Wedding Dress Alterations for a Perfect Fit

Standard Alteration Work – Fitting Your Dress

Wedding dresses very rarely fit straight from the designer. They are made to a set of abstract measurements and must be fitted to your shape and proportions. We call this process fitting your dress, where the seamstress alters your gown to look great and to feel comfortable for your wedding day.

During this process, we alter the size of the bodice, adjust the bust and take up the hem of the dress to be an even length all the way around. Sometimes fitting the dress will include adding cups to the bust to provide more support.

Bespoke Work and Wedding Dress Customisation

Should you wish to have bespoke alterations to your wedding dress, you can choose from subtle or extensive customisation work which can include:

• Additional beading to add a bit of sparkle and pizzazz
• Adding further lace for more intricate detailing
• Adding sleeves to a sleeveless dress
• Adding straps to a strapless dress
• Changing the style of straps from spaghetti straps to wider ones, or vice-versa
• Shortening trains
• Making a stole
• Making a jacket
• Cravats, ruches, bow-ties, ties and pocket squares for the bridal party
• And other bespoke work on request

What Happens if You Gain Weight After Ordering Your Dress?

Many wedding dresses can be increased without adding further fabric by up to 1 size(5cm/2 inches). However, this depends upon the designer and the seam allowance. If the fabric is not there, the dress cannot be let out any further!

If the dress needs to increase by more than the seam allowance, then a lace back or additional fabric panels can be added to ease them further. The particular design of the dress and availability of fabric dictate exactly how far an individual dress can be altered.

What Happens if You Lose Weight After Ordering Your Dress – Can a Wedding Dress be Made Smaller?

Wedding dresses can be reduced in size by 2 sizes – that’s up to 4 inches/10 cm. Maintaining the right proportions around the bust tend to cause the most problems when reducing size as they can include more structural elements in the design, such as boning and shaping.

What About Altering A Dress for a Pregnant Bride?

Wedding dress alterations are surprisingly common to cater for pregnancy bumps and size changes. The size of your baby bump and the style of your wedding dress will dictate how your wedding dress can be altered to suit. In a few cases, we recommend switching to a different bridal gown, but in most cases a lace back is a very practical way to give you a flexible fit during pregnancy.

Every year we see a few brides who get a lovely surprise bump and we’ve helped hundreds over the years to look fabulous and blooming on their big day. And of course, a baby bump can be a great excuse to go wedding dress shopping one more time!

When Should You Find A Bridal Seamstress?

You should look for a bridal seamstress when you buy your wedding dress. There is huge demand for the most skilled bridal seamstresses during peak wedding season. We maintain a list of experienced local bridal seamstresses to recommend, should Julie be fully booked for your particular wedding dates.

When Should You Book Your Bridal Fitting Appointments?

For a wedding in peak season, we suggest you book your fittings at least 3-4 months in advance, if you have already found a seamstress. If you have not found a seamstress, you should be looking 6 months ahead. Your seamstress is flat out during bridal season working on wedding dresses for many brides’ big days. This means you will need to be flexible with the day and time for your bridal fittings. It is not normal for a seamstress to offer fittings at weekends or in the evenings – they’re simply too busy and also need some time off from work!

How Much Do Bridal Alterations Cost?

The most basic bridal alterations, including appointments and fitting of a wedding dress, starts at £125 for minor work like a simple shoulder adjustment and a bustle. More normally where a hem and bodice need to be altered, the cost will fall in the range from £200 to £400. For more complex changes and bespoke work, expect to pay from £400 upwards.

Is the cost of alterations included in the price of the wedding dress?

We wish this were possible, but unfortunately it’s not. The dress price is to pay for a dress ordered in your size. Alterations is bespoke tailoring to fit your wedding dress to your figure. Like all bespoke work, it is in addition to the dress itself as it is a separate service.

What To Wear For Bridal Alterations Appointments?

When you come for your bridal alteration fitting, we recommend wearing the same type of underwear that you plan to wear on your wedding day. We also recommend that you buy your wedding shoes before fittings and come with them so that you can have your dress fitted while standing in them. This is because every shoe makes us stand a little differently and obviously the hem of your gown will be adjusted based upon the height of your bridal shoes.

Please do not wear fake tan as it marks your dress. You will be charged for spot cleaning of your dress to remove marks made by makeup and tan, etc. It may also not come out at all, which would be a great pity.

At Gowns & Garters, we understand the importance of your wedding day and that why we’ll help you with your wedding dress alterations. Contact us today to book your bridal alteration fitting.

Wedding Dress Alterations After Your Wedding…

Fallen in love with your wedding dress and wondering if you can turn it into something you can wear for a little longer? There’s a lovely article in Vogue about turning your wedding dress into day-to-day or special occasion wear.