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Getting married is the experience of a lifetime (our founder’s daughter is also planning a wedding!), so we understand how nerve-racking it can get. From the venue, the food, the flowers, the music, the dress (!!)…you want everything to be perfect. And why shouldn’t you? You deserve it!
If you were looking for a partner in your wedding dress journey, feel free to consider Alter Creations in Park City. (Fun fact: right as we were about to write this post, a bride’s mom came by and hired us to create her daughter’s wedding dress from scratch!)
Regardless of whether you decide to work with us for your bridal alterations needs, we’ve compiled some helpful tips to help you attain a hurdle-free experience with your tailor. You can find even MORE at
http://altercreations.net/wedding-dress-alterations-bridal-fittings-advice/
If possible, start with a dress (or outfit) that is your size—or very, very close to it.
While it may be possible to size a dress up or down, don’t count on being able to take in or let out a dress by a lot more. Many dresses do not contain enough seam allowance to let out that much–and with fabrics like velvet and satin, the original seam lines will show.
When choosing a tailor, go with a reputable one, NOT the one that quotes you the lowest rate.
You get what you pay for. Believe us, it isn’t worth having something done cheaply if you subsequently have to pay someone else to fix the cheap-o job. In fact, we’ve OFTEN had to fix other shops’ mishaps at the last minute, so choose the best from the get-go.
Many alteration shops will not give estimates for wedding dresses or other formal gowns over the phone.
We need to see the actual dress and how it currently fits your body to determine EXACTLY what needs to be done and give an accurate estimate. Describing the dress over the phone (or even emailing pictures!) is really not very helpful, especially since some brides tend to lie about how much work needs to be done on the dress in order to get a lower quote.
If you are a klutz and will be wearing a long dress, consider having it hemmed to hang 1″ from the floor rather than touching the ground.
Heavy dress + high heels + possible anxiety = heightened possibility of tripping over one’s hem. We’ll be more than happy to accommodate all your dancing- and movement-related requests!
If you know of any upcoming changes to your physical dimensions, tell us ASAP.
Once the fabric is cut, the dress generally can’t be made drastically bigger without adding panels or gussets. Similarly, if your E cups are about to become C cups, it’s best to wait and have the top fitted after surgery.
Don’t schedule a fitting right after a workout.
Having a wedding dress cleaned isn’t cheap, so you don’t want to have sweat stains removed BEFORE you actually wear it. Also, fitting someone requires being in close physical proximity. So please try to not smell like a locker room and go easy on the cigarettes, perfume, and smelly food.
Buy your foundation garments and shoes (!) BEFORE your first fitting, and bring them to ALL of your fittings.
Your foundation garments WILL affect the way the dress hangs on your figure. Every so often, we’d have a bride go through one or two fittings with a certain bra or corset, then bring a different one and wonder why the dress looked so different. Depending upon the design and cut of the dress, wearing the wrong bra can even affect whether the hem hangs evenly. And if you don’t have the exact shoes, find some of the similar height and bring them always!
If we recommend against making a particular change, there’s probably a good reason why.
While it is fine to ask why we’re recommending against something, please keep in mind we are intimately familiar with garment construction and may know of a better way to make something look the way you want it to look.
Sometimes we may suggest that you’re better off not doing X or paying for Y. We’re passionate about what we do, so we won’t just take anyone’s money: We strive to accomplish 110% satisfaction so we’re 110% honest and don’t mind showing you various alternatives (even in cases when they don’t involve us!) when the original isn’t something we’d suggest.
Your final dress fitting should be held approximately two weeks prior to the wedding, if possible.
Any closer to the big day and there might not be enough time to fix any problems—any further from the big day and there’s a chance the dress might not fit. Many brides lose weight from stress, or get swamped with last-minute things and simply forget to eat. (Most lose several pounds during the 4-6 weeks before the wedding, regardless of whether they were trying to do so.)
Those aren’t ALL the wedding dress fitting tips we have for all you lovely brides out there! If you want even more tips and tricks, click here to check out our post with other tips we’ve compiled from experience, other brides, and even other pros. Call us at (435) 658-4432 or email us at Martha@altercreations.net if you’d like to meet us and see why we’re the best to work on your wedding dress and bridal party projects. Have a great rest of your week and we look forward to seeing you!
You can find more info on Alter Creations here and here
