Wedding Wednesdays Q&A: Wedding Dress Fitting & Alterations

Q: I finally got my wedding dress! Yay! Now, I guess I need take it in for alterations. I don’t think I need to do too much too it besides hemming. When do I need to take it to get altered? And what do I need for the wedding dress fitting?

Congrats on getting your dress! Woo hoo! That’s super exciting.

To answer your first question, most dress tailors won’t even touch your dress until about 2 months before your wedding. The reason is because bodies change especially if you’re working out a ton and/or losing weight. Or the flip of that and if you’ve gained a little weight to help fill it out your body is changing too.

Your tailor doesn’t want to have to constantly fix your wedding dress. So, it’s best to wait until closer to your wedding date to do the dress alterations.

So, whether you have a lot or a little to be altered, the earliest you’d usually start is 2 months out. But, that doesn’t mean you should wait until 2 months out to make an appointment.

I’d recommend you make an appointment early especially if you’re working with an in demand tailor. Make an appointment about a month or two before you need to actually go in. It’s also best that you ask them when they’d suggest you make your first appointment because every tailor is different.

Now, for your second question. When you go into your wedding dress fitting, you’ll want to bring your shoes, your undergarments, your veil and any shrug or topper you might have. Your shoes and undergarments are key in order for them to understand the real dimensions you’re working with. Your veil and shrug are you so can see it all together and if necessary make any alterations to those.

So, if you haven’t yet figured out what you’re doing or bought those items, now is the time! Because you’re definitely going to want to have them on hand before your first fitting.

And remember, with each wedding dress fitting, you’ll want to bring your shoes and undergarments every time. This ensures that your alterations will always be accurate.