Dress Alteration Frustration!

[Sabine]

One of the reasons I was so okay with getting my dress from a shop in Hershey when the wedding is in Pittsburgh is because I knew there was a reasonable place to get the alterations done in Pittsburgh since Robbie got her dress done there. So I called today to set up an appointment for an estimate since I''ll be in town for Thanksgiving, and they are closed the entire time I will be in town (including the Monday after). So then we looked at my winter break from school. They are closed the ENTIRE 1.5 weeks I will be in town then too! I wasn''t planning on going back to Pittsburgh after Christmas until March, and I don''t want to wait till then to have my first fitting. Plus, I think my March break is for Easter, so they will probably be closed then too!

Okay, so I do have a question here. Do you think March is too late to start alterations for a dress in July?

The other thing is that this place is closed on Saturdays. However, she said they "can" be open on Saturdays, so if I am in town some random weekend I could call and they could come in for me. I could probably find some weekend to do this, but it just REALLY frustrates me because as a teacher, I honestly spend about 8 hours each weekend grading and lesson planning, so I really will have trouble fitting in a trip with 4 hours of driving each way unless we have a day off.

Okay, another question in all this ranting: Should I make a special trip to use this place that I know is good when I don''t even have an estimate of what they will charge me, or should I find a place that can accomodate my schedule when I don''t know anyone who has used them before?

And finally: There is a bridal shop that carries the designer of my gown that didn''t have my gown when I looked there. Any chance they would do my alterations for me? I would trust them more than some random small-town seamstress.

 

[brgirl]

I don''t think March is too late...I started my alterations in early september for a mid-october wedding...

It was difficult for me to find a reasonably priced, good seamstress for my dress, so if you know Robbie''s was good, I would use them. Any bridal shop is probably going to charge you more than a ''Hometown seamstress'' would, and wouldn''t neccessarily be better!!

 

[Neveah]

Honestly, I think anything BEFORE March would be way, way too soon. As long as you get your seamstress locked in and booked and she of course knows your wedding date, you''ll be fine. I''m getting married 5/10/08 and my seamstress booked our 1st appointment for mid-march. I also had a friend that waited 3 DAYS before her wedding to do her alterations because she was still losing weight. Don''t stress. It will be fine. Go with the person you trust.

BTW what part of Pitt are you from? My parents born and raised and my ENTIRE extended family lives there