Revamp Your Wedding Dress: Where To Get A Makeover

where to get a wedding dress a makeover

Wedding dresses are often packed away after the big day, but what if you want to give yours a new lease of life? There are several options for those looking to repurpose their wedding dress, from custom restyling to upcycling. For those looking to repurpose their wedding dress into a new design, companies such as Unbox the Dress, Ette Tailor, Ava's Bridal Couture, and Lace & Liberty offer custom wedding dress design services. For those looking to pass on their wedding dress to the next generation, companies such as Unbox the Dress offer heirloom gown restyling services, transforming vintage gowns into modern styles.

Characteristics Values
Companies offering wedding dress makeovers Unbox the Dress, Ette, Ava's Bridal Couture
Services offered Gown restoration, colour correction, dress redesign, dress repair, heirloom revamping, couture wedding alterations, custom design services, bridal alterations
Customer testimonials "They have my full trust and were worth every penny!", "You won't even believe this transformation!", "I would go back a million times to this business!", "I truly became a winter princess in my own fairytale wedding!", "I would recommend [the company] to save yourself time and stress."
Additional services Wholesale savings on bridesmaid dresses, wholesale ordering, colour consultation, low decor rental prices, payment options
Appointment process Remake Style Quiz, Virtual Alterations Quote, in-home service, in-person appointments
Appointment cost $150 deposit
Payment methods Master Card, Visa, Discover, Cash, Debit
TV shows for inspiration Say Yes to the Dress, I Found the Gown, Wedding Dress Rescue, Randy to the Rescue

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Custom wedding dress design

Unbox the Dress

Unbox the Dress is a women-owned company located in North Carolina, offering a range of services to repurpose wedding dresses. Their talented team transforms dresses from every era into bespoke keepsakes, such as christening gowns, holiday decorations, and memorial mementos. The process begins with a design quiz, where customers share their vision for the dress. The transformation can take up to 15 weeks, and expedited delivery is available for an additional fee.

Ette Tailor

Ette Tailor specialises in heirloom revamping, modernising vintage gowns while preserving their sentimental value. They offer couture wedding alterations, custom design services, and heirloom gown restyling. Their team is highly detail-oriented and works closely with customers to bring their vision to life.

Ava's Bridal Couture

Ava's Bridal Couture provides a custom alteration experience, allowing brides to redesign their wedding dresses or those passed down from family members. They offer in-home services, virtual consultations, and wholesale savings on bridesmaid dresses. Their process includes a remake style quiz, followed by a one-on-one session with their specialist, Sue, to discuss creative design ideas.

Online Communities and Apps

Online communities and apps, such as wedding dress-up games, also provide a platform for custom wedding dress design. These interactive platforms allow users to design their own gowns, experiment with different styles, and seek inspiration from other users. Some apps offer couple makeovers, allowing users to style both the bride and groom, as well as their wedding parties.

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Vintage wedding dress alterations

Wedding dresses are often packed with memories, emotions, and sentiments. If you're looking to give a vintage wedding dress a makeover, there are several ways to go about it. You can opt for restoration, resizing, or restyling to make it a unique expression of yourself.

Restoration

Restoring a vintage wedding dress involves meticulous work to revive its allure and make it suitable for modern wear. This process can include repairing and reinforcing dry-rotted fabrics, as well as sourcing vintage fabrics and lace to replace parts of the dress. It is important to note that restoring a vintage wedding dress can be more costly than typical alterations, often ranging from $1500 and above.

Resizing

Resizing a vintage wedding dress is a common alteration, especially if you want to wear a family heirloom but need a different fit. This process involves taking in or letting out the dress to ensure a perfect fit for your body type.

Restyling

Restyling a vintage wedding dress allows you to make it your own while retaining its special details. You can update an old-fashioned silhouette by raising or lowering the waist, adding or removing sleeves, changing necklines, or altering skirt shapes. You can even incorporate elements from another garment, such as using lace from a vintage hat to create a unique pattern on the bodice.

Where to Get a Wedding Dress Makeover

Several companies specialise in wedding dress alterations and revamps, offering their services to brides who want to transform their vintage gowns. These include Ette Tailor, Ava's Bridal Couture, and The Wedding Dresser.

Ette Tailor, based in New York City, has a team of talented artists who specialise in heirloom revamping. They work closely with their clients to modernise vintage wedding dresses while preserving their sentimental value.

Ava's Bridal Couture, located in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, offers remake and redesign services for vintage wedding dresses. They cater to a range of sizes, from petite to plus-size, and provide wholesale ordering options for their customers.

The Wedding Dresser, with locations in New York City and Baltimore, MD, provides restoration services for vintage wedding dresses. They have experience handling dresses from various eras, dating back to 1895, and can restyle and resize gowns from the 1920s to the 1980s.

