Wedding Dress Fitting Tips

So on Thursday I saw my dress for the first time since I bought it back in July. While I was a bit worried about whether or not I would still love it, once I got it on I knew that it was still the dress for me.

Besides leaning that I still loved my dress, I also learned a few dress fitting tips that I’m passing on below.

1. Be well rested and well fed before going to your fitting: I had been up at 4 am that morning (early flight) and hadn’t eaten much other than a doughnut. As a result, I got a bit dizzy during my dress fitting and had to sit down (but at least now I know that I can sit in my dress).


2. Have clean hands: Before you touch that dress make sure your hands are clean and don’t contain remnants of that chocolate bar you were just eating.


3. Remove most jewelry and turn any rings inside: Rings, bracelets, watches and necklaces can and do catch and damage dresses so take them off or, in the case of your engagement ring, turn the stone to the inside. Of course, once the dress is on you can (carefully) put on whatever jewelry you want so that you can see the full effect.


4. Bring the right shoes: This is an easy one. Without your wedding day shoes, the dress might not be altered to the correct length.


5. Bring the right underwear: For some dresses, what you’re wearing under it isn’t an issue. But if your dress isn’t like that, bring your wedding day underwear so that you can make sure that everything sits where it should sit.
   
   


6. Don’t suck it in too much: Yes, you want to look slim and perfect in your dress. But at the same time, you also want to be able to drink, eat and breathe. A good fitter should realize when you’re sucking it in to extreme but still, help her out and don’t spend the whole fitting with your gut ridiculously sucked in.
   
7. Try on your veil too: If your getting your viel/headpiece at the same time as the dress, try it on too so you can check and make sure you're getting what you want.


8. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or point things out: If something looks weird, politely ask about it. Make sure to stay calm and use a friendly/curious tone so that you don’t put the seamstress on the defensive. If though you notice a major flaw (wrong size, a ripe, a stain, missing elements) and the store doesn’t want to do anything about it, start working your way into bitch mode.


9. Bring a camera or even better, something that records video: Now, some dresses are easy to do up and have a simple or even no bustle. My dress is not one of those dresses. So I had my mother use my phone to record how the dress is laced up and how the bustle is done.


10. Get a garment bag: Depending on the store you might have to pay extra for this but it’s worth it since a good quality garment bag will let your dress “breathe” while protecting it.


11. Ask how the dress should be stored: Are you fine to leave the dress for months in a zipped up garment bag? When should it be steamed? Are there any precautions you should take when storing/steaming/cleaning the dress?


12. Have a plan for where the dress will live: Before you leave to pick up your dress, know where it will call home so that it doesn’t spend the next week hanging out on our couch or hanging from a curtain rod in your living room.