Wedding dress alterations

I’ve seen anywhere from $150-$800+ depending on what’s needed. I would say $300-$500 is a good average.

Mine are $400. My costs come from having lace bodice that is more expensive to alter, needing several layers hemmed, and sewing in a belt.

It can vary so much. At David's bridal they bustle based on how long the train is. Mine was relatively short and it cost 75. We considered having the sides taken in and that was quoted at 80. Then if I wanted it hemmed it was 200. But on the point mine is a very ruffled skirt with alot of layers. I sent mine back twice adjusting the size vs getting the alterations that cost more.

These numbers are going to vary widely based on area and the types of alterations. My alterations were done in Cincinnati and cost $498.

It depends on the details of your dress (lace and delicate fabrics will cost you more) and how much you need done.


My alterations were $280, and my seamstress adjusted my sleeves, added 2 strips of boning, created a removable modesty panel, and added spaghetti straps.

View Quoted Comment Ok thanks guys!!!!

It can be all over the place from $100-$1,500. Mine were $700. I added off the shoulder lace sleeves and had beading sewn onto them, I had cups added, I had it hemmed on the bottom and I had the bodice taken in. Then the bustle too.

Mine around $7-800.. gambit she’s also bringing a size 12 dress to a 0 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

I'm currently around 400. The hemming for four layers of lace is involved, and they added a bustle for 200 - my train is looong and needs a decent bustle. Cups was 20. I believe at DB she said the bustles the first six point are seventy, then after that its five bucks a button. I think. Corsets are what will get you.

I would assume $400-$800. Could be more, could be less.

I had fairly minor alterations to my dress - just hemming, adding a simple bustle and reinforcing the straps - and it was about $325. It might have been a little less but my dress had a lot beading she had to work around on the hemming.

View Quoted Comment Ok gotcha! Sounds like I need to keep it to a minimum lol

At the bridal salon where I got my dress, they charge $450-$600

Mine were about $900. Very intricate bustle because my dress had many layers. Also, my bust is disproportionate to my waist and they had to let out the bust quite a bit. The bodice was heavily beaded so that definitely factored in, too.

I got super lucky and only paid $250 for hemming, bustle, taking in the sides (a lot), and shortening the straps.

So....I just went through this. I got two quotes for my (seemingly simple) dress. One was $350 and the other was $738. Yes, there is a HUGE difference but I picked the more expensive because I trusted the seamstress more. The cheaper one was going to do a 3 point bustle and chop a ton off my train to make it work. The other is doing a 10 point bustle (7 on top and 3 on the lining) to keep as much of the train as possible. Honestly, the seamstress I'm going with is probably closer to a dress designer. The amount of care she took at my fitting blew my mind. It was the first time I could really see it as my dress.

The $738 includes: adding cups, 10 point bustle ($250), hem of 3 layers of tulle and 2 layers of lining ($350), shortening the straps, and closing a gap around the bust. It's so much money, but I truly felt like I would leave with the perfect dress. The other place hardly looked at my dress before quoting me.

Trust your gut. Get a quote or two and really pay attention to how much attention they give you. It will be worth it!

View Quoted Comment

Yea, the more you want to alter the dress, the more it's going add up in costs. I was lucky to find a dress that fit me near perfectly and only needed minimal alterations.