Bridesmaid's dress drama... Need opinions!

[ginabini]

Hi Ladies! So I am looking for some honest opinions on what to do here, because I'm at a loss (and probably being ENTIRELY too dramatic lol). Backstory: My very good friend J is getting married Memorial Day weekend. Originally, I was not going to be a part of the bridal party. This is her fiancé's second wedding so they were keeping the bridal party very small, which I TOTALLY get and understand! However.... 3 weeks ago she called and said she decided she wanted everyone important to her to stand with her and asked me to be a bridesmaid last minute. I am super excited! She did so much for me for my wedding and I am thrilled to get to stand next to her! She was ordering the bridesmaids dresses from this online-only retailer, who had a "rush" option to turn the dress around in 3 weeks. They had a maternity option for the dress she chose where you send in very specific measurements and tell them how far along you are "now" and how far along you will be at the wedding, and they would adjust the dress accordingly. Sounded perfect!

Flash forward to Monday... I got my dress in the mail.... andddddd it doesn't fit. Apparently they only account for growth in the belly and not the chest/ribs, because the dress won't zip past my waist. There is probably a solid inch gap at the top of the zipper. Of course I had an epic, hormone-fueled meltdown at the time... so now I'm trying to figure out what to do. I am really hoping to not have to tell the bride.. because with her wedding 4 weeks away this is the last thing I want her to stress about.

My first instinct was to try to get in contact with the company myself... however their website does not list a phone number. Only a "contact us" email form. They say they will get back to you in 12 hours and to leave a phone number if it is time sensitive... 24 hours later, still no email or phone call. I wanted to see if they would send me a new, larger dress... or at the very least some extra fabric. I am also trying to find a good, bridal seamstress/tailor in the area to see if they think they can help by just letting it out. However, I don't want them to take the dress apart yet because if they alter it at all I won't be able to return it if the company ever gets back to me.

So my question is... what would you do?! Should I tell the bride to see if she has a contact person at the company that could help? Should I just go the seamstress route and hope for the best? If you were the bride, would you want to know? Has this happened to you before?

TIA!!

[Ray]

Apr 27, 2016 8:10:20 GMT -5 ginabini said:

Hi Ladies! So I am looking for some honest opinions on what to do here, because I'm at a loss (and probably being ENTIRELY too dramatic lol). Backstory: My very good friend J is getting married Memorial Day weekend. Originally, I was not going to be a part of the bridal party. This is her fiancé's second wedding so they were keeping the bridal party very small, which I TOTALLY get and understand! However.... 3 weeks ago she called and said she decided she wanted everyone important to her to stand with her and asked me to be a bridesmaid last minute. I am super excited! She did so much for me for my wedding and I am thrilled to get to stand next to her! She was ordering the bridesmaids dresses from this online-only retailer, who had a "rush" option to turn the dress around in 3 weeks. They had a maternity option for the dress she chose where you send in very specific measurements and tell them how far along you are "now" and how far along you will be at the wedding, and they would adjust the dress accordingly. Sounded perfect!

Flash forward to Monday... I got my dress in the mail.... andddddd it doesn't fit. Apparently they only account for growth in the belly and not the chest/ribs, because the dress won't zip past my waist. There is probably a solid inch gap at the top of the zipper. Of course I had an epic, hormone-fueled meltdown at the time... so now I'm trying to figure out what to do. I am really hoping to not have to tell the bride.. because with her wedding 4 weeks away this is the last thing I want her to stress about.

My first instinct was to try to get in contact with the company myself... however their website does not list a phone number. Only a "contact us" email form. They say they will get back to you in 12 hours and to leave a phone number if it is time sensitive... 24 hours later, still no email or phone call. I wanted to see if they would send me a new, larger dress... or at the very least some extra fabric. I am also trying to find a good, bridal seamstress/tailor in the area to see if they think they can help by just letting it out. However, I don't want them to take the dress apart yet because if they alter it at all I won't be able to return it if the company ever gets back to me.

