Dress fitting... advice

COSmitty

So I bought my dress when I was by myself, I had the initial consultation with the seamstress with my Mom and FMIL, and now I have my first dress fitting.

My BM has her last basketball game (I forgot to check her schedule before I did the appointment) that evening (she's the coach).

FMIL is normally in her PJs by that time... and we're not super close so I'm not sure anyways.

Do I need to bring someone to figure out how to bustle (it can't be that hard... right?) or can I just write down directions? I should know just fine how things fit since not too much was being altered, right?

I don't have a whole lot of girlfriends here and most of them are very very outdoorsy non heel wearing not into clothes types. My girly friends/family are out of state.

Should I drag a friend and bribe them? Should I go on my own? Suddenly having a panic attack about it in the 9th hour.

caitlinc09

I would talk to your Mom and FMIL and see if they are able to make it. Bustles shouldn't be hard, but my MOH has done the job 3 times now and she said that is her most valuable piece of advice: go to every fitting and make sure you know how to bustle the dress! You don't want to come down to the last fitting and suddenly your bustle is really hard to learn and on the day of no one is prepared to do it. 

Also, I feel like dress fittings are fun moments for everyone to participate in and I plan on dragging everyone I possibly can with me. 

Another option: change your fitting appointment day/time?

Good luck!

AurorasEnvy

I agree, I would bring someone.  If it is only your first fitting, you'll probably have to go back, anyways, so it's not a big deal if they can't make the first one.  I would make sure that at some point someone comes and learns how it goes.  When I had my dress on, I couldn't even see what my mom and my seamstress were doing!

At very worst case that no one can come, I'd have your seamstress show you, write down the directions, and practice BEFORE the big day =]

FWIW, only my mom was there for my fittings.

mdoyle1217

As a second time bride....my story is this. At my first wedding, my mom was the one who knew how to bustle my dress. At the end of the ceremony, she got swept off by someone or something and was MIA which left my MOH to try and figure it out with me turning in circles trying to see my own rear explaining to her how to do it. (How do you like that visual?? LOL) My bustle was all wrong and actually ripped off two of the buttons which left half my dress hanging and forced us to break out safety pins.

Moral of the story...make sure more than one person knows how to bustle your dress....even if it isn't complicated, most women have actually never done it before and don't have the slightest idea.

dori851

I would definitely try to bring someone!

FutureMrsSheeler

I agree, try to find someone.

amandad18

I'm in your boat- Literally all of my friends live 1700+ miles away.

I'm going to set up a video camera on a tripod and film my seamstress doing my bustle and hope for the best

S0095042

I don't see a problem with going alone, but I just had my first fitting Saturday and it was nice to have someone (in this case my mom) to help me choose a bustle and how to actually bustle it on the big day. However, if you're going to have 2nd fitting then you can always bring someone to that to learn the bustle...or even when you go to pick up your dress. You'll have to get back into anyways, so they can show her how to do it then too.

Cackle6

Most seamstresses will color code the ties for your bustle so that it's easier to do. And if all else fails, just tell whoever is bustling your dress to start in the middle and work their way out. Also, the biggest tip my seamstress gave me (I'm a DOC so I bustle a lot of dresses that I've never seen before) was to have the bride put the train of her dress up over her shoulders like a cape - it makes it easy to see all the points and I have yet to have a dress that I couldn't bustle.

So as long as you have someone who is fairly handy and able to solve things on the fly, you should be ok even if you don't have someone there to see how it's done. And actually, several of the weddings I've done, the person who was taught how to bustle the dress either couldn't remember or was getting it wrong anyway.

gpapale1

I brought my FMIL and one of my BMs, as my mom and MOH live 900 miles away.   However, my seamstress is awesome and color coded the 3 ribbons for my bustle, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure it out.

LuckyHeather

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_may-2012-weddings_dress-fitting-advice?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:f0ca0bc1-9255-4120-8042-b40e7f3e99c5Discussion:60e0f7e9-44a6-450b-b800-09d076a64928Post:18da25a6-352d-4a00-8787-f18fb10cfe2e">Re: Dress fitting... advice</a>:
[QUOTE]I brought my FMIL and one of my BMs, as my mom and MOH live 900 miles away. :(  However, <strong>my seamstress is awesome and color coded the 3 ribbons for my bustle</strong>, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure it out.
Posted by gpapale1[/QUOTE]

<p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Lucida Sans" size="3" color="#000000">THIS!  I was MOH for my friend, and her seamstress number coded the bustle for me.  It was a piece of cake!  Without the numbers, I would have been completely lost. 

However, like other people said, its your first fitting.  You can figure out the bustle after the other alterations are done.  Maybe your next fitting will be at a time when they are available to come along.
</font></p>

mandi921vh

Try to find someone!

bpphoto785

I think going to your first fitting alone is fine. Bring your MOH once the bustle is in and have the seamstress show her how to do it then. She still has plenty of time to practice if necessary before the wedding.

COSmitty

Thanks girls... I'm bribing a non girly friend of mine with beer at the local brewery and techie talk (and she's way entertained I asked her) to come  with me. I figure one of my BMs has been in like 6 weddings and when I take my dress home I'm going to try it on for her and we'll figure it out before the day of.

Thanks for the advice I apparently have a lot to learn about bustles :-)