Do I alter my dress into a wedding dress or buy a new one?

Question

go to this site first and look at the pictures
http://www.photos.yahoo.com/krystalknight04

This dress was actually my senior prom dress. (yeah I know it looks like a wedding dress). I went to prom in that dress with my now fiance. I love the dress a lot and I'm looking to save money and my future mother in law said she would help me alter it into a wedding dress. The problem is I'm not really sure what exactly I want to do with the dress. I want to either hide or get rid of the tulle and add a cathedral train. I'm pretty sure I want to go strapless too. I want to change the dress enough that my fiance won't even recognize it. I'm also thinking that I may be going over my head and should just buy a whole new dress if I can find a relatively inexpensive one. Any suggestions??

I know my future MIL is an excellent seamstress as she altered another dress of mine in high school. Both her and I have a lot of time before the wedding to work on the dress as the wedding is a little over a year away. My budget for altering/buying a new dress is up to about $300.

Answer 1

you can try the alterations route, and if it's not working you can always buy a new one (just make sure you give yourself enough time).

There are usually last years styles of wedding dresses you can buy for cheaper, right off the rack.
Look around, you might be surprised at what you find

Congrats on the upcoming wedding!!

Answer 2

I would go out and purchase a new dress. First of all, you want your wedding dress to be unique, and something your fiance has never seen you wear. Second of all, alterations can be very very expensive, expecially when you are talking about extensive changes to a dress. It might be worth the extra money to go and buy a new dress, instead of having the stress of altering an existing dress. The dress is very nice, however, it looks like it would take a lot to get rid of the tulle and add a cathedral train, considering the dress itself does not hit the floor.

Check davids bridal and such for a great wedding dress. You can usually find a relatively inexpensive dress there.

Answer 3

I love your idea of wanting to use the prom dress! First thing first - how great of a seamstress is your future mother-in-law? That's going to play a big part on this decision. Like another person said if it turns out not what you expected feelings could get hurt and that's not a great way to start off a relationship with her! Second (FYI I'm a retired bridal consultant) remove the tulle, straps & sequins. The problem you might have is matching new material/color with the prom dress! So with that said should you find something that matches I suggest adding to the back one of the following either a mermaid bottom with detachable cathedral train (if that's you in the picture you can pull it off!) or a couple of layers of ruffles (not gaudy ones - soft) that flow out into your train. I would suggest keeping the front portion that would come out from under the prom dress straight no ruffle. Where it V's from the back all the way to the front and then back to the back some kind of crystal pattern. Use this same pattern at the top of the gown. There's so many ideas that I thought of but for elegance I liked this one the best. The idea of having your future M-I-L work on it would add so much more to it!

As for possibility of finding a lower priced gown I agree with David's Bridal. Awesome website which I have attached for you. Belive it or not you can also try JC Penney's catalog! Before you say "ugh" take a look! You might be surprised, the gowns are not that expensive, you can order 2-3 to have delivered at your local JC Penney store, try them on and no obligation to buy! Don't forget to order a petticoat for trying on too if you plan on wearing one with a new gown.

Well, good luck with your decision and if you have further wedding questions don't hesitate to ask me . I still love helping friends with their weddings!

Answer 4

As a bride to be myself, I know how expensive new dresses can be. A new dress would likely cost you a couple hundred, not to mention many wedding dresses require special slips and bras, and extra fees to have them altered. Remember, even just a tiara and veil will cost over $100 at a bridal store (although you can get them cheaper at stores like Michaels and Walmart).

I think this is a very pretty dress as it is, and it also has a sentimental value as well. As long as time permits, I'd go with altering it a little, even though its pretty already. Make it strapless, maybe add a row of beads pearls or sparkles along the top, bottom or waistline, then perhaps add a simple short train, and get a pretty veil and tiara, and you'll probably be stunned at how different it looks!

Save your money for the honeymoon or a downpayment on a house or something else. You already have a great dress!

