The Dotty Dress Journey

The first thing we advise you to do is to book in with a seamstress. If you have said yes to your dress 12-18 months ahead of your wedding date, it is best to get booked in with a seamstress straight away so you are sure to secure a slot with them as they tend to get booked up quickly! You will have received an email at the end of your bridal appointment with the details for 4 seamstresses around the area that we trust and would recommend to anybody! Your Stylist will advise you on alterations during your appointment but do get in touch if you have any queries about who to book with.

So now you have your dates set for your fittings, all you can do now is wait until your dress comes in. 16-24 weeks is the typical lead time for our dresses at Dotty, which sounds like a long time but it will fly by. You will also need to have paid off the remaining 40% balance of your dress within 12 weeks of paying the deposit for your dress to be dispatched from the designer. You can pay off the remaining balance online via our payment system, the Dotty portal where all your dress details are or you can pay it over the phone.
 

Once your dress is ready it will be delivered to us at Dotty. As soon as we receive your gown we will process and steam the gown and contact you via email to let you know that your dress has arrived and invite you for your Pre fit appointment.

What is my Pre fit appointment?

Your Pre fit is an hour long appointment for you to come back to the boutique and try your dress on. Not the sample like you tried at your initial bridal appointment but your very OWN brand new gown. Brides tend to feel a mix of nerves and excitement to retry their gown on but always feel amazing once they're back in it!

The pre fit is even more special if the sample of the dress you said yes to didn't quite fit and you didn't get to see how the whole thing will look. Now you have a dress that has been ordered in your closest size you will get  a much better vision. That's not to say that your dress will fit you perfectly at your Pre fit, they very rarely do, since everyone's body proportions are slightly different but your Stylist will have talked through with you why they have chosen to order the size that they have at the point of purchase.

During this appointment your Stylist will talk you through any alterations that will need to be made to your gown for example, some of the length taking off, where the dress will be brought in to better fit your bust, where the sleeves will be added etc. 

Your Pre fit is a perfect time to try on accessories with your dress if you didn't decide on any in your initial appointment. Your stylist can help you find the perfect veil for your dress if you're wanting one, or if you'd prefer a headband, hairpiece, tiara or hair pins, now is a great time to have a play around since you'll be in the dress.

Something that isn't necessary but is good to bear in mind if you want to be organised, is to bring your wedding shoes to your Pre fit or any that you are considering. Again, this is the perfect time to try them as you are in the gown and you can see if you like the look of them against the dress.

Most of our veils and accessories are made to order, so we will order them during your appointment and they tend to take 2-3 months to come in. Rush cuts can be applied if you need your accessories sooner and we can send your accessories out to your home address so that you don't have to make another journey to the Dotty Boutique.

Taking your dress away

By the end of your Pre fit you will know what kind of alterations that will need doing. At this point it is up to you if you would like to take your dress home with you and store it until you go for your fittings with your seamstress (usually start 8-12 weeks before your wedding date) or you can store your dress with us for £20 a month. You could have potentially already paid for storage as part of your package deal during your initial bridal appointment.

If you will be taking your dress home we recommend keeping it hung up in the gown bag you take it away in and hanging it up in full in a wardrobe. It is important that you don't keep your dress out in direct sunlight as the gown bags are not UV protected and the sun can discolour your dress. 

If you will be storing your gown with us, your Stylist will book in a collection appointment for you to come and collect your dress from us before you go for your first fitting.

Fitting with your Seamstress

Your seamstress will hold onto your gown while they are making changes to it. It is necessary that you have your wedding shoes with you for your first fitting with your seamstress so the length can be adjusted accordingly. You will typically have 2-3 different fittings with your seamstress. 

Once the dress is altered it will fit you like a glove. Then you will take your dress away with you and all that's left to do is wait for the big day...

We hope this guide helps clear up what the next steps are for you on your bridal journey. Of course we are always here if you have any questions on what happens next! 

Lots of love 

Team Dotty 

xxx