1 /5 Cassandra Mauro: BRIDES BEWARE
I went in for my first appointment there on July 27, 2024. The quote for a hem, bustle, chest support, and shortening of the straps was $1,485. This was over budget for me but I felt it was important to go to someone who came suggested to me from the bridal shop so we decided to go through with it.
After two last-minute cancellations(one while I was in the middle of driving to the shop), I went in for my second appointment and to take the dress home on September 25, 2024. The dress was far too tight, needing multiple people to get it zipped, and was extremely uncomfortable. She told me that I must have gained weight. She told me it looked great and it was okay to be uncomfortable. After much insisting, she removed what she had taken in from under the armpits. It was still too tight around the waist and had no chest support so I asked to come in again to continue working on the dress. I went back the next day and for hours tried to problem solve because I was not happy with how different the dress looked. Her solution was to cut up the bra that I wore to the appointment and sew it on top of the too small cups originally in the dress. She continued to insist that there was nothing more that she could do so I left with my dress.
After a couple of emotional days, I decided to get a second opinion at another bridal seamstress. She was horrified at the things done to this dress. Maria had told me multiple times that the dress did not have appliqués but was embroidered into the tulle. Maria cut straight through the appliqués on the bottom of the dress and now it is fraying. She folded in the center of the bust cutting off the appliqués. She covered the beautiful white boning down the front of the dress and left these thick yellow rolls of fabric from the bodice that go into the skirt creating pleats down the skirt that should not be there.
Now I am a few weeks away from my wedding and having to pay for rush services with a new seamstress to get the dress back to its original state. We are in the process of ordering more fabric and appliqués to repair the hemline, completely re-altering the bodice, fixing damaged appliques to the bodice, and repairing the tear to the back of the skirt. She did not have the skill to work with this dress and could not be honest about that. I would hate to see more brides go through this situation.
