Alterations

Although the core business of our bridal store is our retail/custom line of bridal and graduation dresses, we are thrilled to help clients with completing alterations to wedding dresses that are purchased outside of our store. 

We appreciate the trust that is placed in our store, experience and equipment. We also appreciate being included into a client’s special day. Time that is available for outside alteration is dependant on the amount of time allocated to custom work and our retail sales. This makes it critical for brides to leave your deposit and book your alteration fittings to ensure we can look after your alterations.

We understand booking someone to alter your wedding dress is an important decision. To show our appreciation for the trust a bride places in us to complete her alterations we are happy to give away a free custom made fingertip blusher veil. It’s a small gesture to show our appreciation for the work.

We are designers and not seamstresses. This makes us specialists with regard to alterations. There is no alteration we cannot handle. There is no modification we cannot complete. Only your imagination and budget will limit the final outcome. Our sewing equipment is industrial which provides us the tools to get the alteration done right and on time. We hold replacement value insurance for any wedding dress that is left in our care. Wedding dresses are stored in an independent climate control room that has its own alarm system wired to a monitoring company. It is our job to provide absolute stewardship of wedding dresses left in our care. These are the minimal requirements when you consider the emotional and financial effort that brides have put into finding their own wedding dress.

We appreciate all the trust clients provide our studio to care for and complete alterations however, we no longer are able to complete alterations to bridesmaid dresses, prom/grad dresses or mother of the bride dresses. We have made the decision to prioritize available alteration time to our speciality which is wedding dress alterations/modifications.

Time Deposit Program for alterations

In the wedding industry the most important thing the bridal couple can do is secure a vendor’s time to ensure they will execute their services at the couple’s wedding date. As with all wedding vendors we take a deposit that guarantees the bride we will complete their wedding dress alterations in time for their wedding date. Our deposit to secure wedding dress alterations is 250$. This deposit is non refundable.  Please take note of our refund policy.

Once the deposit is paid we work backwards from your wedding date, paying attention to your specific personal pick up date requirement when selecting your consultation, two working fittings and your pick up date.  At your consultation we will work with you to determine what alterations need to happen and what modifications you’d like to see completed. We will also provide you the final cost of your alteration.

Alteration costs at our bridal store are dependant on the complexity of your dress, amount of work required and allocatable time. Alteration costs range between 200$ to 450$ on average. Your deposit is subtracted from your final alteration total to provide you with the balance.  We either refund the difference or you pay the outstanding balance.  Your deposit gives you absolute security that your alterations will be completed on your time table and to your comfort level.

During your wedding dress alteration consultation, if a determination is made by the staff and or owner of Rodney Philpott Designs that a wedding dress needs no alterations, we will refund 200$ to the bride. The remaining 50$ pays for the held time within our schedule.

Alteration Fitting Schedule

All wedding dress alterations have the following fittings scheduled at 30 minute intervals;

1. Consultation
2. 1st working fitting.
3. 2nd working fitting.
4. Pick up

During the consultation you will be put into your wedding dress and all work that is required to make your dress fit will be discussed and agreed upon. We will also discuss any modifications that you would like done to your wedding dress (examples: hand beading crystal work, adding a belt, removing or adding crinoline, changing the neckline, adding any type of sleeves). At the end of the consultation you will be given your final cost of alterations.  All alterations must be paid in advance at the end of the consultation.

During the 1st and 2nd working fittings we have you put on your wedding dress and we check on the work that was agreed upon at your consultation. We want to make sure the work that was done was correct. We also want to give you (the bride) the opportunity to bring up anything that could have been missed during the consultation or anything that has come up new because your wedding dress is now fitting your body. We schedule one hour for each of these working fittings. Please use this time to your advantage. You can bring as many people with you for advice.

During the pick up we have you put on your dress for one final time. We have steamed your dress, completed all the alteration/modification work. Your wedding dress is now “show ready” for your wedding day.

We have selected 2 hours for this schedule of fittings based on our 30 year history in the bridal industry. This schedule works for 80% of our clients. There is nothing wrong with asking for 1 more fitting to ensure everything is perfect. If you believe you want more fittings to settle your own stress or comfort level, we will schedule additional fittings at a 50$ charge per 30 minute window. There is no limit to the additional fittings you may want to schedule on top of the 2 hours plus/minus one more fitting that we start with.

THERE ARE NO CASH REFUNDS ON ANY TYPE OF SALE.

Retail sales can be exchanged with 5 days. 

All sale items/custom orders/altered items are final sale. 

Dye lots are a commonplace occurrence in the manufacture of fabric. They can have a change to the brightness, colour and/or texture. We do our best to minimize dye lot but are not responsible or have control for this commonplace occurrence.

Deposits 

ALL DEPOSITS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

We convert deposits into a 25%  store credit when the client cancels their order BEFORE any work has begun.  The client forfeits 75%.  If work has already begun, there is no store credit option available to the client. The client will loose 100% of their deposit.

Store credits expire one year from date of issue. They are transferable to any third party. Store credits have no cash value. Transferring the store credit to a third party does not reset the one year expiration date. 

Late notice fees

1. Clients must provide 30 days notice when changing the consultation date of their work due to a change in their required date. If 30 days notice is not      provided there is a 100$ penalty.
2. Clients must provide 24 hours notice (Sunday does not count as we are closed this day) when changing any appointment. Failure to provide 24 hours notice will result in a 50$ rebooking fee.
3. Nurses and mother's with new borns are exempt from the 24 hour notice requirement. 

Missed appointments

All missed appointments that are "no show and no call" are charge 50$ to rebook.  Each client is responsible for managing their own fitting date and times. 

Gift Certificates purchased at charity auction

Gift certificates have no cash value. Gift certificates must be presented to pay for a purchase at the bridal store. Gift certificates can only be used to pay for the balance owing. They cannot be used to pay for the deposit. When a client abandons work, the credit card held on file will be charged for the gift certificate amount.

Door Prizes

All door prizes are non-transferable to any 3rd party. If you have no desire to use the door prize, have the event redraw a new winner. They have no cash value. They cannot be combined with any other promotion. The door prize certificate must be presented pay for a purchase at the bridal store. 

Fit and Opinion Guarantee

We provide a 30 day fit and opinion guarantee up to 3 days before the client's milestone date for all purchases. We ask our clients to provide us as much of the 30 day window to address any issues with the fit of the dress or someone's opinion of our work. We will not be able to help if the client is 3 days or less to their milestone date.  The guarantee expires on the client's milestone event.

All purchases that are shipped are void of our fit and opinion guarantee. The purchaser takes on all responsibility of alterations (fittings and cost) at point of delivery.