Wedding Help

If you’re purchasing your dress in a bridal boutique, or even purchasing it on the Internet, then most likely you’re looking at having to have some wedding dress alterations done. It seems that some wedding dresses need a major overhaul once they’re purchased to be able to tailor them to a particular person’s body type, which can be a lot of work for a seamstress. Taking in fabric on the top, taking it in at the waist (yea!), and other wedding dress alterations aren’t as easy as they look. Even if what you only need to have done is to take up the dress so it isn’t too long, then you’ll want to pay attention to some of these tried and true tips for making sure you get it done right the first time. Here is some great advice for taking care of your wedding dress alterations.

Watch Your Timing

It’s important to get your wedding dress alterations done at the right time. If you do your alterations too early, and are planning on dieting before the wedding, then your dress may be a bit too big on your wedding day. But, if you start too late, you could run into the danger of not being able to get everything done in time. You’ll want to be sure to factor in times for fittings as well, as wedding dresses having a lot done to them will need many fittings along the way to make sure everything is still fitting all right.

Which Seamstress to Use?

Many of the bridal boutiques will offer wedding dress alterations for their customers, but if you’ve bought your dress online or the bridal shop you used doesn’t offer alterations, then you’re kinda out of luck with that one. Be sure that you go to someone who specializes in bridal gowns, and not just any seamstress will do. Wedding gowns have so many complex details that it’s best to find a professional who has worked on wedding gowns in the past. This will keep you from any nasty surprises later.

What to Bring?

Once you’re ready to start your alterations, you should bring more than just your gown to your seamstress.  Be sure to bring a bag full of what you will be wearing with your dress on your wedding day. This includes your undergarments, shoes and any accessories you’ll be wearing with your dress. When you are trying on everything together, it will be easier to envision what you’ll look like on your wedding day. Having your wedding shoes on hand is important to get the length of your gown right so you won’t be tripping over it on your wedding day. If you don’t have your wedding shoes yet, then bring a pair that are close to the height you are looking for. If you bring your hair accessories or wedding veil with you, it will help to make sure that you have the right balance of frou frou (my families term for fancy stuff). It’s important to create some kind of balance with all of the articles in place.

How to get Out of Wedding Dress Alterations

I was exceptionally blessed during our wedding as I didn’t have to deal with wedding dress alterations. I chose to design my own wedding dress and had a dress that was made exactly to my body type and specifications for what I wanted in a wedding dress. The seamstress was a friend of the family, and a pro at creating beautiful wedding gowns at a fraction of the cost of a bridal boutique. So if you are looking at altering your wedding dress so that it looks like a whole new dress with a new style, then here’s a great way you can save some money. Instead of paying full price for a dress you want to change, then paying a seamstress a lot of money, why not find a wedding dress seamstress who can create the exact dress you want to meet what you want? Sounds like a lot less hassle to me.

Your wedding dress alterations are important to take care of as soon as possible. Be sure to keep in mind that the more things you need to have done to your wedding dress, the more time it is going to take and most likely, the more money it is going to cost. Wedding dress alterations are something you don’t want to rush, or you could wind up with some disappointing results.

Tags: design your own wedding dress, wedding dress, wedding dress alterations

Chances are, if you are purchasing your wedding dress from a retailer, then it will not fit the first time you try it on. I know when I was trying on wedding dresses, I had to have someone grab the extra fabric and pull it tighter so that I could see what it would look like after the wedding dress alterations were completed. While I was shopping, I was already shocked by just how much a wedding dress would cost me, and then I saw a chart of how much they charged for wedding dress alterations. It was going to be several hundred dollars just to do a few wedding dress alterations. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that wedding dresses have a lot of beading and detail to deal with and lots of layers of fabric, but thats a lot of money when you’re also purchasing a wedding dress for close to or over a thousand dollars. Remember that just because you are getting married, it doesn’t give vendors the right to charge you ten times more than what something is worth. So, here are some handy alternatives for having some wedding dress alterations done that won’t break the bank.

Wedding Dress Alterations from a Trusted Tailor

If you only have a few wedding dress alterations that need to be done, such as maybe a hemline or other small change to be made, then you could take it by a trusted tailor for the necessary wedding dress alterations. Before you leave your dress, make sure that they have some kind of experience doing wedding dress alterations, or you could be in a pickle when you come back for your dress. If it is something simple like a hem though, your trusted alteration shop or tailor should work just fine.

Wedding Dress Alterations from a Seamstress

Another great idea to get your wedding dress alterations done is to find a seamstress who specializes in wedding dresses. For example, I chose to design my own wedding dress with a trusted seamstress who can create beautiful wedding dresses. Not only that, but she also can do wedding alterations for ladies who purchase their wedding dress from a shop, and the result is perfection. The best way to find an independent seamstress who can do wedding dress alterations is by word of mouth, but you can also ask around at some sewing or fabric shops. They’re sure to have some business cards of seamstresses who use their shop that they can hand out.

Most people advise that you only use the in-house wedding dress alterations because any other seamstress or tailor will not do a good job and destroy your dress. My opinion, if you have a trusted tailor or seamstress who you know that can sew, talk to them seriously and see if they have any experience with wedding dress alterations. It could save you a lot of money in the end. I know I saved a ton. And I didn’t have my wedding dress alterations done by an in house seamstress.

