It’s that time of year where all the dresses ordered over the holidays are coming in. We are steaming like crazy to make sure every dress goes home with a glowing bride!

The next step is alterations. We give every bride the same advice. First, use our recommended alterations company. This is a well known and local “Wedding Gown” alterations company. Going to the around the corner alteration shop that you get your pants hemmed at isn’t always the best place to take your wedding gown.

You have made a huge investment in your gown so don’t mess with going to a questionable seamstress! Will you pay more for the experience…..in most cases yes and this is because they have years and years of wedding gown experience. You do not want a “Rookie” working on your gown. You do not want your wedding dress to be a part of their learning experience and growing pains.

I see it all the time where brides go to someone they have personally used for years and when they go for their final fitting things just didn’t turn out how they wanted or envisioned due to lack of experience.

Here are some helpful tips to ask someone you are interested in hiring:

• How long have you been in business?
• How long have you specialized in altering wedding gowns?
• How many wedding gowns have you altered?
• Do you have “Real” brides as referrals, if so, can I please have a list to contact them
• What is your turn around time, from fitting to finish.
• Have no surprises….ask before you leave your gown what the estimate will be? Once they have your gown you are forced to pay because you have no other choice at that point.
• Ask what the options are for bustling……Every designer gown needs a custom bustle and instruction on how to do so on the day of.
• If you have a lace gown - ask how many lace dresses they have worked on… Lace is an entirely different ballgame from other fabrics.

I know your probably thinking “I didn’t know there was so much to know before hiring for alterations”……. You’re right. This decision should not be made lightly and the last thing you need is to worry about how your gown will turn out. If you are uncertain you can always call your local and trusted bridal shop for referrals.

Time frame is the next question at hand. As soon as you get your gown make a call to your alterations company and schedule your first fitting. They should walk you through the timing – from your first fitting, all the way through your final pick up. Remember - the closer they see you to your wedding day the better. Ladies let’s face it we either stress and eat or stress and not eat either way the perfect fit is important and the closer they see you to your date the better your dress will fit like a glove!

Rest assured ladies. If you spend the time doing your homework, your final wedding gown will be complete, custom fitted and shaped for you, and it will be FABOULOUS!

So, let me first say I am the proud mother of 6 wonderful kids. They are the center of my universe and I never feel quite complete without having all of them at my side. I feel they are for the most part very well behaved and I take them to places where most mothers would say “are you flippin crazy?!?!” Just today I had to stop for a quick touch up on my recent nails job and took my youngest 3 year old along with me. We got through it with little disruption and too many wiggles! Most businesses are understanding and let’s face it, most are also “kid friendly”, but there are some where it’s best to leave them where their energy, and volume - are welcome. As most of you with children, I really only have one option when it comes to finding a place for my kiddos when things come up last minute, or when my well laid out plans suddenly start changing. So, when the do have to tag along, we all put on our smiles and hope for the best!!

So you might be wondering, “this is a bridal blog – what does it have to do with kids?” Hopefully I can provide some thoughts, considerations and advice for when you decide to or need to bring them along for your bridal appointment

At Story Book Bridal, we pride ourselves on customer service for the “entire” experience. We love to see the little guys and girls, but here are a few things to keep in mind.

Please oh pretty please if this is your only option then come on a week day. Wednesdays are usually the slowest day for bridal shopping but it is still a great idea to make an appointment as well as telling the Bridal Consultant who is booking your appointment that you will have a child (or two) with you. This way they know to not schedule another bride at this time. So your saying “if it’s my child why is it a bother?” Think of the other brides that are trying to have their once in a lifetime bridal appointment but keep getting interrupted or peeked in on while someone else’s kid(s) are running all over, drooling on the mirror you are supposed to be sharing with other non child brides and most importantly – crying or any variation of unnerving noise…. We love your children and do whatever we can to make your appointment (and others) as enjoyable as possible and we even have an activity chest to help keep them entertained during your time with us. Believe it or not it is very stressful for you as well. This is your big day and you are trying to find the dress that makes you feel like a rock star - you deserve this!! I promise you won’t regret having a sitter watch your little one so you can enjoy finding your wedding gown!

Ok, so your Maid of Honor, best friend, sister, soon to be sister-in-law, etc.. has a child and wants to bring them to your bridal gown appointment. Tell them NO!! It’s ok to say no, remember this is your day and your time to get all the attention - not little Annie or Jonnie. I know I know, this sounds soooooo selfish as I am writing this and you are saying how can I tell them they can’t bring their child…….Well you can! If you have a Saturday appointment blame it on us, we no longer encourage or accept little guys and gals in the shop when we are in the hustle and bustle of bridal season (December-May). We are all guilty of giving our kiddos snacks to keep them busy and this is also a BIG no-no in a bridal shop. Please try and understand - our skin literally crawls when the chocolate milk and sticky fruit snacks come out and right after they are running in and out of all the gowns making them a great face and finger wiper. Do you want to try on a dress that has someone else’s kids’ stickiness all over it? Or worse yet the remnants of a runny nose? Eeeewwwweeee!!! There are lots of stressful moments while planning your wedding day. Don’t make the most fun part become the part you can’t wait to forget about.

We want ALL of our brides and their guests to enjoy their experience while at Storybook Bridal and no matter how well behaved our child are, they ALL have times of naughtiness (mine included). Of course we will NEVER turn you away because you have little Annie or Jonnie with you. But, if they must join you, we do ask you to be courteous of the others in the shop. We pride ourselves on customer service to ALL brides no matter - to have a lifelong and memorable experience with their family and friends.

I know this is a very sensitive subject…..please no hate mail! Off I go to chase down and break up the latest “mis-understanding” with my two youngest!! LOL