Wedding Dress Fitting Tips
1. Try not to be in a rush – When a bride comes to a fitting with too much stress, either because she has to go back to the office or has another appointment scheduled in less than 30 minutes, the result is always not as it should have been. If you really want your bridal gown to fit you properly, please find the time and book an appointment on a day most convenient to both you and the seamstress.
2. Don’t come to a fitting after a workout – Not only will you need to have your wedding dress cleaned before the wedding (which is always a huge no), but it is extremely undesirable for us to work with a client that smells bad, be it from sweat, cigarettes or too much perfume.
3. Bring your foundation garments on all your fittings – Buy them before your first fitting and wear them before each fitting after it. You may not notice any considerable changes in the way your body shape looks like when you wear your foundation garments, but trust us, they do play a role in the way the gown hangs on your figure. From our experience, wearing the wrong bra or corset can affect whether the hem of the dress hangs evenly. There is no doubt that your dress will look different if you wear a different bra at each fitting. Needless to say, if you are wearing a crinoline or petticoat, do bring that too.
4. Bring your wedding shoes – If you have not yet found the perfect pair of wedding shoes, try to bring a pair whose heel height is about what your ideal shoe will be. Since the height of the heel affects your posture, we need to make sure everything is perfect. At this stage, we don’t mark the hem until a later fitting, when you have purchased the wedding shoes.
5. Don’t stand on tiptoe and ask to have your hem marked – Kindly note that marking the hem is a delicate process that requires, at least, 5 minutes. It is impossible to stand on tiptoe for that long and not have an uneven hem marked.
6. Listen to your seamstress’s recommendations – You want a particular change, and your tailor or seamstress recommends against it. If you trust that person, then consider his opinion. Chances are there is a very good reason he or she says what he/she says. If you feel stuck in between two viewpoints, ask for another opinion from another seamstress. If both seamstresses are on the same page, then they probably know garment construction like the back of their hands, and have probably seen something you don’t, so it is best to go with their recommendation. They may suggest another way to make the dress look the way you want it to look!
7. Move around only to test the fit – During a fitting, many brides tend to move. This makes it difficult for us to make sure the garment fits evenly and that the hems and sleeves are where they were supposed to be. Sometimes, brides even get poked with a pin while moving around because we end up chasing them around to take measurements right. So, if you want to move, please just ask. You will have plenty of time to test the fit after we are done!
8. Tell the seamstress if you will be doing a lot of walking, dancing, sitting, etc. – Knowing such things is much appreciated. It allows us to adjust the wedding dress so that it makes you feel comfortable while doing all those things. If the dress doesn’t inhibit your movement after it has been pinned, then you can rest assured you will enjoy it a great deal!
9. The final fitting should be held no more than 10-14 days before the wedding – This gives us enough time to address any problems, such as small changes to your size (many brides are so stressed before the wedding that they lose weight the last 2 weeks prior the big day).
10. Ask for help with lacing up your dress – In the rare cases when your best friend/maid of honour/mother can’t come with you when you go dress shopping, do ask the fitter to show them how to lace up your dress (or zip or button it) if the particular design doesn’t allow you to do that on your own (corset back lacing can turn into a real challenge if you don’t know the hows).
Rear view of girl in white corset, isolated on black background
How did you find the dream wedding dress? Was it as you wanted it or did you have to make alterations to it? How did that one work for you? Tell us in the comments below!
And, if you have any questions about altering your wedding dress, we are all ears !
Comments
I appreciate your advice on telling the seamstress that you will be doing a lot of walking or dancing so that they can adjust the wedding dress to be more comfortable for those things. My sister is getting married next year and we need to find her a wedding dress and have it altered so that she can do both the ceremony and the party in it. We will be sure to remember your advice and be open with and communication with the seamstress.
I love that you talked about moving around to test the fit so that they are able to make any changes that they find. My husband and I are looking for a wedding dress alteration service that can help our daughter get a perfect fit for her big day. We will keep these tips in mind as we search for a professional that can help us best.
You should write more articles like this, you really helped me and I love the subject.