Alterations

Yes, I know a lot of bridal boutiques do this - the reasoning I've been given is that if the alterations are done poorly elsewhere but people are told the dress came from X boutique, it will reflect badly on the boutique.

It really should be stated up front if you must get the alterations done in house though. The place I bought my dress said you are welcome to take it to be altered elsewhere, but they also do it in house.

Asking for alterations to be paid in cash only does sound dodgy though - makes me wonder if they are using trafficked/illegal workers to do the alterations.

Has the work been done satisfactorily?

The work was fine it was the fact that she wanted a friend to do the alterations it but the owner wouldn't let her have the dress even though she had paid for it .

I think this is wrong if you have bought the dress you should be able o do what you want with it

If it wasn't stated at the time of purchase that all alterations had to be done in-house, then your friend could have fought it. But most shops that have this policy do have something in the small print, just maybe not that easy to find!

That is not good, any alterations from the one who created it should be charged free.

It's standard practice to charge for alterations to the dresses. I've not seen a bridal boutique yet that hasn't made it clear that alterations are not included in the cost of the dress. One person might only need the hem taken up (or no alterations at all) while someone else might need extensive alterations, so it's only fair that they are charged separately.