Nobody wants to alter my wedding dress?

You would be doing alterations pretty early if you wanted them done by December. Is there a way you could have the alterations done where you are at now? I know your parents have the dress but is there a way to get it to where you are now? I am doing mine locally then flying with my dress to the place of the wedding. Getting them done locally might help since you won't be taking off any.

Can you pick up the dress in December, take it home with you, then have it altered closer to you closer to the wedding? I started alterations 3 months out, and had a fitting 1 month out and 1 week out. If I decided 5 months out what size I'd be, my dress would not have fit at all.

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My dress was sent to my parents, so it would have to be shipped to me which makes me feel really uneasy. We've had mail go missing before in our mail system. Any suggestions about how to go about doing this? Also, it would be the end of December. I would be getting them done around December 30th. When would you suggest getting alterations?

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I didn't think about that! That's a great idea! I'll have to check a bag, but that seems like a nice way of getting it back.

Not only is that super early, but alterations take more than one appointment. Even if they agreed to do it in December, you would need to go back 2 or 3 more times for alterations. I like MrsD’s suggestion of bringing it home with you to have alterations done closer to where you live.

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I know you could fly with your dress if that's how you usually get to where your school is. I would call your typical airline and see what their policy is (I know some have closets while others make it your carry on). I understand being uneasy about mailing it, that would make me nervous too! As a fellow May bride, I'll probably start about 3 months out (March timeframe). As the others have said, it'll take several appointments to get it right! Best of luck!

I had my wedding dress shipped to me and had alterations where I live. I had to go in for a ton of fittings but none took more than 15 minutes. My dress was mermaid style and heavily beaded and I started alterations 2 months before my wedding.

They're not wrong, I wouldn't alter a dress that early.

Alterations should be done 2 - 3 months beforehand. I ended up needing 2 alterations and I didn't get my dress back until 2 weeks before my wedding. I'd suggest what a PP stated -- pick it up and take it with you. When you get back to where your ceremony is, have an appointment to get it steamed and pressed before your wedding already set up so you don't have to stress about wrinkles. It'll be easier for you to take the dress where you are and get it done there than to stress about coming in, it seems.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll end up taking it back with me as my carry on and schedule the steam and press apointment.

My dress is mermaid style, and the bodice is covered in lace & beading. The skirt is covered in ruffles. My mom made me reach out to seamstresses before we bought the dress to ensure we could find someone that could alter the dress before buying it so we didn't get in that situation. My seamstress has been doing bridal alterations for 25 years including completely redoing super old family dresses for brides so she was confident she could do mine. She didn't want to do mine until 2 or 3 months before the wedding either but made an exception since I've remained the same weight for the last 11 years lol. I've had two fittings and will go back for my third in a few weeks. It's a lot harder having to travel for alterations, though (my girl is really close to my venue about 2 hours away).

Ok this is going to sound random but have you reached out to someone who does dance costumes, majorette, figure skating etc? Maybe even call a dance company and ask if they have a recommendation. I only say this because I was in marching band in college and the majorettes would have to find a very specific seamstress for their costumes due to the beading. I’m sure the reason their asking to wait is because it can only be altered once with all of the embellishment. Our majorettes had to stay within a 5lb range (up or down) once their costumes were altered.

View Quoted Comment I agree with this. My dress was ordered in DE near my parents, I’ll be returning home in March for my shower and will likely have to bring it back home to FL with me to be altered before our wedding in Mexico in May.

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I'll look into that! Thanks for the suggestions.