Your consultation is where the fun starts!
Whether we’re completely reimagining a wedding gown or creating meaningful keepsakes, this appointment gives us time to explore your pieces together and build a plan that feels completely personal to you.
You do not need to arrive knowing exactly what you want. Bring the ideas, inspiration, questions, and sentimental pieces you have, and we’ll figure out the rest together.
Before your appointment, please take a few minutes to explore what to expect, what to bring, and typical investment ranges below.
Planning a Dress Redesign?
Every heirloom gown is different, and every redesign is custom. Pricing is based on the design we create together, the construction and condition of the original gown, and the amount of hands-on work required to transform it.
Alterations on a vintage gown are typically comparable to, and sometimes more than, alterations on a modern wedding dress. Rather than simply perfecting the fit, we’re often making more impactful design changes to transform Mom’s dress into something that feels like yours.
Most importantly, we want you to walk into your consultation with a realistic idea of what a custom redesign may cost.
Simple Refresh
Typical Investment: $600-$1200+
Mom’s dress already has a great foundation. It fits fairly well, you like the overall silhouette, and we’re making thoughtful updates to make it feel more like you.
These redesigns typically keep the original construction and skirt shape largely intact.
We may:
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Adjust the fit within about an inch
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Remove sleeves or a high neckline
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Reshape or lower an existing neckline
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Hem the original skirt shape
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Add support or push up bust cups
A New Take on Her Dress
Typical Investment: $100-$1900+
We love Mom’s dress, but we’re ready to make some bigger moves or need to create more room to make it fit.
At this level, we’re changing significant elements of the original gown while still using its existing construction as the foundation for the new design.
This may include:
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Changing the skirt silhouette
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Significantly reshaping the bodice
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Expanding the gown more than an inch with panels or a lace-up back
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Rebuilding the neckline or back
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Creating enough internal structure to support a new strapless design
A Complete Reinvention
Typical Investment: $1600-$2800+
At this level, Mom’s dress becomes our fabric and inspiration rather than our existing pattern.
We’re approaching the project much like designing a custom wedding gown from the beginning, carefully harvesting the meaningful materials and details from the original dress and using them to create something entirely new.
This may include:
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Custom designing and constructing a new bodice
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Creating a new skirt or completely different silhouette
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Extensive patternmaking and structural work.
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Combining heirloom materials with new fabrics when needed
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Extensive deconstruction and reconstruction of the original gown
Not sure where your idea falls? That’s exactly what the consultation is for.
We’ll evaluate the gown together, talk through what’s possible, and build an estimate as we develop your design.
Looking for Something Besides a Dress Redesign?
Oh, we make all kinds of fun things around here!
Robes, bridal loungewear, christening gowns, bouquet wraps, pocket squares, clutches, garters, embroidered handwriting pieces, ornaments and so much more can be created from legacy gowns.
Before your consultation, we encourage you to browse our Services page. It’s a great place to see what we typically create, gather ideas, and get familiar with pricing before we meet.
And if you don't see exactly what you have in mind? Bring the idea anyway. Some of our favorite projects start with, “Do you think we could...?”
What to Bring
Your Dress
Bring the gown exactly as you have it. Still in its old preservation box? Even better.
We love opening the box together and capturing that moment along the way, even if the gown has already been opened or tried on before. And yes, that old box has officially served its purpose, we’re happy to dispose of it for you.
What You’ll Wear Underneath
If we're planning a dress redesign, bring any foundation garments you may wear with the finished gown, such as a strapless bra, shapewear or no-show underwear.
Have your wedding shoes already? Bring those too!
Don't worry if you haven't purchased everything yet. We can work with what you have and let you know if there’s anything specific we’d like you to bring to a future fitting.
Anything That Could Become Part of the Story
Bring anything we may be redesigning or incorporating into the finished pieces.
That could include:
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Wedding gowns or other sentimental dresses
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Veils
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Accessories
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Garments belonging to parents or grandparents
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Lace, fabric or embellishments
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Handwritten cards, notes or signatures for custom embroidery
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Inspiration photos or saved ideas
You don't need to decide ahead of time what should be used or how. Bring the meaningful pieces and we'll explore the possibilities together.
What to Expect at Your Appointment
1
Welcome to the Studio!
You’ll join us at 1741 W. 5th Street in Eureka, Missouri, right next to Lion’s Choice and around the corner from Six Flags.
Look for the tan building with the giant ALTERATIONS sign front and center. You found us!
Our studio is home to Still Her Dress, Alterations by Debbie and Missouri Gown Preservation, so there is a whole lot of bridal happening under one roof.
When you arrive, check in with Julie at the front desk. She’ll get you settled into our consultation and fitting area. We have comfortable seating for up to four guests, so please keep your entourage small.
2
Opening the Box & Meeting the Dress
If your dress arrives in a box, we’ll open it together!
We love documenting these moments and will likely grab some photos and video as we go. There is something pretty special about seeing a gown emerge after years, or sometimes decades, tucked away.
We’ll hang your gown and take a good look at it from front to back.
We’re looking at design details, construction, fabrics, embellishments and overall condition. All of these little details help us understand what we have to work with and what possibilities the gown may hold.
3
Let’s Talk Ideas
We’ll sit down together and talk through what brought you here.
Bring your wishlist. Bring screenshots. Bring the wild idea you're not sure is possible.
We’ll talk through design options, possibilities and pricing while beginning to build your project estimate during the consultation.
You’ll also have plenty of finished pieces and samples around the studio to explore if you need a little inspiration.
4
If We’re Redesigning a Gown...
It’s time to put her on! You'll try the gown in its current condition so we can see how it fits your body, how the original design works on you, and what we might want to change.
Then we start playing. We may pin, fold, tuck, or even remove pieces to help you envision the revisions. We'll talk about necklines, sleeves, skirts, proportions and all the little details that create your new vision.
Once we have a direction, we'll discuss the estimated investment before moving into anything permanent. If you're ready and comfortable we may even start removing sleeves or embellishments, beginning deconstruction, or even making that first big cut into the skirt.
Nothing permanent happens until you're ready.
5
Yes, We’ll Probably Have the Camera Out
Many of our clients find Still Her Dress through social media, and we love documenting these transformations from the very beginning.
That can include opening the box, your reactions, the design process, deconstruction, fittings and the final reveal.
Prefer that your project not be shared online? Just tell us before your consultation. We completely understand and are happy to respect that.
We may also record our own video notes throughout the appointment so our team can revisit important design decisions while working on your project.
6
Before You Leave
Once we have our game plan, we'll make sure everyone is on the same page.
We'll review:
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Your final design plan
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Estimated project investment
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Timeline and completion date
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Any additional items we need from you
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Fitting schedule, when applicable
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Invoice and contract
When you're ready to move forward, a 50% deposit reserves your project and allows us to get started.
Then your special pieces stay with us and the transformation begins!
You Don’t Have to Have It All Figured Out.
That's our job together.
Some clients arrive with a Pinterest board, sketches and a very specific vision. Others walk in carrying Mom's wedding dress and say, “I know I want to use it. I just don't know what I want yet.”
Both are perfect places to start.
Bring the dress. Bring the stories. Bring the questions. We’ll help you figure out what’s possible from there.
We can’t wait to make something truly special!