Have to pay for alterations upfront?!

At small bussinesses, I have never heard of that. David's bridal is corporate though.

I don’t like that, it’s so much harder to get a refund after the fact. Could you find a local seamstress instead?

View Quoted Comment I looked around at local seamstresses in my area (small town) and all of them had less than favorable reviews in comparison to David’s Bridal so I decided to just go there unfortunately!

I've never heard anything good about DB alterations. I wouldn't pay upfront, maybe like a small amount, but why would you pay upfront and then have your dress potentially fuxed up?

Do not pay before you receive services. A local seamstress will be cheaper. Unless they are really bad, they will be a better choice than David's. Also bear in mind that some brides have unattainable expectations and that can color their reviews too

My seamstress required upfront payment, however I knew this going in based off reviews so I wasn’t surprised. I don’t know if it’s industry standard or not, I am guessing it may vary based on who you go to.

I can understand the policy - if you don’t want to pay after the work is done, they have no recourse other than remove all the alterations, and that may be more damaging.

I got my dress and David and knew I'd need to have the length altered just a bit so that I was not stepping over my dress so I added the alterations to it and it covered my length and adding the bustle. This was in 2019 so things may have changed also the DB store I went to had some of the best reviews. I don't remember them telling me that I had to pay for the alterations ahead of time but they offered me a deal and it was pretty cheap. Given the bottom of my dress (pictured below) I wanted to make sure the alterations came out good so yes I was a little nervous given the amount of reviews regarding bad alterations but they really took great care of me and it showed when instead of cutting the bottom they moved it up on the dress, no damage and it was done right on time. I highly recommend using reviews when making these type of decisions.

I paid for half the alterations when I ordered the dress (I had to put 50% down to order it). It makes sense if they KNOW what you're going to have altered as those appointments can book up really quickly. I don't know if it's standard but I know it's not completely out of the box either.

I paid for my alterations upfront. I went to an alterations shop that was highly recommended by the boutique I bought my dress from. They did not disappoint. At first I thought it was weird to pay full upfront but reading the reviews, and after the consultation I was confident they knew what they were doing. They made me feel more beautiful than the stylist at the boutique where I bought my dress from. I liked the upfront payment because they were very detailed and thorough of what needed to be done to my dress they told me everything that was going to happen very transparent and they mapped out a plan and if I needed to add in anything it was included in the price. Plus I got champagne at every fitting I went to.

I had to pay for my alterations upfront at David’s Bridal bc it is their policy and they will not do any alterations if you do not pay. It depends on the boutique/bridal shop that you bought your dress from and policy for alterations payment.

Do you mean you have an appointment to try on wedding dresses and they want that payment, or you have an alterations appointment and they want you to pay first?

I paid all of it upfront. But it was my choice. They had a set amount of money for alterations (length, etc), bustle, and taking the dress out/in. If I paid up front, then I would also be paying for them to store my dress, which is what I wanted. I did not have to do this.

After all my alterations were done, I received $100 credit because my dress did not have to be taken out or in. They just had to cut the length, adjust the straps, and add the bustle. This was at a small bridal store, not DB.

I guess it makes sense to pay upfront? This is likely to prevent people from trying to get over on their shops & getting away with what would be a free dress alteration. From reading, it seems to be common.