Wedding Dress Alterations - RANT!!

OK so i was under the impression that your first dress fitting was supposed to be a fun experience...at least pleasant. I'm so riled up after mine yesterday i just have to vent somewhere!

So the #1 thing that irked me was i tried on the dress, it's too big, and the seamstress starts telling me i must have lost a lot of weight since they measured me for the dress. I politely tell her that no i have not lost any weight at all (ie if she redid my measurements she was see that they were exactly the same as they were when i bought the dress).

#2 she asks me if i want to bother hemming the dress....eh it literally was about 7 inches too long?! Are kidding me...yes i want the dress hemmed.

#3 she tells me to the next fitting to bring a bridesmaid along with me so they can learn to bustle my dress. I explain to her that my bridesmaids / sisters and all my friends / family that will be at the wedding live in Scotland. Fiance's side of the guest list will be coming from Ohio so there is noone in the DC area that could learn the bustle that would then be at the wedding. I told her i'll just learn how to do it and teach my sisters when we get to the resort. Well...she did not like this suggestion!! She just went off about how weird it was that i "didn't have a single friend" coming to my wedding.

AHHHHHHHHHH....i have friends going. They just don't live here you stupid woman. Grr

and then really the thing that tipped me over the egde....guess how much this will cost me??

#4 $630!!! WHAT?

I got in my car and burst into tears.Seriously, not a fun experience.

Thanks for listening,

Jocy

I am sorry this happened. I went through a very similar situation. My seamstress swears I have lost weight so much so that the dress I bought cannot be altered to fit. I did not loose any weight and I really did have a fit with her. We found another store that had a dress that would fit me 4 sizes smaller. What was she thinking. The store allowed us to exchange the dress. Then I need straps added because the dress is a heart neckline and I am not comfortable without straps. I want the straps to crossover in the back, she says okay, the new dress only needs to be hemmed and the straps added. I go back two weeks later, straps are to short and have not been added like I wanted, she tells me we did not have that conversation. The dress requires another week to add new straps, does she finish the ends, no she bunches them up and creates a pile of cloth to finish the ends. The straps still are not what I want and she has a bill of 175.00. Will I recommend the women no. All this to say I believe they order the dresses to large so they can make the money on the alterations. I am so sorry your experience was so terrible.

Dea

Wow ladies...we had a similiar bad experience with my friends wedding alterations. The steamstress was so rude, she had made our dresses and she claimed that the girls had gained weight when we went for our fittings. The dresses didn't fit because her measurements were off! To top it all of she was my friends future MIL...unbelieveable! We just had to laugh through it!

Jocy, is there any way you can find another seamstress to correct your dress? That price seems way too high and if she is going is going to be snarky to you she doesn't deserve your custom.

Good luck with everything and try to keep your eye on the big picture. You're going to look fantastic in your dress and your FH is going to think your the most beautiful bride, that I am sure of.

Jocy that price seems too high!! Can you check with another seamstress? I ordered my dress from Pronovias and they charge $500 for unlimited alterations.

Yikes! I would have been angry too. I would try taking it somewhere else. Call her asap so she doesn't start working on it. That price is very high. I live in boston and got a ton (hem, taken in everywhere...it was wayyy to big, had the sweet heart neck and back lowered, added more rouching on the hips, and a handle on the train) of things done to my dress and had my reception dress taken in as well and I paid $300.

You don't need to deal with rude people. I didn't get my dressed altered where I purchased it for the same reasons.

That is really sucky. I am sorry for your bad experience. I think I agree with the other people who say take your dress to another seamstress. If someone told me I had to pay that much for alterations... o_O ...I would definately take my business elsewhere -- especially if they weren't even nice to begin with. I am not going with a bridal shoppe for my dress because the cost is just a bit much for my budget, but if I did, I would expect good service as that would be the ONLY reason I would pay them the big bucks.

WTF!!! Omg so sorry to hear you went through that! IS there anyway you can take it somewhere else to be taken in and fitted? Honestly i think that is a ridiculous amount to pay for alterations and the service doesnt deserve the payment either. I agree with everyone else that you should try and find another seamstress to take care of your dress..

OH MY DEAR GOSH.. $630?!!!!!!!!!!!! what in the heck!!! you can practically buy a new dress for that amount of money. I would have told them no thank you I will take it somewhere else for cheaper. Can you try to get a second opinion?

I am so sorry this happened to you. Dont let it ruin your experience. I have not gone to my dress fitting yet. I hope they arent rude. Or Ill tell them to put it where the sun dont shine. HA!