Cristina Chiosa Bridal Atelier

tments, and she steamed my dress for free. She charges up front based on your expected tailoring needs, but will continue to alter your dress over a period of 2+ appointments if you’re not happy with the fit. I am a petite woman (5’1”) and I needed the hem on my A-line gown to be significantly shortened, the waist to be taken in, and a bustle to be added. We ended up needing 3+ fittings to get the hem right. In the end, the fit looked great in the mirror; the waist was taken in perfectly and the bustle was very pretty. At my last appointment, however, I was still tripping on the dress. Cristina tightened the bow in the back to bring the dress up higher (the dress was a halter), which elevated the hem, and she said that this would take care of the problem. I should have realized then that this was not sufficient—a tulle bow, no matter how tightly tied, was going to loosen throughout the night, especially if it was responsible for holding up an entire wedding gown. There were fabric straps with a clasp in the back that were meant to hold up the neck. Cristina did not feel comfortable hemming more for fear that the dress would be too short, but I wondered if the fabric straps should have been taken in to bring the whole dress up, rather than relying so much on the bow. This brings me to the nightmare that I experienced at my wedding: Not more than an hour after bustling my dress, one of the bustle’s hooks ripped off, leaving a long strand of dress dragging on the floor. I assume that this was because I had stepped on it. For my cake cutting and first dances, I had a long strand of train hanging awkwardly from the back of the dress. My husband and I worked hard for two months to choreograph our first dance, and it was ruined by us slipping on the fabric. A second hook ripped off later in the night, leaving another tear in my dress and another loose strand of train. As my maid of honor hurried to put in safety pins, I felt so sad and disappointed. I wish that Cristina had at least given me some advice on walking around with the bustled dress…it was hard for me to appreciate how delicate the bustle was because I could not see it. I also wish that I had been given the option to have a bustle that was more reinforced. All in all, I can’t look at my wedding dress anymore without feeling sad. She reached out to me and promised that she will be more deliberate about educating brides in the future, which I really appreciate.

. I had my dress ready to go quickly and it was altered so beautifully.

gowns. She was so kind and easy to work with. She was able to look at my dress and give great recommendations on what needed to be altered so my dress was exactly what I wanted and fit absolutely perfect. My dress was stunning and perfect, she took such care and you can tell she has real pride in her work.