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Maid of Honor Dress Alteration Checklist

Once you receive your bridesmaid dress in the mail or at the dress boutique, there's a good chance you'll need to have alterations done to make it fit properly. Do, of course, try the dress on first to be sure. Once in a while a maid of honor must get lucky and not need alterations (it just doesn't happen very often!). Once you're sure alterations will be necessary, consider the following elements.

When and Where

Depending on when you receive your dress, it's probably wise to bring it in to be altered right away. Don't put off trying the dress on to see if it fits until the last minute! The only good reason for waiting to have the bridesmaid dress altered is if you're planning to lose weight before the wedding. If you have the dress altered too early and then lose weight, you may need to have the dress altered again. That's not exactly cost effective! The maid of honor shouldn't wait too long though, to avoid any possible last minute disasters.

Unless you're extremely picky, it's best to avoid having the dress altered at the bridesmaid dress boutique where it was purchased. Instead, check out your local dry cleaners shop who often do bridesmaid and maid of honor dress alterations for much less money. Many of them do a perfectly good job.

What to Bring for your Fitting

When you go into the alterations shop to try on your dress to decide exactly what needs altering, be certain to bring the bra and shoes you intend to wear at the wedding. The bra is important because it will impact how much the maid of honor dress needs to be taken in or out. The shoes determine whether or not the dress needs shortening. If you don't have the shoes picked out quite yet, the alterations shop will probably have high heeled shoes with an average size heel for you to wear during the fitting. This isn't the perfect strategy, but it usually works out alright.

What to Ask

When you bring in your dress, tell them exactly when the wedding is. That way they know when the absolute deadline for bridesmaid dress alterations is. At the same time, it's important for the maid of honor to ask when the dress will be ready, what alterations are necessary, and approximately how much the dress alterations will cost. It's not usually possible for them to give you a precise cost figure, but when it comes time for you to pay, the actual price should not be substantially more than the estimate.

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