So my question is... what would you do?! Should I tell the bride to see if she has a contact person at the company that could help? Should I just go the seamstress route and hope for the best? If you were the bride, would you want to know? Has this happened to you before?

TIA!!

Could you get it turned into a corset back by a seamstress? If any of the other bridesmaids have extra fabric from getting the dresses hemmed you could use that or just use white or a secondary wedding colour to fill the back (or just use ribbon if you're cool with your skin showing through)

GL!

[ginabini]

Ray, The top of the dress is a V-neck with straps and is gold sequins... and the bottom is chiffon, so I don't think there would be any extra fabric to make the top better... but definitely a good idea to do something like that!!

[tootsie]

I'd talk to the bride to see what her preferences are. She probably has a contact with the company she could call, and maybe she would rather have you return it and buy a different, coordinating dress that fits you. Yes, she's probably already stressed, but she probably has the info you need.

[rungirlrun]

Apr 27, 2016 8:41:27 GMT -5 tootsie said:

I'd talk to the bride to see what her preferences are. She probably has a contact with the company she could call, and maybe she would rather have you return it and buy a different, coordinating dress that fits you. Yes, she's probably already stressed, but she probably has the info you need.

+1 to all of this. I'd want to know and help if I was the bride.

[TheTuna15]

ginabini, I would do a few things. Call the bride and see if she has a phone number. Be very nonchalant about it. "Hey do you have a phone number for that company before I take the dress to a seamstress I would just like to talk to them." Start looking for someone who can corset the back or let out the seams a little bit if there's not a lot of space that you need. That way you're covered both ways.

[lostinfaith225]

+2 to telling the bride.

[cavewmn]

Talk to the bride.

Are all the bridesmaids wearing the same exact dress? Luckily with you wearing maternity people wouldn't be surprised if yours is a bit different.

[ginabini]

Apr 27, 2016 8:53:31 GMT -5 cavewmn said:

Talk to the bride.

Are all the bridesmaids wearing the same exact dress? Luckily with you wearing maternity people wouldn't be surprised if yours is a bit different.

We are all wearing the same dress. There is one other bridesmaid who is pregnant. She'll be getting her dress from the MOH this weekend so I'm eager to see how hers fits also.

[tikoberry99]

I would talk to the bride and let her know. I think the seamstress route is the better option because the seamstress will be able to custom fit the dress and they usually have a quick turnaround or rush fee so they will be better at making sure the dress fits closer to the wedding. .

So sorry for all the stress. Buying bridesmaids dresses online is such a gamblw...good thing for amazing seamstresses.

[mcktymck]

+1 to talking to the bride about it. Yes it's added stress for her but if I were the bride I don't think it'd upset me, and then it'll hopefully get the whole dress issue resolved quicker! And don't let it stress YOU out either. It's hard enough ordering a bridesmaid dress and having it fit perfectly, when you're pregnant and not knowing at all how big you're going to get and where you're guaranteed to need to get the dress altered

[littlesthobo]

I also say talk to the bride about it. You never know if the other girls are having similar issues. Find out what she thinks would be the best solution and go with that. If she's unsure, I would go the seamstress route.

[cabbagecabbage]

+1 for start with the bride. Sadly, if you ordered from a no phone number, online only place, I'd be sort of shocked if you are the only person with fit issues. I hope you can get someone to work a mini miracle. That stinks!

[ginabini]

Thanks, ladies! I think I'm going to try the seamstress/tailor route rather. The company did get back to me and said they would send me a new dress for just 40% of the original cost (so another $70), but since the wedding is in 4 weeks I just don't want to chance that it won't get here in time. I figure absolute WORST case is we'll need to put some panels in either in the back or on the sides. If that's needed, hopefully the company will send me some fabric to match. But if not, I think we can get away with just another gold that's close to the sequins to look okay in pictures since you won't really see it. (Obviously, I would check with the bride before doing that.)