Finding your dream dress is one thing, but getting it to fit like a dream is another matter altogether. Bride Kelsey Anderson tells us how she made it happen
Photo: The Gibsons Photography
Kelsey Garrett married Sean Anderson at Enterkine House, Ayr, on 15th November 2024, wearing an Eleganza Iconica gown from Eleganza Sposa, altered to fit by All Sewn Up.
The bride shares a first-hand account of her wedding dress alteration experience and doesn't leave out any details...
Bringing inspiration to your bridal appointment
"Before my appointment at Eleganza Sposa in Glasgow, I took screenshots of dresses I liked so I could show them to the stylist.
"But when I actually tried on those gowns, none of them felt quite right – they just didn’t feel like me.
"I had also taken a screenshot of a dress from the Eleganza Iconica collection that I thought absolutely wasn’t me at all, but the stylist suggested I try it on anyway. Amazingly, it turned out to be the one.
"I loved the fact that it was all hand-sewn and so detailed, I loved the square neckline and the low back, and the scalloped edge detailing was incredible."
Why try on a wedding dress outside your comfort zone?
"It’s not what anyone thought I’d go for, and when friends and family saw it for the first time on my wedding day, they were definitely surprised by my choice. To me, though, knowing it was a dress that was a bit different and special really encouraged me to go for it."
Photo: The Gibsons Photography
Wedding dress alterations and fittings
"I had started dress shopping not long after having a baby and I was still breastfeeding, so I knew my dress would need quite a lot of work to make it fit me.
"A friend recommended taking it to All Sewn Up in West Kilbride, which I did. There, we discussed the changes.
Discover more Scottish bridal boutiques and wedding dress specialists in our supplier directory
"As well as it needing to be taken up, it also had to come down a few sizes – quite a task to achieve while maintaining the square neckline and low back. With it being so heavily beaded too, I knew that it would take a lot of time and effort."
"I am so grateful that I found All Sewn Up as their work is flawless – you wouldn’t know the gown had been altered at all."
Photo: The Gibsons Photography
What can I expect from the bridal alteration process?
"I joked with the girls at All Sewn Up that if I was one of their seamstresses, I’d have simply said no chance to all that work!
"It was a crazy amount of work, from moving straps and taking it in by around five inches, to everything else.
"I had three fittings at the West Kilbride studio to make sure everything was exactly as it should be, and throughout the entire process I never felt any pressure or stress. I knew I was in capable hands the whole time.
"What surprised me most was how close the fittings were to the wedding, but this meant my dress fitted me like a glove as the seamstresses were basically seeing me in the final run-up."
"I picked up the dress the day before the wedding and I wasn’t at all stressed; it made it even more special that my ‘first look’ of it properly altered was on my wedding day itself."
Bridesmaid dress alterations Scotland
"All Sewn Up also looked after my four bridesmaids and their dresses, and the process couldn’t have been easier for them either.
"After the initial appointment that we all attended, each of the girls could liaise with the team directly to get their own appointments which really suited our busy schedules."
Photo: The Gibsons Photography
Real bride's alteration experience at All Sewn Up
"I genuinely could not fault my alterations experience. It was so worth the time and money to get my dress exactly right.
"I felt absolutely amazing when I put it on to walk down the aisle, and that was thanks to All Sewn Up. When you’re spending so much money on something so important, you really need to make sure you can trust the people who are doing the job."
Alterations are just one of All Sewn Up's specialist services – enter for a chance to WIN a wedding dress cleaning and boxing service from the West Kilbride shop
Put your trust in the wedding dress specialists
"It’s understandably quite a scary thing handing over the most expensive item of clothing you’ve ever bought!
"The girls at All Sewn Up made the whole thing so painless. They are such nice people and so lovely and helpful.
"Jane, the owner, was such a reassuring voice and made sure I was involved in the whole process from start to finish. I could not have been happier with the results."
Photo: The Gibsons Photography
How long can complex wedding dress alterations take?
“We started work on Kelsey’s dress around three months before her wedding, and all in all it must have taken about 30 hours of work," the All Sewn Up team seamstress team revealed.
"The dress needed reshaping at the bust, the back zip needed altering, and the whole thing had to be taken in. We also made some minor changes to the overskirt.
"Looking at the dress now, you might not realise how much work went into it, but it was a big job to make it absolutely perfect for Kelsey.”
Scroll to see more gorgeous photos from Kelsey and Sean's day, all captured by: The Gibsons Photography
