Help, My Wedding Dress Is Too Small: What Do I Do?

It is a fact that stress can cause people to either lose weight or pick up the weight!

When you are planning a wedding there are several factors at play, all of which can cause significant amounts of stress.

Stress eating is not abnormal and a tight-fitting wedding dress that won’t zip up on the day of your wedding can become a reality for the traumatized bride-to-be.

Apart from going on a starvation diet, it is almost impossible to go down a dress size or two just a few days away from your wedding day.

In this article, we will discuss how important it is to fit your dress regularly, ways in which to alter a wedding dress a few weeks before you’re wedding, and also what to do if your wedding dress does not fit you on the actual day of your wedding.

Fixing A Wedding Dress That Is Too Small

There are a few ways in which a seamstress can alter your dress before your wedding especially if it has become a little bit too snug.

Make sure not to leave this until the last minute though and make a point to try on your dress at regular intervals.

A seamstress will often use the following avenues to get your dress to fit properly by making it slightly bigger:

Change A Zip Up Corset to A Lace-Up Corset

There is no doubt that if you are worried about your weight fluctuating that a lace-up corset is the best way in which to make sure that you are going to fit into your dress on your wedding day.

A professional seamstress will be able to remove the zipper from the dress and then replace it with loops that can be tied together with ribbon or lace.

Lace-up corset dresses are both classy and comfortable and the length of the ribbon can be adjusted even if you go up a size or two before your wedding day.

Add A Gusset

A gusset can be described as an extra piece of material that can be added to the dress at the seam to make it bigger.

The only problem with this option is finding a material that matches exactly your wedding dress. The pattern may also not be an exact fit.

Let Out the Seams

A seamstress can also let out the seams of your wedding dress to up it by approximately one dress size. This is one of the easiest options especially if you only need the dress to go up by one size.

If your dress has two seams it can be made even bigger, but the seamstress has to be very careful not to stretch the seams too much so that they burst when under strain.

Wedding Dress Alteration Prices

Wedding dress alterations can cost on average $300 depending on what you need to be altered on the dress.

The cost depends on how much the seamstress needs to do to make your dress fit like a glove.

Ask for referrals from friends and family and try to find a local, tried, and trusted seamstress that has worked for them before.

A local seamstress will usually charge a lot less than the seamstress at the boutique where you initially purchased your dress from.

Bear in mind that altering a dress with a sequin or beaded overlay can be quite a challenge and once the alterations have been done the seamstress will then have to sew the embellishments back onto the dress by hand.

If this is what has to happen then you are more than likely going to find that the seamstress will charge you a higher rate.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure: Go for Regular Fittings

If your dress has been made for you from scratch by a seamstress then you must go for regular fittings, especially in the last few months leading up to your wedding.

If your dress has been bought from a bridal boutique then it is a good idea to try the dress on at least once every week before your big day to make sure that it is not too tight or even too big on you.

Things to Remember During Your Fittings

• If you are nervous about weight fluctuation before your wedding, then ask your seamstress to change the back of your dress from a zipper dress to a corset dress.
• Unfortunately, depending on the dress it sometimes cannot be changed. Ask your seamstress for their advice before you decide on anything too radical.
• It is good to go for measurements a few months apart when fitting your dress.
• Always wear similar undergarments to those that you are planning on wearing at your wedding.

Two Months Before the Wedding

If your dress is seeming to be a bit small two months before the wedding, then you still have time for a seamstress to take the seams out.

Most wedding dresses have extra fabric built into the seams for this exact reason. Just breathe, you will still have plenty of time to correct the problem.

One Month Before the Wedding

At this stage, you should still have a little bit of room to move easily in your dress.

If your dress is not fitting comfortably and feels a little snug, then it may be time to find a seamstress to assist you as soon as possible.

One Week Before the Big Day

It is a week before your big day, and you are quite simply not feeling good in your dress even after alterations have been done. Take a deep breath and remember that nerves are playing a big part in the way that you are feeling.

Once your hair and make-up are done and excitement takes over you are going to feel a lot more comfortable and beautiful in the dress.

What To Do If Your Dress Is Too Tight On The Day of Your Wedding

Your worst nightmare seems to have come true, and you are battling to fit into your wedding dress!

Here are the steps you should take:

• Take a breather and remember when it comes to wedding dresses a bride normally needs help to get into them. Make sure that you have your bridesmaids with you and step into the dress again.
• Now let your bridesmaids help you pull up the dress so that the waist of the dress is at the same height as your natural waist. Allow one of your bridesmaids to stand in front of you while the other one stands behind you.
• The next step is to let the person in the front hold your gown in place while the person at the back looks for the hook at the top of the zipper to hook them together.
• Now you can let the person in front of you hold the wedding dress at the waist and push the fabric of the gown towards the back. By doing this they are letting the person at the back get as much room as they can to zip the dress up.
• At this stage, you are almost there but you may need a little more assistance. Use a third person to pull the sides of the zipper closer together so that the dress can zip up. Zip the dress up slowly so that you do not cause too much tension on the zip to make it break.
• Finally, if you are still unable to zip up the dress then keep the dress on for a while Wedding dresses tend to adjust to the body as much as they can loosening up the fit and giving the bride some more room to squeeze into her dress.
• When you first zip the dress up and it still feels a bit tight don’t be too alarmed. Allow your body to get used to the feeling of the dress and soon the dress and your body will start to adjust to each other.
• Another good idea is to buy some shapewear if you are not already wearing any. This can substantially help the dress to slip on smoother than normal. If you want to loosen up the bust area, then put on a less padded bra.

When push comes to shove, you are the one who needs to be happy with your wedding dress.

If you only have a few days left before your wedding and you know that you are not going to feel comfortable in your wedding dress, then maybe it is time to look at a few rental wedding dresses or consider buying a new dress from a bridal boutique.

It is important to do anything that it takes to make sure that you look and feel great on your special day.

“At the end of the day, it’s the bride who makes the dress, not the other way around.” – Kang Chun Lin, designer