined it. I wish I could have seen how, but she didn't bring it with her. She bought a gown, we pinned it, altered it, and pressed it all in about 3 hours. Talk about an adrenaline rush!

Same goes for pricing. It really varies. I've seen alts that cost more than DB, and alts that cost less. Coming from someone who knows what goes into a job like that, I would say understand your budget, but also understand the value of good work. I think it's ok to price-shop for alterations to an degree, but be wary if someone charges way less than most others. Look at it this way: would you bargain shop for a plastic surgeon? Probably not, right? So if you have a gorgeous gown that needs a little work, the same care should be taken when choosing someone to cut into it.

As for DB goes, your appointment to try on the dress after it came in is probably just that, trying it on... unless you specifically remember making the appointment with alterations. If it is an alterations fitting, be up front from the start. "I'm on a budget, and I'd like to find out what needs to be done to my gown and how much it will cost before going ahead with alterations." The fitting itself does not cost anything. They will likely inform you that if you have alterations done elsewhere, you cannot bring the gown back to DB for any additional work, including a bustle or even the free pressing. This isn't to be mean or scare you into having your alts done there; it's purely a liability issue.

As I mentioned, your dress gets one free pressing, so if you decide to do alterations somewhere else, you might as well have DB press your gown first. I know it will need touching up after alterations, but that initial pressing gets most of the big creases out from when it was shipped. (NOTE: This might have changed since I worked there! I also worked at a local mom-&-pop salon for a short while, and they only did a light steam on gowns and then charged for a full pressing... For all i know, DB may have switched to charging for pressing the gowns, but hopefully it's still free.)

I hope some of this helps you and anyone else reading this! If you ever feel like your local DB is pushy, cut them a little slack. It's a corporation, and they get a lot of pressure put on them from corporate to perform and meet numbers and what-not. And if they don't measure up, well... ah, nevermind, I should watch what i type on the internet. I couldn't deal with retail hours anymore, so thats all in the past, & I'm in an office job now, but I sure do miss being surrounded by pretties every day.

You should post a pic of you in your dress for us to see! I so miss seeing brides in their gowns!

tammym1001 · April 2014

I just went to DB's last night for my final fitting and to take my dress home. I had a hem and a bustle done on my dress and it was $330. My entire dress is lace though so they had to hem and bustle the lining and lace separately. I also did a 22 point under bustle (separate again for lace and lining). At first I was shocked at the price, but when I went in last night and saw how much they had to do it made sense.

I tried on my dress and the woman showed my MOH how to bustle the dress. I thought it was fine, but the lady said she didn't like the way the bustle was hanging once I had it on. I didn't notice, but she said she was going to fix it anyways. She asked if I could come back in like an hour so we did some shopping and when I came back she had fixed it. I could tell a difference after she fixed it even though I didn't notice anything wrong the first time. It hung better and was easier to walk in. She didn't have to do that since I didn't think there was anything wrong with, but I'm glad she said something and had enough pride in her work to make it right. Overall, I've been very happy with the experience that I've had with them.

futuremrsfuhrer · April 2014

There's a picture of the whole dress. The bustle I chose to do, before and after on the bust ( because I've always heard "they're so big!" I wanted to be modest about it and not show too much) and full detailing of the front.
I ended up going with DB. For a half an inch hem, 5 point bustle and adding the fabric to the cleavage came to $175 only because I got 20% off my alterations. (We had an issue in the beginning and thank The Lord for my fiancé!) and I had a wonderful experience. The lady who was doing my pinning and everything took her time and was patient with me. I have my final fitting on the 9th.

futuremrsfuhrer · April 2014

Last picture it was upside down

Classy_Dame_009

Alterations with Davids Bridal

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