Wedding dress too long

Lutricia007 · 2025-11-17T13:28:58+00:00

I choose beautiful off shoulder wedding dress. On trial it was perfect length up to floor height. On my wedding day I was almost falling over & stepping on it. Walked up the stairs to the aisle and almost stumbled. on the videos that was taken it showed how I kicked the dress with my feet to make more room so I could walk easier alll of it left me bit annoyed and frustrated. I emailed to the shop where I bought the dress and they pretty much replied saying that in the shop it was perfect length that on the pictures shows that I didn’t pull the dress up enough and it sits too low. i payed so much to get it shortened ( you could buy second dress with that money ) i am not sure am I being unreasonable, should i just leave it or should I still continue and maybe just to get bit of refund back from them

Sprig1 · 17/11/2025 13:30

I think it's up to you to check you are happy with it before the big day. Try and put it behind you. I am sure that nobody else noticed and if they did, haven't given it a second thought.

Coffeeishot · 17/11/2025 13:31

So it was fine in the shop and after alterations? But you felt it was too long there is nothing you can do you accepted the dress as is,

DappledThings · 17/11/2025 13:32

I paid so much to get it shortened ( you could buy a second dress with that money )
Do you mean you paid to have it shortened and it was still too long? But you said it was perfect length in the shop. Is it the same shop that fitted it that also shortened it or someone else? Did you have a fitting after it was shortened?

BadgernTheGarden · 17/11/2025 13:33

I assume they had shortened it when you tried it in the shop? Sometimes dresses hang out a bit and get a bit longer over a few days, were you wearing the same shoes? You could certainly ask for a refund for the shortening if it can be seen to be too long in the pictures but wedding dresses very often touch the floor at least.

Hiptothisjive · 17/11/2025 13:35

Dresses don’t change length OP come on. You paid to have the dress shortened and you were happy so this is on you. I would suggest you didn’t pull it up correctly, didn't have the same under dressing (crinoline) or lost weight.

What exactly can the shop do if you were happy when you left. YABVU

WildCherryBlossom · 17/11/2025 13:36

If it was the perfect length on trial in the store I don’t think you have any comeback. Were you wearing the same shoes when you tried it on? Did you actually walk around in it or just stand still and look in the mirror? I had to practise how to walk in my dress (including how to turn corners with a train.)

Roverbarks · 17/11/2025 13:37

A refund on what basis?

What changed between it being perfect in store and your wedding day?

ScaryM0nster · 17/11/2025 13:38

If it was the same dress and you were happy with the length in the shop I don’t think you can complain about the length.

If they didn’t give you suitable advice on how to wear it correctly then you could maybe complain about that, but that’s a stretch.

Sounds like may have been altered correctly for the way was worn in the shop but not on the day.

UpMyself · 17/11/2025 13:48

You were standing in the shop not doing things like dancing and walking up and down stairs.
Long skirts are a tripping hazard.

Quamarina · 17/11/2025 14:13

my dress was absolutely gorgeous but very heavy & strapless, I can sew & do general alterations but not bridal alterations level of skill. I asked the seamstress to add a waist stay to help with the weight of the skirt which she did a fantastic job, and gave her a bra of mine to use the back straps for extra support sewing them in where a bra would usually sit, the dress already had moulded cups so I couldn’t wear a bra but every little helps. On the day I realised she’d forgotten to sew loops around the bra straps to secure it all the way around the dress so every time I sat down, my dress moved down but the bra didn’t & it was on show. She’d also snapped a bit of boning in the bodice & just pushed it back in, that ripped through the lace just before I left the house to get in the car. At the time I was a bit gutted but I did feed back to her both things, you can’t change what’s happened but people are only human, they make mistakes, and telling them in a constructive way is helpful for their next wedding dress. She was apologetic & gracious enough to take it on board, she didn’t try to pretend she hadn’t taken shortcuts on the boning or the straps, I didn’t demand a refund. The only person who knew about the hole in the bodice was me, nobody noticed. I didn’t even notice the bra issue until photos later on, every one sitting down or bending down to hug shorter guests, there was the back of my skin coloured Sainsbury’s bra. I paid £550 for this plus taking in & shortening hem.

before you proceed try to understand what’s gone wrong. At the fitting did you walk the room in it or just stand still in front of a mirror? Did you lose a lot of weight between final fitting & big day, so the dress sat lower? Did you decide to wear the dress lower on the day than it was meant to be? Did you change your mind on the shoes? You should be wearing your wedding shoes to fittings. If they didn’t tell you this, that’s not great. Did you try it on between fitting & wedding day to be 100% sure?

