White Lace

White Lace

I wouldn't use the word cheaper, as they both have their uniquenesses depending on what a bride would consider paying for the absolute dress of her dreams and what it is worth to her emotionally. 

Admittedly Bespoke wedding dresses can be relatively costly as it involves the process of creating a completely unique design from scratch for the bride. 

However if a bride finds her dress she loves at a bridal boutique it will most likely need alterations, which can add hundreds of dollars to the dress budget. So the thing is to consider alteration costs when you begin the search for your dress.

Best regards

White Lace

I usually give a 6-8week timeframe prior to your wedding date. I would suggest you book in a pin-up fitting, when I would give you a wriiten obligation-free quote and if you're agreeable to the price, we book in a date for you to pick up your dress, (once you've tried it on). If there are any further tweaks to be done they would be very minimal. I hope this helps in proceeding with getting your dress alterations done. 

Best Regards

White Lace

Rarely do made-to-order wedding gowns fit a bride perfectly and judging from your question perhaps if in doubt get a second quote. However the amount of $470 is not unreasonable and hopefully the dressmaker may have seen the dress on you to see how it fits and exactly what needs to be done. Alteration charges range differently from one dressmaker to another. Generally, the price of alterations is not included in the cost of the gown so it is important to budget for the cost of alterations when assessing your bridal budget.  For the most important dress you will ever get to wear, you would want it to fit perfectly. The descriptions are understandably quite vague since it's not from a dressmakers point of view. The dress could be made with a plain fabric with no embellishment or it could be beaded or lace, or the skirt may have many layers, etc etc there are so many factors to consider in bridal alterations. Ultimately there is no easy answer to the cost of alterations and as a dressmaker I would be hesitant to give a quote without seeing the dress on a bride. You're on the right track to ask the question of cost but if faced with a higher quote, you may have to compare expertise versus cost to do the job to your satisfaction. It is an extra cost and you would want your alterations to be done with expertise to make you look like a princess in your dress. Hope this answers your question.  Warmest regards