When to get dress altered?

It will depend on what alterations you want done, but I am having - sleeves added, dress taken in, extra tulle added underneath, skirt hemmed, bustle added, and they told me to book in 3 months ahead of my wedding for all of that.

Really good alterations people can be booked out quite far in advance, and so they suggested I get in touch to make my appointment with the lady I am using 1 month before, so that's 4 months before the date.

They would generally do the other parts of the alterations first, and the actual sizing last, as close to the wedding as possible, but you will need to have your shoes by the first appointment.

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Oh awesome! Thank you!! I have to get the length in, and the appliques need to be added due to the length being altered. Otherwise I think I'll have it taken in- but need to find shoes!!!

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You're so welcome! So much about dress alterations depends on how the dress is constructed. I would maybe start reaching out to some well-reviewed alterations people (or ask the shop or a local wedding group for their recommendations) about 6 months before hand and ask them how long they expect the work to take, JUST IN CASE it's a lot more work and needs extra time. Better to have too much than too little!

I think it really depends on what you want done and the load on the alterations person/store. There are so many postponed weddings from 2020, I’d get some quotes now and see what their timeline is. I only needed a bustle and to take in the dress about 2 inches on the bust and the boutique still recommended 12 weeks prior. My first appointment the lady measured and pinned, the second everything was perfect and nothing more was needed so it was only 8 weeks. If more adjustments were needed it would have gone closer to the 12.

I am getting married in 40 days and I just did my alterations a few days ago. It was suggested that I do alterations as close as possible 6 to 8 weeks before, however the appointment was made when I purchased my dress. The reason being like many brides we have an ideal weight in mind we would like to be on our big day and in most cases we meet our goal. You do not want to pay hundreds of dollars for alterations too early and then have to pay again once it is close to you wedding because of weight loss. I purchased my dress 7 months ago. Since then, I’ve lost 12lbs which surprisingly made a significant difference. I am now a whole dress size smaller. I have to get my trumpet style dress taken in everywhere, straps added, padding in the bra area, side bones added for support, several bustles, and a sash sewn on the waistline. It will take 4 weeks for my dress to be done. I am now trying my best to remain the same size for the next 6 weeks.

My tailors told me to come in 3 months before the big day. You may want to do it sooner if you expect to need particularly major alterations.

I took mine to my seamstress about 3 months before the wedding.

Your seamstress will tell you when to come. Most likely she will start working on the parts that won't fluctuate with weight, and then at your last fitting, will do the final nips and tucks!