Ask the Bridal Consultant!!

[MandyMaloo]

Hello Fellow Brides!

I thought it might be nice to start a thread for any questions anyone may have about the process of dress shopping for everyone in your bridal party.

I worked at David's Bridal for several years and have gotton a ton of experiance, both from a professional point of view, and from a Bride's point of view. It might help getting some (UNBIASED!!) answers from someone who lived in the industry.

So if you have any questions about a timeline, color combos, styles, etc. post them here!! Even if I don't know the answer off the top of my head-- I'll find it!

So post those questions!! :)

[oneday someday]

What a great thread. I don't have any questions right now, but just wanted to chime in and say thank you in advance for helping out brides-to-be!

[debbydibbles]

Gr8 thread. Although I do not currently ahve any questions I am certain some will arise in the future and now I know wher eto go to get them answered. Thanks for starting this thread.

[MandyMaloo]

No problem ladies! Lemme know if you have any questions!! :p

[Durananny]

Hello, I was wondering how would a seamstress get a dress to fit a bride if the dress was about 4 sizes too small? I found a dress I like but the biggest in comes in is a 16 and Im a size 20.

[MandyMaloo]

Good question!

Unfortunatly, it all really depends on the dress. It it has a lot of embroidery/embellishment then they may not even be able to take it out at all.

I've seen a few dresses taken out 2 sizes, but they all had a corset back-and it cost quite a bit of money.

Typically a dress can be let out only 1 saze (going from a size 16 to an 18) and since Bridal runs small, I'm not sure if that would help. If this is truly your dream dress, I would encourage you to take it to a local seamstress and have them let you know what can be done. There are options available like ordering more fabric, etc, so maybe they can help.

Sorry it's not a very cut and dry answer, but alterations on a dress ALL depend on the style, embellishment, size, and style. I hope it works out for you!! Good luck, and please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help!



Keep the questions coming ladies! :)

[debbydibbles]

OK so I did think of a question. Below I am posting pics of a dress that is nearly identical to mine. The questions: I would like to turn this into a sleeveless gown. Is this a possibility with the design of the gown ?

And the other question: I purchased this from a discontinued style rack .It does need some altering in the bust area in order to fit me properly. However I have recently started a diet and am trying to lose around 20 lbs.Can this dress be taken in enough to cover that size difference and not alter the look of the dress very much?
http://images.snapfish.com/344%3B%3A62723232%7Ffp45%3Dot%3E2356%3D927%3D77%3A %3DXROQDF%3E2323%3B3%3A76%3B87%3Aot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/344%3B%3A62723232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2356%3D927%3D77%3A %3DXROQDF%3E2323%3B3%3A76%3B87%3Bot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/344%3B%3A62723232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D3265%3E836%3E689%3E WSNRCG%3D3232%3C2%3B67%3A96%3Anu0mrj

[MandyMaloo]

Again, alterations are all dependant on the dress and the person altering your dress. Some do not want to actually completly alter the dress (ie: taking away sleeves, adding sleeves, adding a corset, etc.) and others are 100% fine with it.

Now again, this is coming from someone who never did alterations. I worked with some awesome alterations ladies, but again, that is something a bit more complicated. But judging on what I have seen them do in the past, here's what I can offer you.

It looks like if you want to make this a "tank" style gown, that would be fine. They would just remove the stitching in the sleeve. That's not too hard...so that' probably doable.

Now, as far as getting alterations done for fluxuating weight, that may be a problem. Especially since this is a discontinued dress. For starters- since your bodice has a lot of beading, it's going to be hard enough to bring that in without losing some of your detail.

Typically, with a dress with a bunch of detail on the bodice, taking it in any more than 2 sizes is not an option. Then you get in to having to save the detail and not making it look lopsided in the back.

Here's my solution. Take the dress to an alterations specialist in your area. Depending on when you're getting married, don't take your dress in until about 4-6 months in advance (depending or not on if you have Bridal portarits). Ask them about the sleeves and when you would need to bring your dress in if you plan on losing weight.

I warn you though to be careful. I know every brides wants to lose a few pounds, but if you've already purchased your dress, you need to worry about how that is going to turn out as well. Not everyone has a budget for 2 dresses, so unless you plan on getting a new one, you'll need to remember that taking this dress down any more than 2 sizes may not be possible.

Sorry I wasn't able to answer you're question as well, but an alterations specialist will be able to give you much better advice than I. Good luck and your dress will be beautiful! :)

[oneday someday]

Bump!!!

