Where are all the short brides?

I'm 5'2". I ordered my dress "hollow to hem" which means they made the dress to my height so it didn't need hemming (but still came in a dress size for the rest of the body- and maybe needs alterations there- not the same as a fully custom made dress, but also not as expensive). I would recommend that for petite brides. Cost a little bit, but just about as much as a hem when my dress has lace on the edge of the hem of the dress, and I didn't have to worry about the pattern getting off by needing to take off a foot of the bottom of the dress. My dress is by Demetrios.

ETC: "hollow to hem", thanks @Asta!

All dresses can be altered to fit you

I'm 5'1 and I did custom length with my dress when I ordered, not just because of my height but also because of the intricate lace detail and scalloped edging. Keep in mind when you do that to have the shoes you plan to wear or a pretty much exact replica of the style shoe. Even with custom length in the exact shoes I'll be wearing for the ceremony (and they measured twice) the dress was still a little long.

Also keep in mind a simpler skirt is easier and cheaper to hem.

I'm just under 5'2" and curvy and my dress is a Justin Alexander. All the dresses were long on me but none of them seemed to be too bad even with my short torso. I'm just expecting to get it taken in however need be with alterations.

I think they can alter any dress. I'm 5'1 and of course my dress was dragging but they altered it beautifully. I got my dress from David's Bridal.

I'm 5'2" and ordered a regular dress. They plan to hem about a foot off. If there are embellishments on the hem line they can take it up from the waist to prevent losing any of the beautiful fabric

4'11" and curvaceous here. This is a DB dress. It's all about finding something that's gonna hit your waist correctly. Some dress styles will be more suited to you too. A mermaid likely will not work, but a ball gown will be more workable. It's definitely not impossible. Good luck!

4'10"

ETA: Designer from Israel Inbal Dror

I'm 5ft (technically 4 "11 3/4 but shh lol) and bought an off the rack dress that fit me perfectly (except for the length obviously).. my dress also has straps and they are too long so they will need to be altered as well. I am going to get it hemmed and have the straps adjusted for me. The consultant also told me that the designer Casablanca actually doesn't charge for petite woman so when they give your measurements they will adjust accordingly (I believe it is the hollow to hem that the PP stated but free of charge) I asked the consultant how MY dress would look altered and she told me not to worry and that they would take the lace along the bottom of the dress and just move it up after the length is cut off. (My dress Isn't Casablanca but she let me know about the free of charge hollow to hem that Casablanca offers when I first started looked at dresses) I have attached a picture for your reference.

I'm 4'11 and I ordered an Alfred Angelo ball gown. I was worried it would swallow me, but it surprising doesn't. The seamstress said it would be easy to hem about a foot or too off the bottom.

I'm 5'2" and curvy. My dress was altered to fit me.

I'm 5'2" and also curvy. My seamstress gave me the option of a custom-measured dress when I expressed my concerns about the length, and some issues in the length of the waist too. But, she said that it could also all be done in-house, so that's what we went with.

My dress is a Casablanca, and their website says they offer petite dresses, but I ordered a regular style. Also, Every salon except for DB that I went to (all 2 of them) had a pedestal/stage in the shop where you could get an idea of how the dress would look like without it bunched up at the bottom.

I'm 5'1" and somewhat curvy. I got my dress from Davids Bridal. The designer was Oleg Cassini. My dress came in a petite sizing, but I ultimately decided to go with the regular sized dress because I didn't want the shortened bodice. They are altering the length.

I would just warn, be careful of dresses that have a lot of lace and detailing at the bottom. As far as comments that any dress can be altered any way is just not true. I didn't know this and I have a lace scalloped edging on the bottom of my dress. When I first showed the seamstress I was going to be working with a picture, she told me that I might not be able to get it hemmed due to the fact that it wasn't a separate piece and the bottom was very detailed. She told me that I might have to wear extra high heels. I told her my FH is short (he's about 2 inches taller than me, I'm a little less than 5'3'). I had a panic attack thinking I'd have to find a new dress. I brought it in and they will be able to cut and resow, but it's not going to look as perfect as it does now. I'm fine with it because super high heels is not an option and I don't think anyone is going to look that closely at the bottom of my dress. Something with a simpler, straight hemline will be easier (and cheaper) to shorten. Don't assume that anything can just be hemmed without issue.

I am 5'0" and I did a hollow-to-hem with Casablanca. I was charge for it, though. The hollow-to-hem was actually different than what they consider to be their petite customization, which I was not charge for. Asking for a style to be made petite means they'll change where, for example, the flare-out happens on a mermaid style dress so that it looks right on a smaller proportioned body. They raised where my flare-out happened by 1-1.5". The hollow to hem was separate and cost $200. They measured from the hollow of my neck to the floor in the shoes I planned to wear so the dress would be the exact length I needed. It worked out well, except I lost weight between ordering the dress and the wedding, so my body no longer held the dress up the same way, so I still needed a tiny bit hemmed.

I'm 5'4 and my dress has a ton of lace detailing and several layers of it, too. I went ahead and bought 4 inch heels that are surprisingly comfortable, so if the dress cannot be hemmed then I'll be kind of ok.

I'm sure there's something they can do.

Lace dresses can be hemmed. It's more intricate and costs more, but it can be done.

This was my dress, fyi. There wasn't a good place for the lace to be stopped since it runs in only certain patterns from the top of the dress all the way to the bottom. The hollow-to-hem came out perfectly for me without needing hemming, but I did already know my shoes before I ordered the dress:

I’m 5’2,starting my dress search soon, so it’s good to know all this and the technical term “hollow to hem”!!

I'm sure you know this @HisBeauty, but get on the dress hunt! Many places can't get a dress and get it altered in just 6 months or you could have to pay a lot for rush charges!