Alterations Question!

Typically around 2-3 months before your wedding is when you want to start alterations. My alterations will be done by a different company than where I bought my dress from, though I know some places offer alterations in store.

So! I bought my dress two years ago, cause I had a long engagement. I was always told it’s better to wait to get alteration closer to the wedding in case of weight gain/loss, or just the decision to change dresses. I am also clueless when it comes to alterations. So with that said I went in August to get alterations done (Wedding is in November) and the first alterations place that has great reviews, lots of brides recommended it, well my dress was supposed to take a month.. well I left my dress there and they RUINED IT. Long story short, picked my dress up at the end of September. Took it to another place, which will again take a month or so, and I will finally get my dress one week before the wedding, which isn’t ideal in case something else goes wrong, however it is what it is. So I suggest from personal experience the sooner the better.

I got my alterations started about 3 months before the wedding. You don't want to start them to early because your body may change (especially with stress).

What Lisa said - around 2-3 months before. Sometimes prom season gets them a little messed up so you will want to see how that works out with your timeline.

They are def tough to budget for. Some things to keep in mind: lace, sequins, beading etc. can drive up the cost because they will have to be removed and then sewn back on. The same goes for intricate hemlines.

I'm not sure if HP does this, but I know my gown was able to be made to my height so I didn't have to get it hemmed I have a horsehair hem so that was quite a relief!

Daughter's dress came into the salon about a year before the wedding. She tried it on then to make sure the dress was in perfect condition, then we took it home in a white cotton garment bag. She stored it at our house for about 9 months (trying it on every 6 weeks or so, just for fun ). Her first alterations appointment, at the salon where she purchased her dress, was about 3 months before the wedding. At that appointment they had her put the dress on and discussed the needed alterations (taking in the bodice, lengthening the straps a tiny bit, and creating the bustle) and we paid for those before we left the store (I think about $250ish). When we went for her second fitting appointment, it was clear the bodice was going to need additional work (it needed to be really tight in order to support her chest), which of course was going to be more time and work, so it cost more. We paid the additional before we left that appointment ( ~$175). We ended up going in twice more to get the final adjustments perfect -- so a total of four appointments in a six-week period. We took the perfectly altered dress home about 5 weeks before the wedding. The week of the wedding, daughter had the dress steamed at a specialty dry cleaner -- they stuffed the bodice and fixed the skirt so when it came out of the bag at the venue the day of the wedding it was perfect.

I bought my first dress in November of last year for my March 13, 2021 wedding. 😁 It took about 2 months for the dress to come in. And then had major dress regret and exchanged it for another dress about a month ago. The new dress is the sample dress so I already have it in my closet. I plan to schedule alterations in December.

My alterations will start getting worked on about 8 weeks before the wedding

I'm getting mine done about 4 months before the wedding.