As wedding dress alterations specialists we see a range of approaches to planning, from those who love to plan every detail meticulously months or years in advance to those who work best in the last minute rush of adrenaline. Some brides will contact us a year before their wedding date to book a consultation, some with months to go and some with just weeks or days. Though we usually recommend 6-8 weeks before the big day as the ideal time to have a first fitting, this is not always possible. We always do our best to accommodate any bride who needs a dress altered quickly and have never yet failed to work together to find a solution that gives her a dress she is happy with in the time that we have available.
We had the pleasure of working on the wedding outfits of a lovely bride and groom who managed to hold a beautiful ceremony during the small window of opportunity in 2020. The global pandemic and ever changing set of rules for weddings is making it very difficult for anyone to properly plan in advance. This bride came to us with less than three weeks until her wedding day. Her dress had already been altered elsewhere but was still not a good fit and she was worried that it would not be possible for us to help her achieve a dress that she loved in the time that she had.
This photo, provided by the bride prior to our first consultation, shows some of the issues that needed to be fixed. The waist of the dress was uncomfortably tight while the top of the bodice was too loose, unsupportive and poorly shaped to her body.
The neckline was unflatteringly high and a previous attempt at altering the fit had left the lace edging looking unattractive. We discussed the problems and the possible solutions with the bride-to-be and agreed an approach to fixing them.
More space was created at the waist by removing the zip and adding a lace up back to allow a more comfortable fit. The eyelet loops and long ribbon for lacing were made from a satin fabric which complimented the colour of the lace edging and appliques. To tie it all together we made a new belt in this same fabric to replace the original one.
The ill fit of the top of the dress was mainly due to the bodice being too long for the bride’s proportions. We corrected this by temporarily removing the sleeves and altering the bodice at the shoulder seams. The top section was slightly narrowed and shortened lifting the whole dress up and bringing it into the proper alignment with her body. Bust cups were then added to the inside to give a more supportive structure.
A flattering neckline was created by lowering and shaping the tulle under layer. The final step was to reapply the lace applique edging to the neckline. A more attractive line that appeared to be a single piece was constructed and sewn by hand using the small sections that we had removed while doing the structural work.
We also had the pleasure of fitting the husband-to-be's wedding suit, the very striking blue fabric and yellow accessories were greatly admired in the studio. The suit trousers just required a hem alteration to get the perfect length and the jacket was slimmed at the waist to give a nice fitted shape. The groom's ensemble included cufflinks so we shortened the jacket sleeves to raise the cuff and make these more visible. We also removed the button from the standard cuffs on his shirt and added an additional buttonhole in its place to accommodate the cufflinks.
We think that they looked wonderful and made a very attractive couple, don't you? It is always a pleasure to help people feel their best on such an important and memorable day. Good reviews make it even better and we were delighted to receive this feedback from the clients:
You can read the full review below or click on the link to go our reviews page.