Additionally, companies like Unbox the Dress offer a unique service where they transform wedding dresses into various keepsakes, such as christening gowns, holiday decorations, or memorial heirlooms, allowing you to preserve your wedding dress in a new form.

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Wedding dress TV shows

Wedding dress shopping is a key part of the wedding planning process, and it is no surprise that this has been the focus of many TV shows. One of the most iconic wedding reality TV series is TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress", which is centred on the Kleinfeld Bridal store in New York City. The show follows brides as they shop for their dream dresses, with the help of over 250 professionals, and features family drama, friends' opinions, budget issues, sparkles, and tears. The success of the original show led to the creation of several spinoffs, including "Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta", which focuses on Bridals by Lori in Atlanta, and "I Found the Gown", which is about budget-conscious brides looking for the perfect dress at Vows Bridal Salon in Boston.

Another popular wedding dress TV show is "Four Weddings", which first aired in 2009. In each episode, four brides-to-be attend each other's weddings and rate the dress, food, venue, and overall experience. The winner of the competition receives a dream honeymoon.

Other wedding dress TV shows include "Love Is Blind", "The Big Day", "Paris in Love", "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event", "90 Day Fiancé", "Bethenny Getting Married?", "The Wedding Coach", "Cheapest Weddings", and "Married at First Sight".

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Wedding dress heirlooms

Wedding dresses are often packed away after the big day, but they can be given a new lease of life and transformed into family heirlooms. There are several ways to achieve this, from repurposing the dress into a new garment to altering the dress for another family member to wear on their wedding day.

Repurpose the dress

One option is to repurpose the wedding dress into something else entirely. This could be a robe, romper, baby baptism dress, or other keepsake items. For example, a bride could transform her dress into a bridal robe for her daughter, to be opened at her bridal shower. The bow from a 90s headband veil could be made into an angel ornament, or the dress could be made into a christening gown for a new baby. Another idea is to create home decor items such as a Christmas tree skirt, angel tree topper, or guardian angel ornaments.

Alter the dress

Another option is to alter the dress so that it can be worn again by the original wearer, or by another family member, such as a daughter or granddaughter. This could be for their own wedding day, or for another special occasion. For example, a bride could wear her grandmother's dress for the ceremony, and her mother's dress for the reception. The original dress can be restored and colour-corrected, and then altered to fit the new wearer. Other changes could include making a strapless dress, changing a puffy organza skirt to a sleek crepe, or covering the bodice with lace.

Where to get a wedding dress makeover

There are several companies that offer wedding dress makeover services, including Unbox the Dress, Ette Tailor, and Ava's Bridal Couture. Unbox the Dress offers a design quiz to help customers decide what to transform their dress into, and provides a safe-ship DressBox to send in the dress. Ette Tailor also offers vintage gown revamping and alterations, and Ava's Bridal Couture offers a remake style quiz to help customers decide how to alter their dress.

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Wedding dress boutiques

Unbox the Dress™

Unbox the Dress™ is a women-owned company located in North Carolina that transforms wedding dresses into bespoke keepsakes. They offer a range of services, including custom restyling, professional cleaning and preservation, and gift certificates. The transformation process typically takes up to 15 weeks, and they provide safe shipping options for your dress.

Ette Tailor

Ette Tailor specialises in heirloom gown revamping, ensuring that your family's wedding dress is modernised to your liking. They work with you to incorporate original lace and materials to create your dream wedding dress. Ette Tailor also offers couture wedding alterations, custom design services, and more.

Ava's Bridal Couture

Ava's Bridal Couture offers a range of services, including gown restoration, colour correction, and customisation options such as adding sleeves, fabric changes, and neckline alterations. They cater to a wide range of sizes, from petite to plus-size wedding dresses, ensuring that your dress fits like a glove.

Emily Hart Bridal

Emily Hart Bridal in Kansas City offers a unique and memorable dress shopping experience. Their showroom features designer gowns from up-and-coming and well-known designers from around the world. Their team of professional stylists and buyers will help you find or create your dream dress.

Grace Loves Lace

Grace Loves Lace is an Australian-based company with global boutiques in the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia. They offer handmade and crafted wedding gowns featuring flattering silhouettes, designed for comfort, luxury, and movement. They also provide virtual bridal styling appointments for those who can't visit their boutiques.

These boutiques showcase the variety of options available to create, customise, or modernise your wedding dress. Whether you're looking for vintage charm or a modern edge, these boutiques can help you achieve your perfect bridal look.

Frequently asked questions

There are several companies that offer wedding dress remodelling services, including Unbox the Dress, Ette, Ava's Bridal Couture, and Lace & Liberty.

Services offered include resizing, restoration, colour correction, and design changes such as adding or removing sleeves, changing the neckline or backline, and adding embellishments.

Yes, companies such as Ette offer full redesign services.

The process can take up to 15 weeks, but some companies offer expedited delivery for an additional cost. It is recommended that brides start the process 10 months to 1 year before the wedding.

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