[acire01]

Hi I know it's been forever since someone asked a question in here, but I'm desperate and running out of time, December 9th!!! Here is my dress from Alfred Angelo, and its only a shade too tight. I bought it in a size larger (16) than what was snug at the store (14), thinking I'd totally fit into it but apparently I gained some weight between then and now. I'm hella worried about fitting into it, feeling that if I haven't lost the weight yet, maybe I'm not gonna (that's the very frustrating part)!! Anyhow, wondering if this would be impossible to let out, literally a few couple inches so it zips comfortably. I mean with the foundation undergarments and such, I can squeeze into it, but come on, who wants to feel like a sausage all day?! Opinions please! Thanks
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/acire01/weddingdress.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/acire01/weddingdressback.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/acire01/weddingdressdetail.jpg

[PG-rated]

Well, I'm not the OP, but I believe that most places don't start alterations until about two months to six weeks before your wedding date. So if you're getting married December 9th, you have a little over a month to really work on your diet and exercise routine before you have to commit to a dress size. If it's only a question of a few pounds, that might do the trick. And almost any dress can be let out enough to give you a little breathing room.

[Natasha]

I was thinking the same thing PG said.

[BerBer]

Unfortunatly this dress can not be let out... from what I can tell. It looks like the lace overlay is all one piece and is not going to have any seams to let out... You could possibly check to see if they left any fabric at the zipper... but in my experience doing alterations.... they rarely do. You could try to add a corset back to give some extra room then take in accordingly after that but, that will definitly cost well over $150...I'd say.

[maplekitty]

And also, most brides loose weight right before the wedding - what with stressing out, running around with your head chopped off, and forgetting about proper nutrition due to having your head in the clouds. No, not the healthiest way to look at things, but having watched 7 friends all get married in the last 2 years, this was a common occurance, whether wanted or not!

[maplekitty]

You could try to add a corset back to give some extra room then take in accordingly after that but, that will definitly cost well over $150...I'd say.


Good idea!
And shop around for quotes...and *dont* get alterations done at the wedding dress store, they usually charge a lot more than a local seamstress would.

[acire01]

Thanks everyone. We went to the shop (I know, I know) but they said someone on their end (at another location, but still same company) made a mistake when they didn't take my measurements and just let me tell them what size I needed (or thought I needed). She explained how a lot of the alterations are done, and put my mom at ease about the lace and such. It seems like a really ridiculous process, but they would have to be able to alter it since not every bride that shops at their store is 5'9" (like me who is 5'4" with shoes). Anyhow, thanks for the input and comments, they've helped. I'm going Friday to see the seamstress and we'll see what she has to say about it. Thanks again.

[mgmhmj]

Alright, I have a color question. I really want to use royal or cobalt blue for my bridesmaid's (only 1!) dress, and therefore as a central color for everything. I'm leaning towards a beach/island theme because I want to keep everything pretty casual and laid back. My dress is ivory. With my ivory dress, will the bright blue look OK, and if so, what other color(s) should I incorporate? I'm leaning towards silver accents (although generally I would prefer gold with the ivory, my jewelry is all white gold), but feel like I need one other color accent, and I'm clueless!

[Mrs.Pfeiffer]

Alright, I have a color question. I really want to use royal or cobalt blue for my bridesmaid's (only 1!) dress, and therefore as a central color for everything. I'm leaning towards a beach/island theme because I want to keep everything pretty casual and laid back. My dress is ivory. With my ivory dress, will the bright blue look OK, and if so, what other color(s) should I incorporate? I'm leaning towards silver accents (although generally I would prefer gold with the ivory, my jewelry is all white gold), but feel like I need one other color accent, and I'm clueless!

I would use Royal Blue instead of Colbalt blue. It won't be as "brite" i think. Also, I think silver would be a great accent color with the Royal Blue and ivory!! I hope I can find some pics to show you and I will post them here.

[ruledbymercury]

Alright, I have a color question. I really want to use royal or cobalt blue for my bridesmaid's (only 1!) dress, and therefore as a central color for everything. I'm leaning towards a beach/island theme because I want to keep everything pretty casual and laid back. My dress is ivory. With my ivory dress, will the bright blue look OK, and if so, what other color(s) should I incorporate? I'm leaning towards silver accents (although generally I would prefer gold with the ivory, my jewelry is all white gold), but feel like I need one other color accent, and I'm clueless!

I was thinking if you used different blues and greens in your wedding decor, it would be PERFECT for a beachy wedding. Think ocean colors - deep blues, turquoise, marine-green, etc. Those colors also remind me of sea glass, which would be a neat element to use in your decor items. I think it sounds wonderful! Good luck!

EDIT - I found a picture of the sea glass colors I was talking about. Maybe you could use this as inspiration:
http://www.auroragallery.net/News/CPSpanishSeaGlass.jpg

[jenahdawn]

Acire01~~~The biggest "secret": The money is in alterations.

And dresses, unless ordered longer, are made standard lengths because it would cost way more money to manufacture dresses in different lengths.

(Also, for everyone, don't automatically order a size smaller because you want to try and lose weight...it's easier to take a dress in than let it out, no fear of running out of fabric.)

(YEARS of costume shop experience and turning down a bridal boutique because I didn't like the idea of multiple people working on one dress, as well as people who weren't experienced...)