Having the perfect wedding dress can make or break a bride’s wedding day. A wedding dress is often thought of as the focal point of a wedding and there’s nothing quite like the moment of anticipation that comes before a bride takes her first steps down the aisle.
Behind the scenes, a lot of hard work and effort goes into making a wedding dress fit just right and there’s a team of people that have to be involved in the process. If you want to get the dress of your dreams, you can’t rely wholly on seamstresses to work their magic. Here are all the wedding dress alteration tips you need to know before the big day!
1. Buy Your Dress Early On
Purchasing your wedding dress is one task in life that you definitely don’t want to procrastinate on! Fittings and tailoring take a long time and sometimes it can take up to five months for your dress to arrive at the salon after you order it.
If you can, try to pick your wedding dress 10 months before your wedding so you have plenty of time to make all the necessary changes.
2. Put Aside Money For Alterations
You can’t just buy a wedding dress off the rack and call it a day – alterations are absolutely necessary. Factor in the cost of alterations into your overall wedding dress budget because you’ll more than likely end up needing them.
Weddings cost a lot of money so any step you can take to stay budget-friendly is well worth it!
3. Schedule Three Fittings
One dress fitting simply won’t cut it for such a monumental day. Bridal salons typically recommend brides have a total of three wedding dress fittings.
Aim to schedule your first fitting three months before your wedding, your second a month before the wedding, and your final fitting no later than two weeks before the special day.
4. Don’t Use Your Dress as a Motivation To Lose Weight
Buying a dress that is too small in an attempt to motivate yourself to lose weight for the wedding is a big no-no. The human body is a complicated organism and you never know if your diet will give you the results you want. Also, it’s much easier to take in a large dress than to add material to one that is too small.
Spare yourself the expense and stress of getting a dress that doesn’t fit by purchasing a dress in your size!
5. Bring Bridal Accessories and Undergarments To Your Fittings
Getting a good idea of how you’ll look on your actual wedding day means there will be one less thing to worry about. What bride doesn’t need that?
Bring along all the accessory and undergarment options you have to your fittings so you can use the ones that complement your dress and give you the optimal level of comfort.
6. Test Out Your Wedding Shoes With Your Gown
Shoes play an integral part in wedding dress hemming. The height of your heels ultimately determines how much your seamstress will take off your dress after all!
Bring along a pair of shoes that are a similar height to the ones you’ll be rocking on the big day. If you have your actual wedding dress shoes already picked out, even better!
7. Don’t Freak Out At An Unfinished Product
Wedding dress alterations take time to perfect so don’t freak out if your dress doesn’t look the way you envisioned during your first fitting. In fact, it probably won’t.
Respect the alterations process and don’t be afraid to ask your seamstress questions to ease your mind. Also, don’t hesitate to speak up! Nobody’s going to have a better understanding of how you want to look on your wedding day than you.
8. Bring Along Only The Best
Having a second opinion when you’re getting your dress altered can do a lot of good, but too many opinions can result in unnecessary stress and more work for your seamstress. The last thing you want is a seamstress that isn’t motivated to do a good job anymore.
Bring along supportive people that mean a lot to you to your wedding dress fittings. Your mom and maid of honour are both great options!
By following these eight tips, your wedding dress alterations experience will certainly be seamless. To make your alterations experience even better, visit Love Your Tailor for all your wedding dress needs!
At Love Your Tailor, our dress alterations professionals have over 30 years of experience and they modify every dress to a bride’s unique specifications. Contact us today to get in touch with experienced tailors you can trust!