wedding dress dilemma - alterations

Bumping this thread because it's fallen pages behind. I obviously posted it at a quiet time when no-one was procrastinating ? Back to my essay now...

It must be possibe: I'd ask for local recommendations and tbh I would stuick my head round the door of the local bridal shop and ask there: you wouldn't be the first Bride to buy abroad or second hand who needed halp and they may even agree to provide the alterations service for you, for a fee of course!

It's definitely possible. It might be worth rewording your title to include your area and ask for local recommendations?

Thanks - not sure how to re-word title actually. I live in London but my family are in West Lothian in Scotland so I would take recommendations from either area actually as I'll be up and down before the wedding anyway.

I was quite cheeky and did exactly that; went into a bridal shop and first asked if they offered alterations for dresses bought elsewhere. She said no, so I asked if she could recommend a seamstress, which she did. It's definitely worth asking around, make sure you get quotes from a few different places, there was another thread a while back asking about something similar and the price differences were quite significant between getting alterations from a bridal shop and directly through the seamstress. Good luck!

I was bridesmaid for my friends wedding last year, she lives 150 miles from me and when the dress came it was huge!!! I wasn't able to go for fittings there so I took it home for me and rang around the bridal shops to find a seamstress. One of the shops were very helpful and put me in contact with their lady who does all of their bridal gowns and worked independently too. She was fab as I hated the dress at first but after all the alterations it was perfect, she was also very reasonably priced so it's well worth giving the bridal shops a ring!

Definitely worth ringing round a few bridal shops. I had a dress bought from Debenhams that had a very delicate beaded pattern and I tried two seamstresses that wouldn't touch it! I found a small local bridal shop that were more than helpful and managed to alter the dress out for me in their shop!

Thanks ladies - that's quite reassuring. The assistant was being quite snooty about how difficult the alterations would be (and I agree it's intricate work) but buying the dress abroad I would get it, shoes, veil and alterations for less than I would buying the dress here (same designer). Think it might be time to bite the bullet.

My dress was incredibly detailed at the bottom, so when it was taken up, it was taken up from the middle of the skirt! However, there was already a seam there, so it worked out well. Might yours be able to come up from the middle, or even the waist?

Given the complexity of the entire job (and frankly, how much money I'd paid for the dress), the shop called in a "special" tailor, the only one they'd trust with my dress. Apparently, she doesn't work for them often, but is an independent. I would therefore suspect that the shop would have handed over her details, regardless of whether I'd shopped there or not, as they would most likely want to give her business.

Have you thought about how you're getting the dress here? I could have got a cheaper price in the States, but with import duty etc, it wouldn't have been cheaper overall. Is your Aunty just going to send it as an unmarked parcel?

She flies over frequently anyway and it would still be significantly cheaper. I was told they would most likely remove the lace overlay from the bottom and shorten it before sewing it back on. I think I'm just a bit concerned because the shop wouldn't even take my measurements without me putting money down - I didn't tell them my plan btw.

I've seen pictures of your dress FTLOMB - gorgeous!

I know of a really good independent seamstress. She made a great job of mine but is based in Oxfordshire so I don't know if that would be too far for you to travel. PM me if you want the details.

Just wanted to thank you ladies for your reassurance. The dress has now been ordered! I am so excited! I was at a wedding fayre this weekend and spoke to some other bridal shops who said they would still put someone in touch with their seamstress if they were in my situation so here's hoping.

Very exciting - do we get a flash??

My dress was also very intricate at the bottom, fortunately it didnt need taking up too much and the seamstress lifted it on the straps and I wore higher heels rather than touch the hem, however she could have altered it if needed. I got the details for my seamstress from my florist so its a good idea to ask around with your other suppliers.

Glad you ordered it - not sure how tall you are or how long the dress you've chosen is but hems don't always need altering - mine's quite intricate and only a couple of inches too long so I'm going to choose my heel height around the dress to save some cash!

would love to see the dress - could you give us the name and make?

I don't know of anyone in West Lothian but I do know Karen Rotchford in Motherwell (I think... somewhere around there if you google it) would be able to do it for you. They used to make wedding dresses and had a shop in Glasgow. My first wedding dress many years ago required alterations that didn't affect the hemline and they did it perfectly.

I'd love to tell but I'm afraid of leaving a paper trail for my OH. Just as I've typed this he's literally sat down and read this over my shoulder! Busted. I promise to flash after the wedding (though I realise that's a bit of a wait). Thanks for all your suggestions.