Weddingbee Blog

When I arrived back form England, I realized I had an important detail that I had left hanging, like a chad blowing in the winds of Florida: finding a seamstress to do my alterations.

I checked reviews on Wedding Wire, Yelp, Weddingbee, and The Knot, and found out there were two popular seamstresses that both capped their alterations at reasonable prices. Meaning, no matter what I wanted done, the price wouldn’t go above $200. Which was super sweet for this bee, since I’m asking her to hem the dress, take it in a few (hopefully more!) sizes, shorten the straps, elongate the armpit holes, create a crinoline, and make a bustle.

I foolishly thought I had remembered everything I needed to bring - shoes, undergarments, a veil. But I still hadn’t purchased my crinoline, and it had completely slipped my mind after even though I had just wrote a post about needing one! Luckily, my seamstress is much smarter than I, and suggested she make one and sew it directly into my dress. She had leftover tulle from another bride and just pinned it right between a few of the layers. This helped calm my fears that I would be a seriously hot sweaty mess dripping down the aisle in August. Instead of having 5 layers, I’ll now only have to worry about 4 (underthings, slip, satin slip, ivory lace). Huzzah!

With all the inspiration on the internet I started to have second thoughts about my dress.

Should I have gotten a ball gown? I didn’t really try any of those on, but what about that taffeta A-line one I saw… hmmm. Trying on the dress, which now felt like an over-sized potato sack didn’t really help ease my fears. But while the dress was being pinned to fit me to perfection, I began to feel the way I did when I tried on the sample. Simply perfect, just like me, but a little bit better.

I had been pretty undecided on my veil ’til I put it on with my dress during the alterations, but after I had it on, I thought, ‘So what if there are no other orchids in the wedding!’ Um… did I seriously just say that? Calm down, bridezilla. I go for my second alterations appointment next week, and after 2 weeks with Robert, I’m hoping she’ll have to take it in even more! I also received a very special package in the mail from a dear friend, and I can’t wait to show the hive what my “something borrowed” is!

Were you feeling more relieved after your first alterations appointment?