Hemming a Fully Beaded Dress?

If there is a hidden seam, the dress will be taken *in* (or, rather, up) from that point. You would only have to worry about the size of the seam allowance if they needed to make the dress longer.

My guess is that another inch or two won't make a big difference, but if it gives you peace of mind to bring a second pair of shoes, go for it!

Are you wearing 3" heels all night? If not, you may consider having it hemmed for flats if you're changing at any point, or the dress will drag the floor.

They're professionals. They know how to hem it for women of all heights. I'm sure there won't be an issue. I'm 4'11" and had an intricately beaded dress wayyyy back when I went to prom in 2001. They hemmed it for me just fine, and I wore 1" heels.

ETA: mna - I plan to wear my shoes all day (afternoon wedding, probably going to be short anyway). That makes me feel better that you had a dress like that hemmed without issues.

BookcaseHat - Oops! My bad on the terminology. Can they really take the beading up as well though? Even if they bring the lining up the beaded top layer will be too long. I know nothing about this stuff.

Here is a couple of pictures (not the easiest to see, but there are little pearls all the way down and (not pictured) buttons all down the back. The first picture is with my heels. Although it was pulled up a little too high, they came by later to fix it. Second picture is where it should have been sitting!

The second picture is no shoes, but is one of the clearer pictures I have of the beading.

I wouldn't go any higher with your heels. You want to be able to wear them for the whole wedding/reception if your gown is hemmed to them. otherwise, your gown will drag and be in the way.

I think PPs covered the advice part. Just wanted to say your dress looks great! Also, I went through the same thing - the dress I originally purchased no longer fits and I changed my mind about the style lol

Chantel - Thank you! This one is better than the old one in my opinion

It's sort of hard to see, but if there is beading all over the skirt, it won't matter whether it needs to come up one inch or nine -- it's totally doable.

Basically, they'll take the skirt off the dress and remove the excess length from the waist of the skirt (rather than from the hem). That preserves any detail at the hem. Then they sew the (shortened) skirt back on, and, if needed, reattach any beads that are now out of place. Totally doable!

ETA: Also, gorgeous dress!!

BookcaseHat - Girl, you are a lifesaver! I am basically running blind with all this. The pictures are blurry, but the beads run the full length of the skirt. I had no idea if that was going to be difficult to hem. I'm also happy to hear I won't lose the bottom detail. The beaded part has such a pretty edge and then there is a a couple inches of chiffon at the very bottom. And thank you! I was a bit nervous to be exchanging the dress, but this one was so pretty I couldn't go back

I'm going to go sigh some serious relief now.

Bring a higher pair just in case. But only if they're comfortable for you.

Agree with PPers. Take your options to discuss.