Wedding How long does it take for dress alterations?

[marchswallowbird]

How long did it take your dress to get altered? Someone told me I should begin this process now, even though my wedding is not until Sept. ''09. They said it could take up to 6 months to have alterations done!

Does it really take this long? My dress is simple, with no beading and just a bit of lace, and I don''t need extensive alterations. I will be going to an independent seamstress, not the bridal shop where I bought the dress. The seamstress won''t provide an estimate on time or cost until she sees the dress. I''m not sure when I should schedule my first appt. to see her.

I don''t want to do the alterations too soon, in case I lose (or gain!) weight.

 

[Octavia]

I''ve never heard of 6 months for alterations, especially just minor ones. Are you sure they didn''t mean 6 weeks? I think that''s about what my bridal shop anticipates, since my wedding is in mid-October ''09 and they said I''ll probably want to have my first fitting in late August/early September.

 

[Mediterranean]

Maybe it has more to do with her schedule/abilities than your dress.

If she''s independent, she doesn''t have a shopful of assistants helping her, and she may have a lot of brides on her appointment book, so she doesn''t have the same ability to crank out dresses that a bridal shop has.

Also, she could be an exacting perfectionist -- one of those people who won''t let anything go out the door until it''s perfect.

A lot of seamstresses won''t say, because it''s a very personal and touchy subject, but they worry about brides'' weight fluctuations. In her career ,I ''m sure she''s seen it all--brides who turn into basket-case nervous wrecks who lose 25 pounds in 2 months, brides whose reaction to stress is the exact opposite, and gain 25 pounds in months, brides who become pregnant unexpectedly, etc. etc.

She''s just covering her bases.

 

[musincy]

I''ve never heard of it taking that long, but I know that I had to wait two months for my seamstress to get me in for the first fitting... she''s very busy. Maybe yours is booked too?

 

[Amandine]

We usually schedule alterations to start 8 weeks before the wedding in the store I worked in, if your seamstress is just working on your dress, of course it doesn''t take that long

...but because they have other items they are also working on, 8 weeks should be good (unless you need extensive work, which it sounds like you do not). I would recommend calling much earlier then that though to make certain you are scheduled to go at the right time. Good luck!

 

[Rhea]

Two weeks. She asked me if I was trying to loose weight and had me bring it in and try it on so she could tell me how long I could put it off for. She had the alterations done in two weeks flat.