Cost of Wedding Dress Alterations

[KimberlyH]

Good Morning All:

This is my first post on pricescope, I have been a long time lurker. I just took my dress in for alterations and was astonished by the price I was quoted. My dress has a lace overlay that needs to be pulled apart, taken in two inches on each side, and rebeaded through the bust; I''d expected to spend about $300 but was quoted almost twice that. I was hoping that some of you would be willing to share how much you spent on alterations (if it makes I a difference, I live in San Diego).

Thanks so much!

 

[JCJD]

First off, welcome to Pricescope!!

For that amount of alterations, about $600 sounds very reasonable. That''s going to be very time-intensive, detail-oriented work there because the lace isn''t going to be easy to take-in evenly and the rebeading would be a headache. I only had mine hemmed and bustled, and I paid $300 (I''m in Nebraska).

 

[KimberlyH]

Thanks for the warm welcome, JCJD!

I searched for an alterations person for quite some time and everyone that recommended is booked, so I went to a place with a great reputation with what is probably an unrealistic expectations. The woman is competent and seemed very nice, I guess I was just shocked as I''ll be spending as much on alterations as I paid for the dress.

 

[Tybee]

Hi KimberlyH,

Yes, it''s crazy isn''t it? I feel like I''m spending money left and right.
My dress is basically a size too big, while I understand why the woman in the dress shop encouraged me to go bigger rather than smaller, I can''t help feeling frustrated at the alteration costs that I feel could have been avoided if I just bought the smaller size...

BUT! Then I read appletini''s post about her dress arriving too small-- and in places where you can''t trim down (hips!)
poor thing! That would be such a nightmare! So, I go to the fittings, and I''ll pay the price- but I guess I''d rather pay than have to deal with the frustration of trying to find a dress last minute.

 

[KimberlyH]

It is a bit crazy, but I love my dress and figure I''m only doing this once.

And I would much rather too big as opposed to too smaill (you and I must have had the same alterations person, I thought I should go one size smaller and the woman who sold me the dress said no). I feel for Appletini, with all of the wedding planning pressures that weddings bring about, that''s an addition I wouldn''t be happy about.

 

[codex57]

Could be reasonable. Rebeading and stuff is a lot of work and beyond what''s considered "normal" or "simple" alterations.

 

[flopkins]

Hrm. I think that sounds high, but then, for all the lace work it might be reasonable. I paid around $300 for hemming, bustle, and taking in a LOT on the sides... and there was not beading/lace to deal w/...

Welcome to pricescope btw!

Do you have a pic of your dress?!

 

[Kaylyn]

Reading this makes me incredibly thankful that my great aunt is a seamstress. A really good one, at that.

For example, she altered my formal dress and made me a shawl...for which she charged me $12.

So I am hoping to buy a dress in my size but take it home un-altered, and let her go to town on it.

 

[KimberlyH]

Here''s a link to the dress (I hope it works)...

http://www.alfredangelo.com/index.cfm/fuseAction/COLLECTIONS.productDetail/fromAdvancedSearch/0/productID/0c50bfb1-0b21-4360-b5a5-92b1f6f774c1/categoryID/32e5a88c-cbf1-498f-afcf-dbfca138c5d3

Thanks for the welcome flopkins!

Could I borrow your Aunt, Kaylyn?

 

[codex57]

Hmm, now that I have a visual, I''m starting to think it''s on the pricey side. The reason I say that is my wife''s dress ripped after the wedding. The cleaner people fixed the rip among other things, and that included lace (it was just plain lace with no fancy embroidering, but still). The cleaning and making all the repairs and shipping was like $650.

Can you get quotes from other places?

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Hi Kimberly:
PRETTY Dress! I noticed that it''s an Alfred Angelo- so is mine.
I know that they have alterations people that work out of their company stores. Have you checked with them on what the cost would be?
I don''t know if I will be going thru them for alterations, or to an independent seamstress, but I plan to look into both options.

Have you heard of bridalinsider.com? They have a pretty active SD forum. Do a search there and see what happens.
http://www.bridalinsider.com

GOOD LUCK!

CG

 

[Maria D]

>>My dress has a lace overlay that needs to be pulled apart, taken in two inches on each side, and rebeaded through the bust<<

First off, I want to say that I have no idea what reasonable costs for wedding dress alterations are.

