A Quick Read Before Your Wedding Dress Fitting
Congratulations on your big day! We know it can be nerve-racking getting ready for the day and what is ahead. But fret not because we have got you covered in one aspect of making your special day extra special – making your wedding dress fit you like a glove, so you feel like your best self!
If you don’t know already, a wedding dress fitting or alteration is a consultation with a seamstress to modify the gown, so it fits properly and sculpts the body. Here is everything you need to know ahead of time, before you walk into your very own wedding dress alteration consultation.
What Should I Bring to My Consultation?
Everything aside, the most important things to bring, besides your wedding dress, is anything you will be wearing that may affect the shape or the fitting of your dress directly or indirectly. The garments you’d be required to bring in include your bra and spandex or any other shapewear that you will be wearing on your wedding day. It’s also highly recommended that you bring in the shoes you’ll be wearing that day so we can adjust the length of the dress – long enough to cover your shoes but short enough that that it doesn’t become a tripping hazard. I consider it our special power to make the dress skim the ground perfect to your height, and is a sign of a well altered dress that adds that extra perfection (have a look at photo shoots of bridal gowns on models that haven’t been altered and you’ll see what I mean).
When you first walk in, either I or someone from my team will be there to guide you and take you into the fitting room on your left. You are more than welcome to bring a friend, family member or your maid of honour to be with you for fun & giggles, but also for a second opinion as they usually know you and your taste quite well.
The primary purpose of bringing in all these garments, and shoes, is to give you a feel of what it’ll be like on your wedding day and to achieve alteration perfection as everything will be sitting in the same place as on your special day. During the alteration process, I like to give my clients a complete sense of what they can expect at their wedding in terms of how well their dress fits.
What Budget Should I Allocate For My Wedding Dress Alteration?
No two dressmakers are the same, and the same can be said for the cost of alteration quoted to you. Once we decide and note down all the changes that need to be made, you’ll be given the invoice with all the details. That being said, most alterations run between $500-2000 depending on the extensiveness of work required.
You will be asked to pay 50% before the work begins and 50% when you come in to pick the dress on the final day. If you prefer paying all up-front, we also accept full payment beforehand. Cash or bank transfer is preferred, though Visa is also accepted.
We like to begin your alterations about 12 weeks prior to your wedding date, so to ensure we keep a spot for you in that month, we ask for a non-refundable holding deposit of $100 which will come off your final invoice. This is to ensure that your place is secure as bookings continue to come in. The reason that we don’t generally like to do the alterations sooner is often brides will fluctuate in weight in the lead up to the wedding and we like to be sure that your dress will fit you as perfectly possible whilst also ensuring there is time for all the fittings, alterations, and stress free lead time of pick up before your special day.
A Walk-through for The Days Leading Up to The Final Pick Up
On the first day, you will bring in all the accessories and underwear that can affect your fitting. All changes will be noted, and you’ll be informed regarding your next fitting date and the total cost of the alterations. Your next appointment and invoice will be either emailed to you or sent to your contact number used for booking the appointment.
You will generally require 3-4 fittings to ensure the best fit on your wedding dress. The first fitting will take half an hour to an hour of your time, as most changes are noted in this period. The following appointment will get shorter as time passes as we will be getting closer to the perfect fit.
The fittings will be spaced after every 2 to 4 weeks, so the total time taken for the dress to be ready will vary between 10 to 14 weeks depending on how many changes need to be made. We try our best to get your garments ready 1-2 weeks prior to your big day. This gives us some wiggle room for anything unforeseen, as well as a stress free lead time for you to have one less thing to worry about. Any earlier will be subjected to a rush fee.
Lastly, we would like to thank you for trusting Rachel’s Custom Sewing to take on such a big task on your special day! We look forward to facilitating you at every step of the way. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us at any time. I look forward to meeting you!
