Your wedding dress is the most important garment of your life. Our breadth of experience in bridal alterations ensures your wedding dress is altered to the best possible fit. We specialize in lace, silk, tulle, sequin, beading and more. Our seamstresses and tailors have over 100 years of combined experience. Schedule a no obligation complimentary consultation today.
Some alterations we specialize in include resizing, restyling neckline, adding sleeves, reshaping train, adding embellishments, installing bustles, and more.
Take in or Let out Wedding Dress sides.
Narrow Wedding Dress Dress shoulders.
Shorten / Lengthen Wedding Dress.
Reshape Wedding Dress neckline.
Replace Wedding Dress Zip.
Restyle Wedding Dress.
General Wedding Dress Repairs.
Your fitting will be done by an experienced fitter and designer who will ensure your dress fits and flatters you. Whether the dress is new out of the box, or a pre-owned sample, we can resize the dress up or down as much as you need. If the dress is small or tight, we can add a discrete panel that blends into the dress. We can also create an expandable and adjustable corset matching the dress. If the dress is big, we can resize it to your body.
Wedding dress alterations start at $100, but can average $800, depending on the amount of alterations.
Wedding gown alterations take 2 weeks to complete between fittings, for an average of 3 fittings. Bring any shoes and undergarments you plan on wearing. We can also install bra cups inside the dress if you are not sure about the undergarments.
We have worked hard to ensure the best tailors and seamstresses work on your dress. We try to ensure the highest level of customer service, and will ensure you are happy with the results.
How it works:
1 - For the first appointment we would advise that you visit us with your wedding gown and the shoes you intend to to wear for the day of the wedding or something in the exact height at your earliest convenience.
2 - Our bridal specialist will perform an initial consultation, pin your dress and provide you with a breakdown of alterations costs. If you would like to go ahead we will store your dress for you and estimate how many fittings we might need to perform to make sure your dress looks impeccable on the big day. During your initial consultation, we will do our best to tell you in advance how many fittings we would perform, however, we will work on your dress you are completely happy with the way it fits you. This would mean that there might be some final tweaks and adjustments. A complimentary pressing is included with alterations. All fittings including the consultation are free. We only charge for the work we perform and you only pay for the work we agree to do once. For example, if we take in the dress and it still does not fit correctly when you try the dress on, we do not charge again
3- We will also schedule a date for your next visit.
We recommend allowing two to three months from your first fitting to your last as an ideal timeline to make all the alterations. Also keep in mind that the amount of times you need to go for fittings depends on how much you're getting done to the gown—on average, most brides go for three or four fittings.
Most alterations cost more on bridal gowns than other garments because the fabrics are delicate and the dresses can be complex.
Altering sequined fabric is a challenge, whether you're sewing together a handcrafted sequin dress or hemming a purchased one. ... Sew the bias facing along the marked hem with a 1-inch seam allowance. Trim the allowance to 1/2-inch.
As always, it depends on the dress. Strapless dresses or dresses with shoulder straps can usually be taken in more easily than ones with sleeves. ... A substantially larger dress than your size will require a great deal of work to get a good fit, so you can expect to pay more for alterations, but often it can be done.
There are many different types of dress alterations and tailoring that can give you the perfect fit. ... A dress can be taken in a maximum of two sizes (8cm) and likewise it can be taken out by two sizes. This includes the bust, waist and hips and keeping the original cut. See this size guide for dimensions.
While it is often possible to size a dress up or down, don't count on being able to take in or let out a dress by more than one or two sizes. 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.
The Number of Pounds to Drop to Size 12. The average amount of weight it takes to move from one dress size to another is about 10 to 15 pounds. Moving from a size 16 to a size 12 means dropping two sizes, so you would need to lose 20 to 30 pounds
Letting the seams out of a wedding dress can raise it about one dress size. Most wedding dresses have two seams, one on the left and one on the right, and each seam can be let out a ½ inch. This is the simplest option, so if you think your dress only needs to be a little bit bigger, absolutely try this first.
Some wedding gowns or cocktail dresses will intentionally have a lot of seam allowance to allow for letting out. If your dress only has a 1/4" or less seam allowance, then there probably isn't enough to let out the dress
When the wedding gown is clean and dry, wrap it in acid-free tissue paper or pre-washed unbleached muslin. Avoid colored tissue paper as it can stain the dress over time. Place layers of tissue paper or muslin between the folds of the dress, as well, to avoid permanent creasing.
First, stick the hanger of the dress through the top of the garment bag and hang it up high so you can work with the wedding dress. Then, take the left side of the gown and the right side of the gown and fold them into each other toward the center.
Ideally, the dress can lay flat in its garment bag or other packaging and fit through the X-ray machine. ... Airlines will also count the dress as a carry-on item, so be sure to learn about your airline's carry-on policies to avoid having to check any items at the gate.
Unfortunately, based on European sizing, many women are required to wear up to two sizes larger than their American size. So, don't stress if your normal size seems snug in a wedding gown or bridesmaid dress.
First fitting appointments take one hour for a wedding gown and a half hour for a bridesmaid or special occasion dress. The dress will be fitted and pinned to show you the best alterations for an ideal fit. For long wedding gowns with a train, you will be shown bustle options.
You can alter lace dresses... The only issue you may run in would be with the length of the dress. Typically with a lace dress the hem has a pretty scalloped edge that you cannot hem since it would ruin the finished look, but rather you have to take the lace up around the waste or another seam.
Fit is everything. Which is why when it comes to your wedding dress, alterations are also everything. "You can splurge on a pricey dress, but if it's not altered properly it won't look any better than a gown that's a tenth of the cost," says Terry Hall of New York City's Kleinfeld Bridal.