But from reading your description of the alteration, and looking at the picture of your dress (it''s beautiful!), I''m wondering if the alteration is more complicated than you think. I''m guessing that the dress is too big in the bust, by two inches on each side (which sounds huge to me). I can''t imagine why you''d need *just* the lace taken in and not the whole dress -- is the lace bagging out by four inches? That doesn''t seem possible.

If the dress needs to be taken in, it''s not just the lace but the satin underlay as well. That means that the lace has to be detached from the upper edge, the whole thing taken apart, the satin underlay pieces taken in, the lace overlay pieces taken in and rebeaded, then everything sewn back together again. And, it has to be made to fit your unique shape. The sewing/fitting is pretty much the same amount of work as it took to make the front bodice in the first place. Add on to that the time it takes to rip the stitches apart carefully. As someone who sews (not professionally) I''d rather make something from scratch than do this alteration! You can''t really compare the cost of the dress, which is made on a production line, with the cost of alterations.

Is your dress really 4 inches too big in the bust?

 

[KimberlyH]

Hi All and thank you for your responses!

I hope I can answer all of you:

Codex: Everyone else I contacted is booked, so I didn't bother and she now has my dress, so it's a little late...

ChargerGrrl: I absolutely love my dress, but my experience with the employees was not pleasant. They claimed I didn't make an appt. even after I gave them the name of the person I spoke to; my dress was to arrive late in the month of May...I received one call from a store employee requesting that I pick it up "as soon as possible" insinuating that I had left it sitting and it was in their way. That was enough for me. I used bridalinsider.com to get names in the first place and those recommended were the same people that are booked.

Maria D: I'm sorry I wasn't clear, the silk and the lace both need to be taken in two inches on each side through the bust (the seamstress said the designer made the dress very "top heavy" and I have a larger than average chest) and one inch on each side through the waist and then it needs to be shortened in length as it is about 5 inches too long. The bottom is scalloped so they are going to have to remove the bottom piece and reattach it.

Okay, so now that I've typed this all out I realize that I may just be out of touch when it comes to the cost of alterations...I tend to be a thrifty shopper and that may be making me a bit more skeptical than need be.

Thanks for all of your help, I guess I just need to accept it and move on!

 

[diamondfan]

the dress is stunning, and while the price might be a bit high, I think it looks complicated enough that you do not want it messed with...the lace would pull and look funny and I think I would just figure that is the price of it and try not to worry, if she has a good reputation!

 

[KimberlyH]

Thanks, diamondfan...I think I just needed to get a bit of reassurance. This whole wedding planning thing is so foreign and the costs associated can be a bit overwhelming.

 

[diamondfan]

It can be overwhelming, but it will ALL come together! My wedding is nearly 16 years ago and I still can recall the stress involved, so just be good to yourself and try to take in the whole picture and try not to let any one thing really get to you, it is all about you and your guy starting your life together with loved ones around...but of course we all want it to be so special!

 

[Maria D]

>>the silk and the lace both need to be taken in two inches on each side through the bust (the seamstress said the designer made the dress very "top heavy" and I have a larger than average chest) and one inch on each side through the waist and then it needs to be shortened in length as it is about 5 inches too long. The bottom is scalloped so they are going to have to remove the bottom piece and reattach it.<<

This is a big job! Not only is it a time consuming alteration, it requires real expertise in order to do it properly. Naturally people with this kind of expertise need to get paid well for it or they couldn't stay in business. I think the problem is that we tend to think of "alterations" as that thing that we get done at the cleaners to have our pant legs shortened. That person is probably paid just above minimum wage. The seamstress who can handle your job is worth a whole lot more! To help you deal with the cost, think of it not as an alteration but as the cost of getting a custom fit bridal gown. And again, remember that much of the work (and the nastiest part in my opinion) is taking apart the dress -- very carefully so that the lace is not ruined.

Edited to add: I went back and looked at the picture of your dress -- it really is beautiful. I love the scalloped bottom.

Good luck!

 

[Faerievert]

I paid about $250 for my alterations in Huntington Beach, CA. My dress had lace over satin, which had to be taken in at the top (which meant rebeading at the sides), and hemmed at the bottom, (which meant detaching the lace edging, cutting out the extra, and reattaching the edging), and had 2 bustle points put in, and cups sewn in the bust, and a plain rectangular wrap made from some extra satin.

For a lot of rebeading, I wouldn''t be too shocked by $350 or $400, but $600 sounds crazy to me. If you want to make the trip up the coast, the seamstress I worked with at Castle for Brides was fantastic (she used to do the princess dresses for disney land- how cool is that?!)