Wedding Dress Alteration Cost?

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mynameiscarrie
mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
in Chit-Chat
Any bride to be's (or already married) have any info or experience on how much it costs to have a wedding dress altered? My boobies are big so I'm going to have to get a size 12 but the rest of me is an 8 and according to the sizing chart, my height is a 2. I'm 5'3" so getting a 12 means lots of hemming...

any ideas? :/

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  • monica22886
    monica22886 Posts: 17 Member
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    I just got married and my measurements were WHAAAACK! My boobs were a size 4, waist size 2, hips size 6/8. Soooo, I think I ordered the size 6 or 8 and guess what - not a single alteration! My wedding dress tied/laced up the back so they could tighten it in the spots I needed and loosen the other spots. Hope yours is too! good luck! :)
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    duck tape?
  • mynameiscarrie
    mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
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    duck tape?

    definitely something to look into ;)
  • JoyfulSparkle
    JoyfulSparkle Posts: 96
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    My mother-in-law, and I hemmed a bridesmaid's dress for my sister in law. It took us 3 days, later we found out that the other girls went to a laundromat place, that also did alterations, and they spent $80, on the 6 inch hem, and $10 on tucks under the breast (empire waist place). It sounds expensive, but after her standing in the dress for hours, and my mother in law and I coming to tears once over it... it's actually money well spent.
    Maybe look at your time-line. Can you wait at all to put in the final order on the dress of your dreams?
  • KourtneyP83
    KourtneyP83 Posts: 319
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    I'd call around...I had to have mine hemmed, the neck part smaller, and have it bustled...and it was over 150 dollars. I wish I had called around instead of wasting that money!
  • princess4mimi
    princess4mimi Posts: 192
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    I just ordered my dress but I went with the one that I tried on that pretty much fits right now, minus holding my breath while they button, zip or tie me in...(I'm not sure which exactly it was. But because my dress has a built in Boostiyay (don't know how to spell it...) made of hard bone like materials it shouldn't matter much I'm told, very little if any alterations should be needed....is your dress similar? I'm told by a friend of mine that her alterations were almost equal or passing the price of her dress....so she had to shop around to get hers altered for less.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    I think it depends on where you buy it. Some places might include basic alterations in the price, others might not. Also, how complex alterations are will have a play in it. My wedding dress had to be shortened, but was all scalloped lace at the bottom, so she had to take off the skirt, shorten it at the top of the skirt, and then put it back on. This was 16 years ago, so I don't remember the cost; maybe a hundred dollars at most (I only paid $400 for the dress itself, it was on clearance, so I think I paid more for the alterations than if I'd bought a more expensive dress).
  • megz4987
    megz4987 Posts: 1,008 Member
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    Find an in-home seamstress! They're are a TON cheaper and you can ask for references if you need to.

    I bought a size 10 (for my hips) for my sister wedding and needed it taken in everywhere else to basically a 6/8. cost me $25 and the dress looked perfect.
  • mynameiscarrie
    mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
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    I should add that I haven't tried on dresses yet. My mom and I are trying to put together a budget on how much she wants to spend on the dress including alterations. No huge rush, just trying to get an idea of what to do and what it might cost me
  • mindspinmegs311
    mindspinmegs311 Posts: 31 Member
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    It really depends on the place where you buy your dress and other factors. I bought my dress at a nice bridal boutique where dresses usually start at $1000 and up - I bought mine off the rack (the sample) for half off, and it fits me almost perfectly now... thank goodness! The only issue is they made the dress for a giant I think... lol... I'm average height and it will need some serious hemming. According to them the hem is $70, if I need it taken in it is $40 (which I hope I will!) and the bustle is the real pricey part - they charge upwards of $100 for that crap! The nice thing about this place though is that they only charge you once at your first fitting, so if things change they won't charge you for extra alterations. I've heard the worst places for alterations and overcharging are places like Davids Bridal. The dresses aren't as expensive, but they size you to some ridiculously huge size then charge you for a ton of alterations (that just happened to a friend of mine). If you can find a dress that fits almost perfect off the rack, and don't mind buying a sample, that's the best way to save money. :)
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    about £60 i think i was told
  • beccau_20
    beccau_20 Posts: 191 Member
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    Honestly, make an account on The Knot and go to the local message board on there. There are a bazillion people on that website who can offer recommendations for good alterations in your area, and probably some for cheap.

    I did mine at David's Bridal: hemmed, torso shortened, and bustle. It's was about $300. We were kinda pressed for time or I would have gone elsewhere.
  • lauramorris85
    lauramorris85 Posts: 87
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    I got mine hemmed several inches plus a 3 loop bustle at Davids Bridal and it cost about $160. Kinda steep but it works.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    The bridal shop should be able to tell you what they charge for alterations.
  • atay18
    atay18 Posts: 39 Member
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    Not sure if you have one near you, but check out Nordstrom's wedding suite. If you buy the dress there, alterations are free. And, they will wait to alter it. I bought my dress in Jan for a Sept. 17 wedding and still haven't gotten it altered, I figured I"d wait until next week or the week after.

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