Good luck.

Answer 5

Alter it!! it's a really pretty dress to begon with, so why spend money on a whole new one, when you can take this one and create soething new with it!! (ack! i think the sustainability project my college has for reinventing used clothing is rubbing off on me!) your ideas for alterations sound great, and they aren't that difficult. however, getting rid of the tulle will make the dress's skirt less ful and make it look slimmer and more shapingto your body. itf that's what you want, than great! if not, keep it, and attach your train under the over layer, stiching it at the sides, or make a front piece as well. and for fixing the straps, take out the linging seam on the top front and back. just cutting them could cause problems!! i think altering is a great idea, and even if he does recognize it a llittle, it will remind him of all the time the two of you have been together!! good luck!
oh, and unlike what a lot of people are saying, the alteration you propose aren't that difficult. removing starps and adding a train is actually fairly easy! especially since you MIL knows how to sew...then again i've been sewing for almost 15 years, so....... but do sketch out your ideas...and not just a sketch of the final dress, draw a sketch of where seams are, and any other construction details that will be there.. these sketches are know as flats and are actually what pattern makers and some seamstresses use to construct a garment.

Answer 6

Yes, it does resemble a wedding gown.

If you are trying to save money then you should simply go right ahead and alter that gown. If your fiance is like most men, he won't remember the dress at all, or if he does, he probably will think it looks like something he saw before. I hope he is not going to recognize it.

If you have second thoughts and feel you can afford a new, but inexpensive one, then go on. But it is not a big problem, really.

I do like the idea of removing the tulle and adding the cathedral train, though.

Answer 7

Weight your options.

Will it cost close to or just as much to alter the old dress as it will to buy a new one?

Either way you go you have to be fitted numerous times before the actual date.

How much time will it take you to find a new dress? Could you save that time by working on the alterations on the old dress?

Take the old dress to a wedding store and see if their tailor can give you some advice. Ask your future mother in law to come along.

Weigh all your options!!!! Do what is less stressful and most satisfying for you.

Congratulations
Best Wishes

Answer 8

Buy a new one. Your visions of how you want to change the dress are too much for anyone but a master seamstress to handle, and they're getting pretty expensive.

Save everyone the headache, and buy a new dress. There are great sales out there, and dresses can vary from $200 to over $1,000. It doesn't have to cost a lot. Then you'll be sure you're getting what you want, and the mother won't be working her butt off for something that might not come out right.

Answer 9

Your prom dress looks like a wedding gown for sure. But, I still recommend going to a couple bridal shops and trying on dresses and then finding something similar elsewhere. Going dress shopping is one of the best (and most pleasant) experiences of planning a wedding. You can even get dresses at great discounts online nowadays. And, if you don't find anything you like, you can certainly go back and redo your prom dress. At this point, you will probably have some design ideas in mind after shopping and trying on different ones.

Answer 10

Ohhh I love your dress.... problem is I love the tulle!!
Sit down and draw some sketches of how you think you want the dress to look. You can just trace the picture of your old dress and add to it- if you not good a drawing.
Also look around and see if there are any dresses you like.
It won't hurt to go to a David's bridal and just see how much a new dress would cost. Also it could give you ideas about how to fix the old dress. David's will also let you take picture of yourself in the dress- which is great for copying!!!

And Honey, if your marrying a Man, he won't recognize the dress.... mine never does, I'll wear something 3 years old and he'll accuse me of buying something new for the party.

Answer 11

That's a very nice dress. Maybe you can take it to a custom dress maker and see what they suggest? They may be able to tell you how much alterations would "cost" (even if your future mother-in-law helps you, it may help to be able to assign a number to the task). Then, I would just quickly scan wedding dresses at cheap outlets or online and see what you could buy a similar dress for -- and compare the prices. Another thing to think about is: time. How much time do you have? Your mother-in-law? Time may dictate how much you can do to your old dress versus buying a fresh one that needs no work.