Charles Josef Bridal — Local services in Asheville

In reference of two previous reviews, unfortunately my experience with wedding gown alterations through Charles Josef was not what I expected leading up to my wedding day. I purchased a gown off the rack from Meadowbrooke and during my appointment, the girl assisting me insisted she had looked over the dress and all that was needed was new boning and hemming. My mother was not even able to look at it before she had already put it in a garment bag. They do give 10% off for a dress “off the rack”, but I ended up paying over what half the dress cost in alterations as well.

We were recommended to Charles Josef, where he insisted that the dress needed a new zipper, hemmed, buttons replaced, a bustle, boning replaced, and also taken in as it was too big. Over the course of the three appointments I had, I never liked the way I felt while looking in the mirror while in the most important dress I’d ever wear. The environment is not what you would think of for wedding dress alterations and I did not feel like a bride while getting my dress altered. The shop is also not somewhere in Asheville you’d ever want to go alone. After the dress was done, it did look beautiful, but I picked pins and black hairs out out of my dress for days. My hair is not black.

He also wants you to stay in your car until he is done with his previous appointment to give everyone their allotted time, but two of my appointments were 30 minutes behind because he ran over with the appointments before mine. You also just don’t get a very friendly vibe. I always felt like my appointments were rushed and that’s just not something you want when having your wedding dress altered. My mom also had to fix the boning in the dress two weeks before my wedding because it wasn’t covered with fabric and scraped into my skin when I put the dress on. Overall, experience...

I’ve had the absolute best experience with Charles Joseph Bridal.

I’m the kind of bride who has hated wedding planning and procrastinated every step of the way. I bought my dress in April for an August wedding, which I knew was already going to make the alteration timeline tight. When my dress arrived in late June, Charles was recommended to me—and I couldn’t be more grateful.

I called him the day I picked up my dress, and he got me in within a day or two. Like many brides, I was nervous about alterations. I’ve spent way too much time on the wedding dress subreddit and have seen dresses absolutely ruined by bad tailoring. But from the second I met Charles, I knew I was in good hands. He clearly knows what he’s doing and has a real passion and talent for the work. I walked out of that first appointment feeling totally reassured.

By my second fitting, I was squealing—the dress fit like an absolute glove. I already loved it when I bought it, but I didn’t realize I could love it even more.

On top of everything, the price was super reasonable—honestly less than I expected—and he was great about scheduling. He was really conscious of the fact that waiting on a wedding dress can be stressful.

One last thing I want to mention—someone else left a review calling the studio a “no-frills” experience. I’ve never gone to a tailor expecting a luxury vibe; I care that the work is amazing, and his is. I’ve lived in bigger cities, and the best tailors all work out of spaces just like his. He’s the real deal. No fluff.

I’d use his services again in a heartbeat—even if I had to meet him...

I was recommended to work with Charles via Meadowbrooke Bridal where I purchased my wedding dress. Charles' office is 15 minutes outside of Asheville, NOT downtown, in a windowless rectangle room. This is where I had all of my fittings. I would describe the environment as "no frills" - so if you're looking for an upscale alteration experience, this is not for you. I was surprised as my experience buying my wedding dress was VERY frilly, so to be recommended here was interesting to say the least.

Nonetheless, Charles did a solid job. We had about 4 appts from January - April. My dress was Size 10 and needed to be taken in to size 4. He added sleeves and buttons all the way down the back, shortened my train, bustle, etc. I am very particular and could sense this irritated Charles at times, and that made me feel uncomfortable. This is to say that he has a unique personality and is here for the dress more than the client.

At the end of the day, he did his job well, he was very patient with me. Part of me does feel like somebody else could have done a better job... as the seams on the front of my dress were not aligned, and the bustle was too loose and kept undoing itself, and the inner lining of the corset was looser than the outer layer, causing a fold. Something that I noticed is that he never took measurements, put pins in the dress as I was wearing it... pretty much eye-balled the alterations.

Anyways. It wasn't my favorite experience but I'm grateful for his efforts as i really do love my...