Making a Business Work When Its in the Red

Posted on: 7 January 2015

Your wedding gown is perhaps the most important item of clothing you'll ever wear, so it should fit you perfectly, complementing your figure and bringing out your natural beauty. If you've fallen in love with an off-the-rack wedding gown, which is the route most women choose, it might look too small or too large despite being your size. Don't pass on the wedding dress of your dreams even if it doesn't fit you perfectly. Minor alterations are often part of achieving the wedding gown fit you're looking for.

When to Make Your First Appointment

Make an appointment to have your gown fitted about two to three months before your big day. This leaves plenty of time for the alterations, but not so much time that you'll lose or gain weight that will interfere with the way your dress fits.

Finding an Alteration Specialist

If you purchased your gown from a bridal attire store, ask if they do on-site alterations. If not, look for an alteration shop that specializes in wedding dresses because they will have the most expertise and are the most likely to accomplish what you're envisioning your gown to look like. Ask friends and family members who have recently gotten married for referrals, especially if you loved the way a certain person's gown looked on her.

The Initial Appointment

At your first appointment with a wedding gown alteration specialist, at Clothesline Cleaners Inc. for example, you'll get to try your gown on and model it. The specialist doing the alterations will examine the gown closely to see where alterations are necessary. Once the alteration specialist has taken notes, you'll take the gown back off so you can be measured. These specific and exact measurements will be used to alter your gown based on your body shape and size. For example, your bust area might be a size 8 while your waist is a size 6. Since you can't purchase an off-the-rack wedding gown with different sizes, the alteration specialist will do that for you.

What to Bring

Bring along any undergarments you're planning to wear to the wedding, as well as your wedding shoes, so the alteration specialist will get a clear idea of any additional alterations that are needed while you're wearing the complete ensemble. Make sure to bring these items to each and every wedding gown fitting.

The Second Appointment

Once your wedding dress has been altered according to the measurements taken at the first appointment, you'll return to the shop to try the dress on again. If the gown fits perfectly, you'll get to take it home. In most cases, however, small alterations are still necessary to get that perfect fit, so you'll need to plan on returning a third time to try it on again.