Had your dress made?

Re: Had your dress made?

• charlene411

  

  July 2009

  I had my dress made and don't think it was necessarily cheaper than buying a gown from a store. But the main reasons I decided to go with a custom made dress was that I wanted something unique and I am pretty petite (4'11") and knew that alterations would probably be a lot. I met with two dressmakers in my area who specialized in bridal gowns and ended up going with one who gave me a bit of a higher quote, but I just got a better vibe from her. The two dressmakers I met had COMPLETELY different approaches - one asked me tons of questions (down to what type of wedding I was having, what time i was getting married, collected magazine pics of dresses/elements I liked, etc) and the other just kind of asked what I had in mind, did a rough sketch and that sketch ended up being my dress! We didn't go over every little detail but I kind of trusted that she would create what looked best and it worked out. I will say once you do decide on who you will get to make your dress, be certain to go over all the details if you have something very specific in mind. I had a strong basic idea of what I wanted but wasn't sure about the little details and I might have changed one or two minor things about my dress (like a little bit of a wider strap). But I'm really happy with my dress and the things she brought to it. I would suggest showing her pics of everything you like. Definitely ask how long it takes (mine only took about a month and a half before my first fitting), how many fittings they will do (the dressmaker I didn't go with was very specific - 4 fittings while the one I did go with is much more casual about it, I feel she'll do as many or few fittings as needed), if they will include your veil (mine did). If I think of anything else, I'll let you know!

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• melissa82 member

  

  July 2009

  I'm having my dress made. I will be posting pics after my next fitting on Sunday.In terms of finding the right person, I only met with one person but she had fantastic recs, beautiful dresses to show me and I just clicked with her right away. She gave me a written estimate and timeline and included prices of all the different fabrics I could pick (e.g., she told me the dress could be made of, say, rayon satin, different types of silk satin, and gave me prices so I could see how each would affect the total cost and let me choose). She also makes a muslin (cotton) mockup before doing it in the real fabric.I definitely recommend you try on dresses and know EXACTLY what kind of shape you want, down to the seams. I was like you--found a really expensive dress, but wasn't even totally happy with it and would have had to do a lot to it to make it how I wanted it, so I figured why not price out getting it made. In fact, I ended up combining the front of one dress and back of another.In terms of cost, for yours I think it will be much cheaper than from a bridal shop. Mine was a bit cheaper, but I picked the most expensive fabric options and she is hand beading and sewing lace appliques--i.e., very labor intensive. Overall, it's not necessarily cheaper to have it made, it definitely depends on the dress. A dress retailing for $500 will be more expensive to get made, whereas a $8K dress is likely one in which you are paying for the name. If there is a lot of intricate work, it's labor-intensive and more expensive. If it's pretty simple, no beading, etc., the cost will likely be low.You need to be a pretty decisive person, I think, to get it made. There are tons of little details you don't think about when you're just shopping for a dress. Plus there are a lot more options than just white, diamond white or ivory, you know? For me, I had to choose between a bunch of different satins, then many different types of lace, then different beads, train length, etc., etc....I had to go back and really look at my inspiration dress in detail to see what the beading was like, what type of beads, the train, etc.Super long, but I hope it helps! Feel free to page me on the NNJ board if you have questions!

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• cqbride

  

  July 2009

  After reading the varied responses, the only thing I would add is this: do shop around for the fabric. Take some swatches and compare. Finding a good quality fabric for a better price will bring your cost down by a bit.

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