Need advice on wedding dress hem, please help!

massetobe · June 2010

Hi everyone,

I have a st patrick dress (palmares is the specific dress) and it's a modified A-line and has a lot of lace.

I was wondering what everyone else was told on hem length. to the ground/touching? an inch above?

Im just curious because i had to get a hallow to hem for my dress since i'm only
5' 2" and the bottom is all lace/detail. when they measured me for my dress i purposely wore my 4 inch heels bc i LIVE for heels! it was really important for me to wear tall heels because i love them AND my fiance is 6'4" so I need all the height I can get!

I had my first fitting yesterday (and i looooooooooove my dress), however when i put my 4 inch heels on (the same from when I was measured) the dress was notiiceably off the ground. the seamstress said the gown should be touching the floor and said I should try to wear 2" heels, 2'3/4" max.......yikes!

the woman that measured me told me that the dress should be 1 inch above the ground so i dont trip and to show off the peep toe of the shoe.

thoughts/suggestions/advice? i'm freaking out a bit as I already bought 4 inch heels and LOOOOOOVE them. i need honest opinions...i dont want to look like a clown but am wondering what to do?

Mrs.McIrish · June 2010

My dress was too long the day of the wedding as it was not hemmed enough. We had planned out our first dance and it required me to take steps backwards for the foxtrot etc. When we went to bustle my dress, it was too long in the back and I could not walk backwards. I also had 4 inch heels. Your dress should not be noticeably off the ground but dragging on the ground is no good either. If you wore your 4 inch heels the day of your fitting, make them fix the hem (provided they did not cut the dress yet). You should get to wear the shoes you love! I did not speak up enough at my fitting and regretted it the day of the wedding. Good luck!

angiem33 · July 2010

I personally like everything to touch the ground. Max 1/2" off the floor. I was at a wedding where the bride had her dress about 3 or 4" off the ground and it looked ridiculous IMO.

I think you just need to be comfortable in the dress (and your shoes!!) I know when I wear a smaller 2" heel I don't feel nearly as nice and beautiful as when I wear a 3 1/2 " or 4" so wearing the shoes you love is very important!

If you look at the dress and feel like something is off or doesn't look exactly like what you want then make them fix it. Maybe they can lengthen the hem for you or use the waistline to lengthen the skirt.

AmyRI · July 2010

My dress was noticeably off the ground, per my request. We were doing a foxtrot for our first dance, and in general, it drives me crazy when people have a dress that touches the ground. I don't wear pants that touch or drag on the ground, so why would my dress be any different?

I know it's totally a personal preference, but I don't think it looked stupid in any photos and it made it a LOT more comfortable for walking around and dancing all night.

massetobe · July 2010

thanks ladies! I found this woman who has a blog online. she's been a wedding dress seamstress for 30 years and gives advice to other seamstresses. i randomly found her site and emailed her with my dilema and she made me feel SO much better.

she mentioned that seamstresses tend to be split down the middle with whether the dress should touch the ground or be an inch above so she said I should be good as long as it's not more than 1 inch above. since the seamstress told me to go with 2-2.5 inch heels and have the dress touching the ground then i should be good with 3 inch heels which would have the dress .5-1 inch off the ground! wew........i feel SO much better.

thanks for the advice ladies! much appreciated.

hollygb22 · July 2010

my dress was 1 inch off the ground.

Just one thing I did not think about--and i ended up ripping my bustle because of it

i had flip flops to wear during the reception. I found a pair of white Havianas with a 1 inch sole. My heels were 3 inches. So, in the flip flops my dress was too long and i was tripping over it, stepped on it and ripped my bustle to the point it couldn't be bustled anymore

so whatever you end up doing--if you're thinking of a shoe change --keep that in mind!

massetobe · July 2010

thanks holly, will do! i'm pretty determined to be in heels all night but let's face it...after all that standing, posing, and dancing i wont be shocked if i end up bare foot!

i'm going for the 3 inch heels at least. i have some tulle on the bottom of my dress to make it trumpet a bit....ill have them remove some of that tulle if need be after the 2nd fitting. it seemed more poofy than i wanted anyway!

Need advice on wedding dress hem, please help!

Re: Need advice on wedding dress hem, please help!

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