My top 5 tips for stress-free wedding dress alterations

I always want my brides to find the alterations process a relaxed and enjoyable experience, and these are my top five tips for a stress-free time.

1. Budget for your alterations like you would for any of your other wedding expenses.

Unless you are having your wedding dress custom-made to your exact measurements, you will probably need it altered to fit. This is a regular wedding expense that should be budgeted for from the start, just like your photographer or hair stylist. 

An experienced bridal seamstress should be able to tell you how much you should expect to pay.  I also offer my brides a monthly payment plan so they can pay for their alterations in smaller instalments if they prefer.  And if family and friends would like to help, they can buy gift vouchers from me for the Bride’s birthday, Christmas, or as a wedding gift.

Ask your bridal seamstress how much to budget for all of the alterations you'd like

2.  Be organised.

 You’d be amazed at how many brides say they were so busy thinking about what they needed to bring to their fitting that they forgot the actual wedding dress! 

Your seamstress should tell you where you need to go and what you need to bring to your first fitting.  This is usually your bridal gown with any undergarments you’re planning to wear, your wedding shoes, your diary to plan your next appointment and a way of paying for the deposit. 

Double-check the time and date of your fittings, and make sure you have everything you need at each appointment.  Check the traffic and allow plenty of time to get there so you don’t arrive in a flustered panic… can you tell I’m speaking from personal experience here?

I know how it feels to organise a wedding on top of an already busy life.  So, to make life easier, my brides are given access to their own online portal so they have everything to do with their alterations in one place.  They can view their upcoming appointments, pay invoices online, and have easy access to everything they need to know about the alterations process. 

Bring everything you need at each fitting to make sure your bridal look is perfect

3. Bring the exact pair of shoes you’re going to be wearing to ALL of your fittings.

Brides always seem to wait until the last minute to buy their wedding shoes. I know it can be a tough decision, but it's one that's best made early so you can come to your first dress fitting with the exact shoes you will be wearing on your wedding day. It also means that you will have time to break them in beforehand because you may be standing still in them for a while when we pin the hem of your wedding dress. 

Bring the exact shoes you're going to wear to every fitting

4.  Fittings are most successful when a bride comes alone or with one other person.  

Wedding dress fittings can be a lot different from trying on wedding dresses in a shop because this is the time when we look really closely at your dress and form a plan together to make sure it ends up being exactly how you want it.  This requires a lot of concentration from the bridal seamstress (let's face it, you don’t want them to get this wrong!) and my brides who need the space to think clearly and make confident decisions.  In my experience, having more people in the room sometimes makes it feel overcrowded with opinions and ideas.

Brides come to fittings alone or with a trusted friend

5. It’s so important to communicate what you’re thinking to your bridal seamstress.

Our main goal is for you to be happy with your dress, so if something doesn’t look or feel quite right to you, then you must say. We won’t be offended or think that you’re being a Bridezilla!

I hope these tips help you in the run-up to your wedding!

Laura