Bridal & Gown Alterations
162 of the 19,557 sewing and fabric businesses we track nationwide have wedding dress and formal gown alterations. A wedding gown is the one garment almost nobody wears off the rack — bodices get taken in, hems get set to the shoe, bustles get built. It's also the alteration with the least room for a mistake and the longest lead time, and the shops that specialise in it are not always the ones that advertise loudest. These list the ones that do gown work.
Browse by state
- California22
- Florida10
- Georgia11
- Illinois6
- Indiana6
- Maryland5
- Massachusetts6
- Michigan10
- Minnesota16
- New York9
- North Carolina12
- Ohio12
- Pennsylvania5
- Texas17
- Virginia8
- Wisconsin7
Book the first fitting six to eight weeks out. Gown alterations usually run in two or three fittings, and bustles, beading and lace need hand work that can't be rushed. Bring the shoes and the undergarments you'll actually wear — a hem set to the wrong heel height is the most common redo, and the one that costs the most to fix late.
Common questions
- How much do wedding dress alterations cost?
- It depends on the work rather than the dress: a simple hem and side seams sit at the low end, while reshaping a beaded bodice or building a bustle costs considerably more because it's hand-sewn. Most shops quote after seeing the gown on you, so the first fitting doubles as the estimate.
- How long do bridal alterations take?
- Plan six to eight weeks and two or three fittings. Shops can work faster and many offer rush service, but in spring and summer the good ones book out, and a rushed bustle is exactly the repair you don't want happening the week of the wedding.