Rachel’s wedding dress and bridesmaid dress alterations

Rachel had chosen an off the peg dress for her wedding.   She is very slim, and it was difficult to get a good fit on the bodice, because it was only lightly boned.  We took in the sides of bodice to get a tighter fit, but had to balance this with making sure that it did not ride up her rib cage.  We put in a grosgrain belt, but this was not very successful, as it was an empire line, and there is a lot of movement in the rib cage at this level.  The beaded straps had to be modified to get a good fit.  The chiffon hem was also taken up to the correct length.

The bridesmaids had all-over lace dresses.  Length alterations involved removing the skirt at the waist, taking up to the required length and re-stitching.  There was no opportunity to have all three bridesmaids together, to ensure there was a consistent length.  The length and bodice of two of the bridesmaids had to be altered to make them fit.