Leiren Designs — Local services in Seattle

I took my wedding dress there for alterations and they destroyed everything I loved about it and in the end it wasnt savable. I ended up taking it to a different alterations store and they were shocked by what was done. The terms "botched" and the phrase "short cut for a quick buck" were used. They shortened the straps too much and then attached them to the delicate lace instead of the actual dress which caused the dress to tear. The hem was uneven, the cups they added were still visible with the dress on. The worst part is they gaslit me that they didn't move the zipper up to finish the dress faster. They were supposed to take it in on the sides but elected to just take it in at the zipper which caused weird bunching. I will attach photos, but the dress was meant to be eye hooks in the lace part and then the zipper in the main portion. As a result the dress sat like a full diaper on my back and came up in an upside down v when it was meant to be straight across. The busle they created was flimsy and ended up breaking. Overall, it was kind of a traumatic experience. The staff was nice, but the dress was ruined. Photos are what the dress was meant to look like vs what they actually did.

*The dress on the mannequin is not my photo. It's just for reference. The dress I brought them already had the straps moved and then they proceeded to shorten them to an unbearable length. *the dress was meant to be held up by the white fabric where the zipper stopped and to hit at the waist...not be held up by straps. *I was only able to pick up my dress because I called. There was a clerical error(which occasionally happen granted) and they didn't even have me on the schedule the day I was told to pick up the dress. I did ask if they could do an earlier appointment and they told me no. *I never brought a friend to any appointment. *When I brought up the issues I had with the original alterations they told me that was just how the dress was. They said that is how it had to be and that was that. *I also never told them I took it to a different alterations place nor mentioned I was going to. *I've included a photo of me trying on the dress at the bridal salon for reference to show where it originally hit, how it flowed, where the waist was...

I typically don’t like to write negative reviews but I want to share my experience with others in case it is helpful in their decision making when looking for wedding dress alterations. I brought my unaltered sample wedding dress from Brides for a Cause to Madison’s shop for alterations and I would ultimately not recommend her services for crepe dress alterations.

During my initial alterations consultation appointment, I was impressed with Madison’s warm and open personality. She clearly loves what she does and seemed excited to work on my dress. Unfortunately, over the course of the alterations process, Madison’s work resulted in puckered fabric, bunching of material under seams directly on the bust, an awkward bustle, uneven seams on the hips, and the dress was overall too fitted to where I couldn’t lift my arms up.

When I tried to raise specific concerns and give specific feedback using pictures of the dress before it was altered, I was often dismissed with statements that either blamed the dress material, seam styles/shapes, or my body. I will acknowledge that she did allow me to bring it back in after my final fitting to try and make continued alterations after I raised concerns with the first round of alterations, which I appreciated. However, after months of attempting to come to a resolution, her alterations were not satisfactory and the dress was past the point of being fixable.

I made the difficult decision to abandon the dress, eat the cost, and buy the same dress over again (even though I got it at Brides for a Cause, I was lucky to learn the dress is sold at BHLDN). I took the second dress to a different seamstress and received similar alterations. Thankfully, I was happy with the alterations on the new dress and I was able to feel confident and comfortable on my wedding day.

I can imagine that some of my own inexperience with wedding dress alterations contributed to the end result, however I trusted Madison to be the expert in determining what would/wouldn’t look good with the dress material and style. Unfortunately based on my experience, I would not be able to recommend her business for alterations with a minimalist...

Madison was the first person I added to my vendor team for my wedding in May 2022 after securing a venue. I chose to work with her before I had a dress and am so grateful I had the opportunity to partner with her on not one, but two dresses!

I entertained the idea of redesigning my mother’s dress for the wedding ceremony. It was your typical Princess Diana inspired dress from the ‘80s. I liked the train of the dress, but wanted a lowered neckline, less mesh, and a different silhouette. After describing the modifications I had in mind, Madison shared ideas of ranging scope and budget so that I could make an informed decision. This was super helpful because I was balancing an overall budget when shopping for a ceremony dress.

While I had full confidence that Madison could redesign the dress to my liking, I was encouraged by her and my mother to go dress shopping so I could do my diligence on current styles.

I was optimizing for a few things - a dress with a crepe style silhouette, a train with lace detail, and some tie-in to my mother’s dress. Madison brainstormed with me throughout my dress shopping process and we landed on a path that allowed me to get all the things I wanted, within my budget, through some really creative design decisions. We’d use elements of my mother’s dress on my “new” dress and redesign what was left from my mother’s dress.

Madison did a “lift and shift” on the lace off my mother’s dress onto my new one and transformed my mother’s dress into a tea length, off the shoulder dress. I wore my mother’s dress to the rehearsal dinner and the crepe styled dress for the ceremony.

I loved my fit sessions with Madison - she has the perfect balance of attention to detail, ability to think of a variety of creative options, and is incredibly supportive and thoughtful. I even let my parents come along to a fitting and they loved learning about the process.

I’d recommend Leiren Designs to anyone looking to redesign a dress or tailoring their wedding dress in a heartbeat! Thanks Madison for making our wedding weekend...