How much was it to alter your gown? need advice!

estegeman

Hi ladies!  My first fitting is in October.  I bought my gown from White Dress By the Shore and I absolutley LOVE them.  They have been so amazing with everything.  I called to ask how much it was to have my gown altered by their seamstress and I was told that it was a minimum of $550.  That is just for very basic altering like the hem and bustle.  That just seems really outrageous to me! 

Can you ladies help me out and let me know if that is normal for altering a wedding gown or if I should look around and see if I can find something more reasonable?

TIA!!

tashala107

That seems like a lot but I'm not positive. Mine was only $250, but I had minor alterations. It was taken in a bit of either side, cups were added and a bustle. 

whitneyf1

Oh my goodness! That seems like a lot but I don't really know. I'm getting my dress altered there as well and will need hem and a bustle. It will also need to be taken in because I bought a sample dress.

dannie134

My costs were similar to that (ouch!), but I had to go to a seamstress in NYC since that was where I bought my dress and I didn't want to fly with it.  I figured the costs were so high because I was in the city where everything costs more, plus the seamstress came with absolute rave reviews.  I had my dress taken in, cups added, and a bustle put in.

I would have expected lower costs in CT.

Good luck!

Agnieszka Chwiedz

Try calling Michele a bridal boutique in Westbrook. They work with a seamstress out of Middletown who seems to be getting buisness girls who got dresses from other stores, whenever I would go there they always got phone calls from people to help with alterations.

Karebear852k3

My alterations were definitely not that much.  I, too, just needed a bustle and a hem and it only came to $200 (which seemed pretty reasonable to me, they said it wouldn't be anymore than that), but it could depend on the complexity of your choice of bustle (I just went traditional, not French or anything like that) and the intricacy of your dress design...

Not sure who you can go to though since I got mine done at my Bridal Gown salon where I purchased it.  I'm not sure what other shops policies are on dresses purchased elsewhere...good luck!

banana468

Mine were expensive but my seamstress (Lani Lee in Newtown) took in my dress and skirt (it was actually a two piece dress).

I think it was about $400 4 years ago.

cgbabe229

Try looking into La Sarta Maria in downtown Westerly RI. (right next to Melissa Ashley's if you know where that is). I actually got quite a bit done to mine and it cost me $290.  I got my top taken in, cups put in, neckline changed to a sweetheart, hem and a bustle with l think 7 pickups.  Maria is absolutely amazing and is such a nice lady.  Def worth it if it's not too far for you!  

estegeman

Thanks for all the suggestions!

LaurenDarling

The shop I bought my dress from charges a max of $200 for alterations. $550 MINIMUM seems crazy to me!

toltols

My dress has 6 different layers of lace and I needed to get it hemmed, have the straps shortened, the cups taken in, the sides taken in, and a pretty complicated bustle and it's costing $350.  I'm using Edelweis in Trumbull 203-261-5549.

jacki8788

i was told the average cost at my place (Mariella's) was about $250-$300-- so $550 does seem crazy!

good luck!

Salamandy24

That sounds like a crazy amount. My dress required very extensive alterations and it only came to about $600. I can't recommend my seamstress enough. She basically remade my gown for me, and I'm confident she could do anything with a needle and thread. I bought my dress as a sample gown, so it needed to be taken in everywhere. She redid my sash, sewed in extra jewels in the flowers, put in bra cups, made some repairs, made a french bustle, and fixed the hemline. 

Bridget Kellogg: www.bridgetkellogg.com

herb0622

$550 minimum seems really high. I had bought my dress from Marie Antoinette's in Derby and they have a seamstress that they work with. She has been great. For mine, she just had to let the dress out in the hips a bit and hem it a few inches. It cost $200 for her to do that. I would recommend going elsewhere as most people I know have spent around $200-$300 for minor alterations. 

estegeman

Thanks so much for all your help! I found a wonderful seamstress in my town who will do it for much less. Yay! I went a little over budget on the gown so I am happy to at least save a little on the alterations!