Altering a wedding gown is pretty much a given if you buy a dress “off the rack” and you are not 5’9″ with a perfectly proportioned body.
Alterations for a wedding gown depend entirely on what needs to be altered and the style of the wedding dress. There is no “standard” fee for altering a wedding gown. It will all depend on what needs to be done, how quickly, and how complicated the alteration is.
For gowns that have a great deal of lace, beading, and elegant cut-work, alterations are going to be very pricey, sometimes as much as half the price of the gown or more. If you are wearing an heirloom gown, this might be worth it to you. If you’re wearing a hand-me-down gown that you don’t like anyway, you might want to consider taking the $500 to $900 you’ll spend on significant alterations and find a gown that fits you.
That being said, alterations on a wedding gown are very common. Hemming is the number one alteration done on any wedding gown. For a straightforward hem that is not asymmetrical and has no additional lining, petticoat, or crinoline, you’re looking at $75 minimum. If you have multiple layers, train, and bustle that also need to be taken up, multiply that charge by the number of layers and that will give you a ballpark fee for your alterations.
hemmed. This type of hemming can be more expensive because of the intricate work that needs to be done to re-cut the skirt portion of the dress to fit the bodice, as well as the zipper or Loop and Lace fastening that will need to be redone.
have multiple layers, built-in corsets, or beadwork or cutwork over the seams, this price will go up.