Alterations at Davids Bridal???

This seems to be standard for every body-- they will never quote a price without *seeing* the dress.

I haven't gotten any alterations at David's Bridal, but I'm sure a lot of ladies here have.

Also found a couple of older posts on the same topic:

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/davids-bridal-alterations/fce5b85849fec82a.html

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/back-from-davids-bridal-alterations-ha/f805450b565e93ac.html

I got mine altered at David's Bridal. BUT mine is in Canada so I am not 100% certain how pricing is for the states...

It was $50 for my bustle, but I had to pay $100 because they had to put to spots because of how my dress is...

They had to let mine out in the boobs area that was $78.

Hope that helps?

Thank you so much for these links Barbara, I looked them over and have a pretty good idea of what to expect now.

I had my first fitting at David's a couple of weeks ago. Here's what I'm having done and the price. FYI: I'm in Canada so I'm not sure of the accuracy if you're in the US.

1. Take in bust and top torso. $91

2. Take in waist and down to hips. $34

3. Bustle. $40

I'm not sure why they charge for the top half and bottom half of the bodice. I figured it would be one charge for taking it in. They also wanted to charge me to hem one little piece of fabric under the skirt for $34! I said no because I could just safety pin it and no one would have any idea.

Here's a pic of my dress for reference and just because I love it!

I am in Canada as well, but I had my dress taken in about an inch on each side, a 3 point under bustle and a 2 point over bustle and i had to get one of my pick ups tacked up (which was a fault of the making of the dress and I don't think I should have been charged for that, considering it fell out on my wedding day and we had to resow it, but it was only $9) So all that came to $226 including the 13% sales tax

Way too expensive. Do you know a good tailor? That is what I'm doing. So much cheaper!

Going to a tailor as well. I abhor David's Bridal.

My alterations were $295 - They charged me $50 to take in the strap on my dress. They will not quote you a price, and the pricing is not standardized across the stores (for example - the cashier told me that straps normally cost $10-$20 to be taken in). If you have a seamstress you TRUST then go there, otherwise your best bet is to save-up and go to David's. The benefit of getting your dress altered at David's is that they will replace the dress if anything gets messed-up because of them. It also appears that they only charge you one - I did not have to pay anything additional after my second alterations appointment.

^^^ that is why I took mine to Davids, if they screwed it up, they would replace it

I had mine done at DB ... actually quite a trip for me including a ferry ride. But I figured if they do something wrong, they need to replace the dress. I pesonally did not want to take the risk with an independent seamstress. And what bittsey said.

I had the top taken in (with quite a bit of beading and a sweatheart neckline) for $25.

A three point under bustle on a pickup style skirt for $75.

All came out fabulous!

I actually thought both the seamstress and the girl that helped me with pickup were very nice, professional and good to work with. Good experience!

With you losing so much weight you also have to be careful. A lot of dresses can only be taken in so much.

An actual seamstress won't charge much to get it steamed ( mines 20&dollar but I've heard horror stories about DB. Also if they screw it up you also have to wait a few weeks for a new one. So you may not even get one in time for the wedding... Just a thought

Oh and they also had a 3 pt bustle for me. Which is more expensive. When I went to my lady se showed me a 1pt which looked nicer.

I took a picture of the STARTING prices for alterations when I was in the dressing room at DB.

Hems-$75

Shorten sleeves-$35

Take up shoulders-$20

Take in/let out sides-$35

Over bustle-$35 for first three loops, plus $5 for each additional loop

Under bustle-$50 for first three loops, plus $7 for each additional loop

Bra cups-$20

Rush fee-$25

I got a 1 loop over bustle, the sides taken in, the back taken in, and bra cups put in. My alterations total was around $212.

Tara S - I have a friend who is getting married in May. She lost so much weight that her dress was too big. The seamstress at Davids told her to have the girls at the front desk order her a new dress in a smaller size. No charge to her. They just exchanged her dress for the smaller one. That is the benefit of DB - if its really too big to alter, they can order you a new one. Luckily for her, when she got the smaller one, it fit her perfect, she doesn't need any alterations!

I also have exchanged my dress for a smaller size at DB with no problems. Make sure you have your receipt though- it makes it much easier for them to exchange. I think they ordered the wrong size to begin with since they were taking my dress in anywhere from 2-4" and I hadn't lost ANY weight! New appointment is in a few weeks so let's hope the alterations are cheaper with my new better fitting dress

I would look for a seamstress outside of DB... they are usually cheaper and their work is just as good.

David's bridal can only really take in a dress two sizes because it can lose what it's supposed to look like this is why they offer the option to just replace it free of charge.

I had about eight inches taking up on my dress. And it $180. My dress had 5 layers however.

But I still have to go back and do another fitting for the bustling.

In the db I went to which is new this year at my city, the tailoring department said they don't shrink the length of the bodice and will only cut from the bottom of the dress, hence I ended up buying the petite.

Thank you all for your input. The issue with my dress is that it's no longer in stock. It was discontinued shortly after I bought it so if they mess it up or I need another size I hope that rule still applies to me.