Tags: wedding dress, wedding dress alterations

One thing you’ll want to look into once you get back from your honeymoon is your wedding dress preservation. Wedding dress preservation is a cleaning process typically done by some dry cleaners that is meant to thoroughly clean your wedding dress and get it ready for storage so that you can keep your wedding dress in prime condition for many years to come. Wedding dress preservation typically isn’t very expensive, and if you want to keep your wedding dress around for many years to come, either to use it later for a daughter or just as a souvenir of your wedding day. Wedding dress preservation will help to keep your wedding dress to be just as beautiful as it was on the day that you wore it. Here are some frequently asked questions about wedding dress preservation and some great storage tips for keeping your wedding dress in top condition.

How Long Does Wedding Dress Preservation Take?

Wedding dress preservation typically takes a couple of weeks to complete. This may seem like a long time, but when you see the finished result of your wedding dress, you’ll understand just why it took so long.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: preserve a wedding dress, wedding dress, wedding dress preservation

Weddings traditionally take place in churches,with the bride in a big white dress and the groom in a black or white tuxedo. Brides have worn white for as far back as I can find, and a white wedding dress symbolizes more than just a bride on her wedding day, as I’ll explain in more detail below. Nevertheless, a lot of brides of prefers today daring more colors, and are starting to get away from the tradition that has carried us so far, see my article on nontraditional wedding dresses for more information. I had someone comment on one of my articles, asking about all the traditions in Christian weddings, and why they are what they are. So, to continue my series on wedding traditions explained, the following is why brides have always worn white dresses in Christian weddings.

The Color White

The color white has long been a symbol of happiness, purity, and yes, even virginity. White is a symbol of being untainted by the world, and Christian brides wanting to wear white should have kept themselves from all impurities as described in the Bible for being pure. You are presenting yourself to your husband as pure and undefiled from the world, and wearing white is a symbol of the purity of which you have kept yourself throughout your life.

The Bride of Christ

A bride wearing white is also a symbol of Christ’s relationship with His church. Many times in the Bible, Jesus refers to the church as the bride of Christ, and himself as the bridegroom. The church is a group of saved believers. Being saved, we as Christians are washed white as snow through the blood of Jesus Christ, being made pure (white) in the sight of God. The church presents themselves clean and pure from their sins in a lifetime partnership with God, much like the relationship of a man and wife. The bride of Christ has a personal relationship with God and a deep spiritual intimacy with Him, also symbolizing the relationship between a man and wife. We as Christians submit ourselves unto the Lord, and He cares for us.

The other article in this series is Why do we use Wedding Vows, and it is another interesting article for you to check out if you have questions. Wearing white is not simply a meaningless tradition that people follow. Wearing white should be an important part of your wedding. In my opinion, for Christians there should be no other color of wedding dress.

Tags: bride in white, wedding dress, white wedding dress

Many brides today want to look unique, different from any other bride out there. It’s hard to do that when most brides typically shop at the same stores you are looking at for your wedding dress. There are only so many dresses, and in my opinion, I’ve seen enough brides in strapless dresses to last me a lifetime. Trust me, not every body type out there looks good in a strapless wedding dress. If you’re unsure, check out my article, Find a Wedding Dress for Your Body Type and What Neckline Works Best with my Body Type? Many brides now are looking for ways to design their own wedding dresses, and its a good thing. Your wedding dress should reflect you and your personality, which is different and unique from everyone else out there. If you are wondering how you can design your won wedding dress, then here some great pointers to get you started.

Find out what you like

A wedding dress is different from any other dress that you will ever wear. They’re bigger, heavier and fancier than any dress I own, and I own a lot of dresses. So if you don’t already know what kind of wedding dresses you like, then go into a bridal shop and try on as many dresses as it takes. Look at the different necklines, waistlines, and beading, and patterns to help you decide which you like. Bring a camera and take pictures of what you like and a notebook to help you remember later.

Design Your Own Wedding Dress

You don’t have to have any special software or skills to do design your own wedding dress, just pictures of what you like. If you have a friend or family member who is a seamstress, go and talk to them about making your dress, and if not, then go to fabric stores and start asking around. Most fabric stores will have business cards of ladies who can make wedding dresses for you. Set up a meeting with your seamstress and take your pictures and notebook of ideas. A good seamstress can look at your pictures and be able to copy the different ideas that you have into one dress. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Learn to Love Fittings!

A lot of brides I know complain about having to go to fittings. I don’t understand it. Especially when you design your own wedding dress. You want to make sure during the dress making process that you are happy with the way the dress is coming out and making sure that it fits. Don’t be afraid to let your seamstress know if you don’t like something about the dress so that it can be changed early.

An Added Benefit

When you design your own wedding dress, the cost of the dress does decrease considerably. You will typically pay your seamstress a flat amount, along with the cost of materials (which is surprisingly inexpensive - the satin for my dress was only $7 a yard, and I only needed 7 yards). So, for less money you get a dress that you absolutely love, totally unique, for less money. Can’t beat it!!

Another Added Benefit

Let’s face it, wedding dresses are expensive. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could easily spend three times what you were planning on spending on a wedding dress without even realizing it. If you don’t want to design your own wedding dress, but want the benefit of saving money and time on wedding attire, then click here for an all inclusive guide to getting the best wedding attire at a fraction of the cost.

If you’re still unsure if you want to create your own wedding dress, then check out my article, Custom Made Wedding Dresses. Find out why I chose to design my own wedding dress, and why I recommend it to everyone I know getting married. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

Tags: design your own wedding dress, wedding dress