CONTACT US
We are THE MODISTE, the luxury Atelier House specialising in bespoke dressmaking, bridal alterations and the art of re-cherishing your bridal gown after your wedding.
info@themodiste.co.uk
01494 532100
OPENING HOURS
(BOOKINGS ONLY)
MONDAY – FRIDAY 10am – 5pm (limited evening appointments)
SATURDAY closed
SUNDAY 11am – 4pm (limited availability)
BY CAR
Our Atelier in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire is conveniently located just off the A40. There is free off-road parking down the side of our building. Metered street parking is also available.
BY TRAIN
You can reach High Wycombe in 40 minutes by train from London Marylebone on Chiltern Railways. Our Atelier is located half a mile away from the station.
FAQS
We allow four working days for any comments to be sent over to us regarding our completed bridesmaid dress alterations, and we will be happy to discuss any issues you have.
If we don’t hear from you within this time, we will take this as confirmation that you are happy with the work completed. Best wishes for the Big Day!
We will send you a confirmation email within 24 hours following receipt of your bridesmaid dress. Your email will include confirmation of the alterations and measurements pinned on the dress.
We have a rule of not cutting anything on your dress within this first 24 hour period to allow you time to contact us with any last minute changes.
If we do not hear from you, we will assume that we have your approval to begin your requested alterations.
If you wish to cancel your alterations order before you have sent your dress to us, please email info@themodiste.co.uk
We will be able to offer a part refund, depending on whether we have already sent your free home alterations kit.
We will be happy to help! Go ahead and pin what you need doing.
When we receive your dress (and before we start any alterations) we will contact you to discuss. This might require more time or an additional payment.
We have simple tutorial videos and step-by-step guides to download on the Bridesmaids Alterations page. You will also have a printed step-by-step guide in your home alterations kit.
However, we completely understand how important it is to you to get the perfect fit for your bridesmaid dress! If you would like some extra support and reassurance, we also offer a 15 minute pinning consultation via Zoom for £20. You can email us on info@themodiste.co.uk or call 01494 532100 to arrange an appointment.
We ask for your bridesmaid to be in her dress and ready with her pinning assistant and home alterations kit. One of our expert seamstress will be able to check the pinning for you and provide the guidance you need.
We always highly advise that your hems need to be marked with the actual wedding day shoes on. However, we do understand that this is not always possible!
If that is the case, we recommend you wear a shoe with a similar or identical height to the ones you plan to wear. Once pinned, we will be working exactly to this marker so you need to make sure you are completely happy with how that would sit.
No, unfortunately not. Your bridesmaid dress alterations will require a willing helper to do the pinning, whilst the bridesmaid is wearing the dress.
No problem at all. Our bridesmaid dress alterations service is UK-wide.
Each order is based on delivery location. For example, you have two bridesmaids in London and one in Oxford. We suggest you purchase two separate orders for their dress alterations.
- Order all the required alterations for both London bridesmaids on one order using one chosen London address.
- Create a second separate online order with all the necessary alterations to be delivered to your third bridesmaid in Oxford.
Your bridesmaids will receive their home alterations kit and finished dresses to these two locations.
Our lead time is three weeks from when we receive your dress in the studio.
This means if we receive your dress on day 1, it will be posted back to you by day 28 at the latest.
If you need a faster turnaround, please call us on 01494 532100 to discuss before placing your order.
If you would prefer to send over bridesmaids’ measurements instead of pinning them in their dresses, please contact us on 01494 532100 and we can discuss.
We do advise that, in particular when altering dress length, it is very common to find that the original hem is not straight when the dress is on. Therefore, taking the dress hem up using one measurement can mean the dress length becomes uneven.
Please don’t worry, you are in expert hands.
This will all be discussed with your seamstress at your video consultation at the start of your MODIFY journey. We also have samples that we can send for you to try on if necessary.
We understand and have ensured that there is flexibility in our MODIFY process in case you change your mind.
Your first payment is simply a deposit for us to design something for you. If you choose not to go ahead, then we can refund your deposit and you do not need to send us your wedding dress.
However, if you have paid a deposit, agreed a plan and sent us your wedding dress, then we will take this as confirmation to proceed.
