Does anyone else have a hard time imaging the dress after alterations?

Nope. I have the opposite problem. The dress I tried on was two sizes too small. And I made a bunch of customizations so it’s taking an extra two months to complete. I have what I envision in my mind and I just keep praying the designer was able to see it when I explained it. It’ll be here four months before my wedding and it’ll be too late to order anything else that grand.

View Quoted Comment I’m sure it will look stunning!!

View Quoted Comment I’m praying it does. When do you go for your first fitting ?

View Quoted Comment I go in June/early July. My wedding is in September

I’m know it will come out well. I know it’s really hard to because we want the day to be perfect.

Hi Alexandra,
Don't stress, the seamstresses can work miracles, you'll look GORGEOUS in your dream dress! my stress comes from the fact that I have just slightly more than A cup boobs, I need a size 16 dress, so I can't fill out the top 😤 but the seamstress assures me that sewn in padded cups will solve the problem, so I'm thinking of getting implants instead, not sure what to do!

View Quoted Comment Thank you for you reassurance! I’m sure the pads will look amazing with your dress, but it is a personal decision! I on the other hand have a C/D cup, and wish they looked smaller in my dress!! I’m sure you will look fantastic!!

I bought the dress without seeing it completely zipped, and I had some moments when alterations were starting. The straps were just. Yikes. And even now my biggest fear is the back. But I have to trust them.

View Quoted Comment Ohh! I’m sure it will turn out fine!! At least you are in the process of alterations. I’m looking at my size 14 dress, thinking how in the world is this going to turn into a size 4? LOL

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Try these along with the cups. They’ll give you much more confidence !! I used to wear them in high school sometimes. And you’d never know they were in there, very natural look.

View Quoted Comment Thank you Alexandra, it's a tough decision, I hate looking flat in my dresses!

Thank you Rebelled Fleur, those look awesome, I'll try them! 💕💕

Wait, why couldn't you get it altered? I bought my dress at BHLDN in Chicago and they don't offer alterations. I am getting it altered by a tailor near me who is closer to a dress designer than anything. She is doing all my alterations. I wonder why you couldn't have it altered. That sounds incorrect.

But for visualizing how it would look, I struggled a bit. But once I took it in and she started pinning and making lines on the hem, I got so excited. It was the first time it really felt like my dress.

View Quoted Comment My original dress was from BHLDN too! I went to like 10 different seamstresses near me who all said the dress was too complicated to alter, the train and the fabric. That makes sense about the pinning and the lines on the hem.

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Well that seems crazy. I got the Claremore dress and while it's probably not very complicated, I cannot imagine someone telling me it couldn't be altered. That's super odd. I'm so sorry! I'm not sure what I would have done!
I will say though, I got two quotes for my dress. The one I went with, she is doing a 10 point bustle to save as much of the train as possible. The first person was just going to chop most of it off so she could do a 3 point bustle and I didn't feel like she cared enough about my dress. Are my seemingly simple alterations insanely expensive? Yup. But I feel 100% confident that I'll love my dress even more when it's done.

If you're close to a typical model size, looking at the dress online might help.

I got my dress from BHLDN too, and they gave me an envelope with a list of recommended tailors in the area. If you didn't get a list like that, it might be worth it to call the store and ask for a recommendation.

I didn't have a hard time visualizing what the dress will eventually look like on me, but I was a little bit concerned about how it was going to fit (it has a pretty structured, kind of corset-y top that needs to be taken in) and having the pins in place during my fitting definitely made me feel better about that.

View Quoted Comment Okay great! Thank you for your input! That really makes me feel better!

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What does your dress look like? These may help, but she should be able to alter the top and tailor it in to fit you.

https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Gel-Bra-Inserts-Enhancers/dp/B01MYX4S9A