Weddingbee Blog

I had my first alterations appointment yesterday at David’s, so we hit the road and drove up to the store in the ‘burbs where I had bought my dress…

You can’t see it, but I have a big smile on my face ’cause I’m always happy when I’m with my dress. So we went in and got started.

*side note* Don’t eat Burger King before going to your fitting appointment.

I was told to bring in my bra and shoes that I planned on wearing with my dress, and when I put it all on, I discovered my shoes that I searched high and low for were too tall. Sad face. Because I’m a shorty, they had me order the dress in a petite, so the length is shorter than your average wedding gown, hence no extra fabric to accommodate high heels. I asked if they could add an extra layer of fabric with the same beading as on the top, but apparently David’s won’t alter the style of their dresses, just the size. I guess I’ve been watching too many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress! So, the alterations lady grabbed me some shoes with a 1 1/2 inch heel and got to work. First she pinned the sides because it was just a wee bit too big in the chestal area. Next she went all the way around the train and pinned the 2 layers together.

This pic makes me laugh ’cause it looks like I have a twin

Finally, I had to choose how I wanted it bustled. She gave me 3 options…

1. Over bustle – this is where they pull the skirt up from the middle and gather it at your butt. I didn’t like this option for myself cause it kind of made it look like I was pooping out my dress.
2. Royal bustle – this one is a little tricky to describe, but here goes… they do the same as above but make a little poof right around knee height, then have the rest of it coming out the bottom of the poof. Make sense? I felt like the poof didn’t really go with the asymmetrical rouching and sort of ‘competed’ with the rest of the dress
3. Ballroom bustle – the train is pulled up under the dress and buttoned up to make it look almost like a bubble skirt. The dress ends up looking like it is all one length.

I decided to go with option 3 (I wish we had gotten a picture of it all pinned up) because I thought it looked the best with the dress style. Once she was finished pinning, I handed it over and said goodbye. When she filled out the price slip, I was a little surprised at the price, but here is the breakdown:

• Take in sides: $65
• Cut down armhole: $20
• Ballroom bustle (first 3 buttons) $50
• Each additional button for bustle: 11 buttons at $7 each=$77

Grand total: $212

Eeeek! Oh well, I guess it has to be done.

Then I decided that while we were there, I might as well check out their shoe selection since I now have to get a different pair. Luckily I can still wear the ones that I bought before with my after party dress. None of the heels really did it for me, so I tried on a pair of slippers, but they seriously looked like just that: bedroom slippers with a few beads on them. Then I found these and decided to get them:

These were the sample pair so they’re a little dirty. I had to order a medium and they will arrive in a few months (it’s a little off-season for flip-flops, being winter and all!). I’m thinking about adding a little something something to glitz them up a little, and I love the imprint on the bottom – I can’t wait to walk in the sand and leave behind a trail of “just married”. Too cute. And after spending $212 on the alterations, seriously, what’s another $15? I paid my bill and out the door we went…

This looks a lot like the first pic, but notice that I have no dress in hand so I have my sad face on. I’ll get to pick up my dress in about a month and I can’t wait to see how great it looks all steamed and fitted!

(all pictures taken by Mr. N)