I would highly recommend using Susan Stowell for all of your alteration needs! She will listen to your concerns/ideas to help achieve the best outcome for your vision. I bought a dress online for my upcoming trip to Italy. I initially took my garment to someone else and they would not help me. The dress had shorts sewn into it, which made it very unflattering when wearing due to the center seam. We knew we just needed to replace the shorts with something that was seamless. We tried premade shorts from Amazon but none of them worked. She ended up making a pattern that not only matched the color, but was the best fitting and most comfortable option! I am only going to use Susan from now on!!

Susan helped me on short notice with alterations to my wedding gown and two other bridal outfits for my wedding weekend. My gown had intricate beading and embroidery and Susan did a phenomenal job shortening the waist and hemming the bottom so that it fit me like a glove. She matched the pattern and detailing perfectly! She also helped tailor a lace blouse, trousers, and a tulle skirt. Susan was incredibly easy to work with, very reasonably priced, and her craftsmanship is out of this world! I especially appreciated her attention to detail and level of experience with beadwork.

Susan turned a dress I thought might be the one into the dress of my DREAMS! Despite knowing with certainty that I wanted a long sleeved wedding gown, I ended up purchasing a sleeveless dress. I was nervous, but at the recommendation of Margaux of Wildflower Bridal I reached out to Susan armed with extra lace and fabric that was ordered from my dress manufacturer.

At my first appointment Susan took detailed notes on what sort of sleeves I was hoping for - a cuffed bishop sleeve that wasn't too poofy- and executed it beautifully. She also pinned the hem, straps, and two separate bustle designs so they could be altered to the perfect length, fit, and look.

We spent my second appointment pinning lace in various positions on one of the sleeves she had created until I was perfectly happy with it. She took that sleeve we created together and used it to create the second sleeve. Susan was incredibly knowledgeable about the material and took time to show me the direction in which it would and wouldn't stretch and how it would behave if more or less lace were added.

At my last appointment I tried on my completed dress (and veil which she made for me from the additional fabric left over from creating my sleeves) and I was over the moon! It came out far better than I imagined it ever could. The sleeves truly looked as though they had always been a part of the dress and I received SO many similar comments from guests on my wedding day when I told them that they had been added.

Not only did all the alterations she made to my dress fit me perfectly, they were comfortable. I was able to lift my arms high over my head and dance the night away in my dress without any issue. I'm so grateful for Susan - her kindness, expertise, and willingness to accomodate all my requests for tweaks here and there. She is a true professional and I would trust her with absolutely any kind of alterations or custom design job. Thank you, Susan!

photos: MorningWild Photography
dress: Wildflower Bridal