Original poster

Lutricia007 · 17/11/2025 16:59

Quamarina · 17/11/2025 14:13

my dress was absolutely gorgeous but very heavy & strapless, I can sew & do general alterations but not bridal alterations level of skill. I asked the seamstress to add a waist stay to help with the weight of the skirt which she did a fantastic job, and gave her a bra of mine to use the back straps for extra support sewing them in where a bra would usually sit, the dress already had moulded cups so I couldn’t wear a bra but every little helps. On the day I realised she’d forgotten to sew loops around the bra straps to secure it all the way around the dress so every time I sat down, my dress moved down but the bra didn’t & it was on show. She’d also snapped a bit of boning in the bodice & just pushed it back in, that ripped through the lace just before I left the house to get in the car. At the time I was a bit gutted but I did feed back to her both things, you can’t change what’s happened but people are only human, they make mistakes, and telling them in a constructive way is helpful for their next wedding dress. She was apologetic & gracious enough to take it on board, she didn’t try to pretend she hadn’t taken shortcuts on the boning or the straps, I didn’t demand a refund. The only person who knew about the hole in the bodice was me, nobody noticed. I didn’t even notice the bra issue until photos later on, every one sitting down or bending down to hug shorter guests, there was the back of my skin coloured Sainsbury’s bra. I paid £550 for this plus taking in & shortening hem.

before you proceed try to understand what’s gone wrong. At the fitting did you walk the room in it or just stand still in front of a mirror? Did you lose a lot of weight between final fitting & big day, so the dress sat lower? Did you decide to wear the dress lower on the day than it was meant to be? Did you change your mind on the shoes? You should be wearing your wedding shoes to fittings. If they didn’t tell you this, that’s not great. Did you try it on between fitting & wedding day to be 100% sure?

i didn’t loose weight , I had same shoes on when I was trying it on. Yes ofcourse I walked a little bit around the shop ( which was flat wooden floor )

I suppose it’s different when the ground is uneven and it’s not floor shop.

I can imagine it was just too heavy and slided down because of it.

It wasn’t only me that noticed. Lot of people noticed especially walking up the stairs

yes I had two fittings and paid same 550 for making it shorter

OP posts:

Quamarina · 19/11/2025 10:43

Lutricia007 · 17/11/2025 16:59

i didn’t loose weight , I had same shoes on when I was trying it on. Yes ofcourse I walked a little bit around the shop ( which was flat wooden floor )

I suppose it’s different when the ground is uneven and it’s not floor shop.

I can imagine it was just too heavy and slided down because of it.

It wasn’t only me that noticed. Lot of people noticed especially walking up the stairs

yes I had two fittings and paid same 550 for making it shorter

Show quote history

I’m really sorry this happened to you, I hope it didn’t take too much shine off your big day.
I was very lucky in having some knowledge about alterations & a lifetime of strapless dresses to hide my pear figure, to have put forward ideas about how to deal with the weight of the dress, without adding shoulder straps. The seamstress didn’t suggest anything I put the requests to her, but it was a very beaded dress with a massive train & there was no way that just a zip & boning would have done the job, it was a sleek silhouette but very heavy. In photos I’d seen of other real brides in the same dress on Stillwhite it really looked to be sitting quite a lot lower on the bust than on the designers model. It did mean filling in the back which was sheer, to cover the waist strap I asked for which was a shame but I couldn’t risk a nipple out.

I think it would be worth one more calm approach to the shop, stating that a regular bride who doesn’t get married every weekend isn’t going to know that the weight of the dress can cause it to slip. And that it feels to you like they could have been more supportive in suggesting options such as waist stay, sewn in bra, anti slip rubber tape sewn onto the bust line, even toupee tape, an invisible corset under the zip, hanging loop sewn in to hold your skirt up when doing stairs, a bustle, literally anything to support the weight of it because if you aren’t regularly wearing clothes like this you just won’t be prepared. And these are just some of the options available, so I do think it’s a shame that nothing was suggested to you to help you manage it