I am not looking for anything other than a vent for a dear friend. I am already working on her bridesmaid's dress (subject of a different thread in this section) and she asked me if I could do alterations on her wedding dress. she bought a shop sample as she had a very small budget paying £1000 less than the original price. the dress is a Mori Lee Pia 2030 which I found out is available in 3 lengths. I believe the bridal shop has sold her the longest length and she is only 5ft 2. They made a big show of putting her picture on Facebook saying she had said 'yes to the dress' whereas I think she should have said no! as they gave her very unrealistic expectations on alterations. It is a lovely lace gown but there are flaws like missing buttons and threads where beads have fallen off - easily fixed - however it has a scalloped hem and train and is about 8 inches too long
I have been awake at nights trying to think how to alter it. the lace is pieced onto tulle so in theory they could be unpicked and moved up with the scallop, however to make the pattern of the lace look right it would be weeks and weeks of work and I don't have time as I work and sewing is my hobby. There is only 9 weeks until the wedding. Alteration at the waist is not possible. At the moment I have the inner layers tacked up but the lace is pooling on the floor and my worry is that she will trip over it. She actually feels happy with just having the inner layers the right length bless her but the perfectionist in me hates it! The easier bit of alteration is removing the 32B bra cups to replace with a sewn in 36F bra to support her.