This is absolutely no problem at all. We can use as much or as little of your wedding dress as you would like, or none at all.
Rest assured, we will work together to create something wonderful inspired by your wedding dress.
We can certainly work from photographs of a wedding dress, for example creating a Miniature Wedding Dress. We would take extra time at the design phase to check that you are happy with your MODIFY creation.
This is not a problem at all! We like to offer different options in our collections but offer a bespoke service too. You are welcome to contact us with pictures of your dress: we can discuss ideas and different design options together.
You will be appointed your own seamstress who will review the details you have provided on our MODIFY enquiry form alongside any wedding dress photos that you have sent.
Your seamstress will start drafting up ideas and may contact you to ask for more information or photographs.
After that point, you will be invited to a Zoom video meeting or phone call to discuss. We will provide everything discussed in an email for you to review and agree before we proceed further (and before you send your wedding dress to us).
Yes we do. We can offer off-road parking just down the side driveway of our building. There is also metered parking available on the road.
Each dress will be costed based on the design and the material you choose.
Based on our couture designs, the average price is around £800 per dress. Our bespoke wedding dresses start from £3,000 and bespoke special occasionwear from £2,000.
However, we will be able to offer a much better estimate after discussing designs with you.
We do request a £30 deposit for your consultation appointment which will be deducted from the cost of your dress.
We recommend that you contact us as soon as you might be thinking of creating a bespoke wedding dress or special occasionwear outfit.
There isn’t a set length of time that a dress takes to create because each dress is unique. However, you will need to allow at least four months for a bespoke wedding dress.
Please bear in mind that between April and September we are in wedding season and our availability can get booked up weeks in advance.
Please don’t worry. It is not a problem if your body shape changes because we are making your dress custom-made to fit you.
If there are any drastic changes, we can alter your dress design to suit the circumstances.
Yes we do, but we advise you to have these dress alterations booked in and done early.
As we get into the summer season, our brides are our top priority and so you may find we have limited availability.
We also operate an online bridesmaid dress alterations service. This mail order service is particularly helpful if your bridesmaids are based in multiple locations around the UK.
Wedding dress collection is usually scheduled during the week of your wedding.
Your wedding gown will be freshly steamed, prepped, fully checked and completely ready for your big day.
We accept cash, debit or credit card.
THE MODISTE’s bridal alterations experience averages around £350.
Wedding dress alterations are all based on what needs to be done to your wedding gown. Your final estimated price will be given to you at your first fitting. You can expect this average cost to increase if you require customised elements added to your gown.
Generally speaking, the typical wedding dress alterations involves being fitted to you on the bodice, the hem lifted and other classic tweaks (such as adding a bustle to help lift the train of your wedding dress for the evening reception).
Your price will also include steaming your wedding dress in preparation for your wedding day.
Please don’t worry. We start your wedding dress alterations around two months before your wedding day, but we don’t finish anything off on your dress until around two weeks before your wedding.
It is not a problem if your body shape changes in that time. If there are any drastic changes, we can alter our plans to suit the circumstances. Rest assured, everything will be explained and dates will be organised at your first fitting.
When we see you in your wedding dress we will be able to advise you on exactly what to wear.
If you are struggling at all, the key things that we suggest you remember are:
- Always go for a bigger size for your knickers. You want them to smooth out your figure and not create any lines.
- Opt for nude, not white. You want to try to match your skin tone, not your wedding dress.
- 99% of the time we advise against wearing Spanx or other types of shapewear. Sometimes these might work but other times they distort your body shape and work against the natural shape of your wedding dress.
If you are planning to wear underwear with your wedding dress please bring it along. Most wedding dresses are designed to be worn without a bra, and we can also sew in extra support to help.
We recommend you attend your fittings make-up free to keep your wedding dress as clean as possible.
Please don’t forget to bring your wedding shoes!
You are welcome to bring guests with you to your appointments and we have lovely fitting rooms that can accommodate everyone.
However, in our experience, appointments can be difficult for our clients if they bring too many people along.
We advise you to limit your party to one or two people that you trust the most. Some of our clients prefer to come alone – it is entirely up to you.