Wedding Blog

From the extremely close poll results, it looks like you guys were just as torn over the dress dilemmas as I was. Well, I’m happy to announce that I’ve made my decisions!

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In regards to where I should get my dress altered, you voted

I did some more research and inquired at a handful of Manhattan-based tailors who specialize in bridal alterations.

Glenda of Manhattan - $250 - $300 (She’s on the Upper West Side and has altered about 300 wedding dresses)

Pinpoint Bridal - $225 minimum (Upper East Side. I had a very difficult time communicating with the people who worked there. Their command of English was not strong enough to make me feel comfortable)

Sivan Bridal - $320 + tax (For some reason, I thought she was based in Manhattan, but she’s actually located in Princeton, NJ.)

Ann Hamilton - Unavailable (She’s located in Nolita and came highly recommended by NYC Knotties, but she was difficult to get a hold of and later told me she was booked)

In the end, I decided to stay with the in-house alterations at Kleinfeld. Despite the initial sticker shock ($450 flat fee?!!), I learned from my comparison shopping that wedding dress alterations are expensive everywhere, period. Plus, Kleinfeld offers an incredible team of seamstresses and the resources to provide a solution in the unlikely case that my dress is ruined. The hundred or so dollars extra is worth my peace of mind.

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As for whether to A. keep the different bridesmaid dress or B. rush order a new dress that matches, you voted

Before I go into what I decided, I want to thank netbride.com for their wonderful customer service. I ordered the bridesmaid dresses in mid-June and they arrived in about 10 weeks. The color mis-match was an error on my part, not theirs. They shipped me the exact dresses that I ordered.

When I emailed a representative about my concerns, she got back to me immediately and addressed all of my questions. Sorry, it was too late to rush order a new dress to be made. But, they could find out if there were any suitable dresses in stock. Yes, they called the factory and found there was one celestial blue dress available! And, they would only charge me $95 for the dress and shipping, and it’d arrive within the month. Unfortunately, it was satin, so it didn’t solve my mis-match problem.

I ended up declining the stock dress and have decided to keep the dresses the way they are. Well, I didn’t really have much of a choice. It’s probably better that way.