I used the seamstress that Blush Bridal referred me to - not that I had much of a choice. I had very few options because I purchased my dress online - which was one thing that I hadn't thought of when I ordered my dress. I thought I could take it to an atelier or bridal store and they would happily take my money and do the few alterations I required…so not the case. Some stores had "policies" about not altering dresses purchased online…others "didn't have time" because they had their own clients that had purchased dresses from their stores to worry about - eek! Who woulda thunk it would be such a challenge.
I finally did find a very nice lady through Blush Bridal - I hate to say it, but at this very moment I can't recall her name - I think it is Noshi? At any rate if you call Blush Bridal in Victoria, they'll give you a contact name and number. She doesn't have a website or anything like that.
Anyhoo, my two 'maids and I (my other bridesmaid who lives in Ontario got her Mother In Law to alter her dress - she did a great job!) went into her little shop downtown for our first fitting:
I had MAJOR sticker shock when she tallied up the costs of our alterations. My dress is two layers (very few for a Bridal gown) to hem, a French Bustle to put in, and it needed the bust taken it a little bit - oh and I had cups put in because the bra I purchased could bee seen from the back. Anyhoo, they came to $275 - eep! My dress came to $290 (before tax and shipping) - the alterations were as much as the dress! My bridesmaids, who needed similar, minimal alterations came to $175 each. I agreed to pay for them seeing how there dresses were $250 + each (yes, I realize that that is a crazy amount to spend on a bridesmaid dress…but the needed to be separates and have a maternity option ;)
When we went in for our second fitting, I tried on my dress and discovered that the hem was a wee bit too short…so she had to fix that, but overall I think she did a pretty good job - her prices seemed REALLY high for me though.
Another thing that bugged me was that she only accepted cash or cheque - what the heck?!!? No debit machine and no VISA/MasterCard option - verrrry annoying.
A kind of funny aside to this whole experience, was my negotiation skills. At the end of our original meeting she gave me an invoice for what the costs were going to be. Then, when I went to pick up the dresses, I told her that I felt her prices were very high and was wondering why she was charging so much (everyone I had talked to thought she was charging crazy prices). She tells me that she does "very good work." So, we chat about my concerns some more and she says "I want to make you happy, let me see what I can discount you" - score, right? Well she works it out and says "I'll only charge you $650" - I wasn't thinking clearly because I was kinda embarrassed for bringing up the costs to begin with - but I was really sick of being overcharged because it was wedding related. So I say very appreciatively "thank you" - I was full of glee! I told my then fiancé on what a great discount I scored. But when I get home I realize she gave me a $0.40 discount - LMAO…I feel like such a dork ;p
Total Cost: $650
Rating: B+ (lost some points for the lack of debit/credit acceptance and for the lack of negotiation on her prices)