Dress Alteration etiquette question

saraschilling88

I had my dress altered by the same lady who rented out the tuxes to our wedding party.  My sister also had her MOH dress altered by her. 

We went to pick up the dresses, and everything seemed fine (we did our final fittings and didn't notice anything), picked the tuxes up the same day.  We paid for everything the day we picked them up, that way we didn't have to worry about oweing anything (even paid for one groomsman's tux so we didn't have to worry about him forgetting to bring a check).

So the day of the wedding (3 days later) I am getting into my dress and we put the hoop on underneath only to notice that the bottom layers of my dress were never hemmed (even though I paid for them to be hemmed).  The reason I hadn't noticed is because there were pins in place of the hem and the pins held (also I put the hoop on in a different order during my fitting than the day of the wedding). 

Throughout the wedding and reception the pins held the hem perfectly (with some added safety pins courtesy of my Mom), but I am wondering if I should call the lady and tell her?  My new husband thinks I should, his reasoning being that he is also a small business owner and would like to be told if he made a mistake.  The reasons I am holding off on calling are the following:
1) The dress held for the day, and I'm not going to wear it again so does it really need to be fixed?
2) The lady was very stressed as she had surgery 2 weeks before my wedding.
3) I feel as if because I didn't catch it during my fitting the mistake is my own and not hers.

I'm just wondering if I should call her or not.  I don't know if asking her to fix it at this point is correct or not based on etiquette.  Oh and FYI our wedding was 8/18, and the reason I am still wondering is because new hubby and I have been busy with family last week and he was sick over the weekend and now I am sick so trying to find energy to deal with these things is hard to do right now.

Avion22

Definitely call her and let her know.  This is a pretty big mistake -- you sholdnt have been walking around all day in a dress that was pinned (it could have easily stabbed you our someone else), especially when you paid for a hem.  I would request the fee for the hemming be refunded to you since it clearly hadn't been done.

Edited to add:  I think you can do all of this politely.  I don't think this has to come across as sounding nasty or even dissatsfied, but more matter-of-fact (I think this might be what you are worried about?).  She shoudln't be offended or even hurt -- it is what it is.  You can feel free to add that everything turned out okay.  But you should still get a refund for that part of the alterations.

achiduck

I would want a refund on the cost of the hemming since it never happened.

I would call her.

saraschilling88

Wanted to clarify one thing:

The outer layer hem had been done perfectly.  It was the bottom layers that hadn't been hemmed.

Avion22

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_dress-alteration-etiquette-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a28f89ca-6138-46d0-bd49-113ec6effcaePost:449851b4-d400-454b-ac52-d62d127f9189">Re: Dress Alteration etiquette question</a>:
[QUOTE]Wanted to clarify one thing: The outer layer hem had been done perfectly.  It was the bottom layers that hadn't been hemmed.
Posted by saraschilling88[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>This makes no difference.  You paid for work that she did not do.  And you still had pins in your dress during your wedding.

</div>

MyUserName1

I would absolutely politely request a refund for the hemming since it was not completed.  Having pins in your dress is ridiculous.  I wouldn't pitch a fit or anything, but I'd want my money back.

If she refused, that's when I'd say "I'm sorry to hear that.  My reviews of your business will reflect this."

Tabbie11

Agreed give her a call, not to complain but to nicely ask for a refund... The hem is the most expensive alteration for me!

Cackle6

I had something similar with my dress. During the final fitting, the outer layers were not hemmed as she wanted to make sure the length was correct before doing so. When I picked my dress up, I didn't inspect it closely enough, and by the time I realized she had never hemmed the outer layer (not to mention the cut and underlayer hem was crooked), I was across the country. I emailed to let her know that I was dissapointed with the results, and she got back to me right away and sent me a refund.

Long story short, I agree with PP - let her know, and ask for a refund for the work that wasn't done. Also, pins should NEVER be left in a dress! The potential to have a pin stick you and get blood on your dress is too high.

brommel

No matter whether or not you ask or want a refund, you should let her know.

While your dress did last & remained intact, how would you be feeling if it didn't?

There is a very good chance that a repeated mistake in the future won't end up with such lucky results.

And no, even if you didn't "double-check" ... the initial error was still on her part for failing to do what you paid her to.