Bridal Alterations by Celia and Emily

Celia had a big project with my wedding dress that I bought consigned at Dahlia’s bridal in point loma. My fabric is a very delicate silk and needed tons of alterations from a hem, taking it in several sizes, creating an open back and adding lace trim, basically she created and designed a new dress for me… Celia’s work was flawless! I’m telling you, she is a true artist with impeccable attention to detail and true craftsmanship. I went with Celia because she knew I was asking a lot and was excited and confident about the challenge. I would recommend Celia to anyone and everyone in need of alterations. She truly cares about your wedding dress and it shows!

I purchased my wedding dress with full intentions of having it revamped, which I knew was a risky decision. I decided to go with Celia and Emily because they only work on bridal alterations, and that experience was important to me. After 3 visits, my dress was perfection! I spent a lot on the alterations, but it was worth every penny. (Sorry, I don’t have a before picture)

Wasn’t 100% happy with my final alterations by Aria Bridal so did a little research and found this gem! Celia and her staff were all accommodating, friendly and professional. They were very patient with me as I explained my vision for my dress. I was concerned on taking my dress in anymore in fear of messing up the beaded detail and rouging waist. Celia did an amazing job and my dress was absolutely perfect! Easy to find, great hours and EXPERIENCED seamstress! I also had my dress steamed here for a good cost! You pay for what you get and a perfect fitting wedding dress is priceless! Thank you Celia and team for everything! My wedding was the best day!

I am so happy I chose Celia and Emily to handle my wedding dress alterations. It’s such an important decision and there’s no one better than them! They knew exactly what I wanted and they made the whole experience enjoyable and stress-​free. The cost was very reasonable, and their work is impeccable!
The first two fittings were for making the alterations, and then it was ready to go — they even set up a third fitting, just in case any last minute changes were needed, which of course was unnecessary. Thank you ladies, for helping make my day perfect!!!

Celia did a wonderful job on my dress! She came highly recommended by a friend so I just went with them, doing no other research. The team was lovely — Micaela and Celia were very helpful, and took their time, and it is very very clear that Celia is a complete pro. They were very confident with the alterations — I decided to remove the crinolin from under the skirt, and watched them cut it off while I was standing in the dress, as well as to cut off a couple of inches in preparation for hemming. Not for the faint of heart, but I love that kind of confidence when it works — and this really worked! My dress turned out perfect. The space is also lovely. The only reason it’s not 5 stars is because it ended up being really pricey; my friend’s recommendation included a price quote, but mine ended up costing triple the amount. I’m not in the end so sure why it was so high — there was no taking in or letting out to be done, except in the cups, and then it was just hemming and a simple bustle. So I suggest you do your research or possibly get a couple of different quotes, so you know what you are getting yourself into. (Also, I’d have been fine without being offered religious literature at the end — I am willing to overlook that on the whole, but I thought it was not really appropriate.)

I had a great experience with Celia and her team. It was easy making appointments and I really liked their availability on Sundays. My alterations were relatively simple but I wanted to make sure that they were done right. Celia took the time explaining how she was going to proceed and this gave me full confidence into her work. As expected, my dress looked perfect and felt very comfortable. Her team is very pleasant to be with and they really added to my experience. My mom is from out of town and she couldn’t be there to learn about lacing my corset. They happily agreed to make a video and show how to do it and I can tell you that this video has been extremely useful! Thank you so much for your great work! I recommend everyone to at least book your first visit with Celia and see how comfortable you can be by leaving your dress into her hands.

Great service made sure I was happy with the results! Leaving my dress with them made me feel comfortable! Thanks again Celia and the team

In choosing a bridal gown alterations shop, I had certain criteria that I wanted to have met; above all else was quality craftsmanship, low cost, and quick turn around.
I probably researched all of the alteration shops in San Diego that specialized in bridal gowns, and in mid May, decided to book an appointment for May 31^st.
During my appointment, Celia and her staff were very sweet and they took their time, in a collaborative process with me, to make sure my gown would fit perfect and I was completely satisfied. I was to have the hem shortened, the train bustled, the sides taken in, the back/​top of the neck adjusted, and a bra sewn in (I brought my own).
I made arrangements to come back for my second fitting on July 26^th, which was about a month away from my wedding date. On that date, the gown did fit perfect! I had a few additional alteration requests (which was not due to any fault of the shop), and Celia offered to take care of them while I waited so that I would be able to take the dress home that day.
Celia and her staff are true professionals, take pride in their work, and ensure that their customers are happy. It was such a pleasure interacting with them; it should be this enjoyable for every bride out there!
Thank you Celia for making my dress look amazing!

Celia and her team are phenomenal!!! My wedding dress fit perfectly! They work they do is absolutely beautiful. Their location is very clean and tidy. I felt very secure leaving my gown there. I would highly recommended them to any bride :)

I had a great experience here. The shop is a very pretty and welcoming space, and the women that work there are friendly and attentive. Yes, it is a little pricy, compared to your neighborhood seamstress, but the alterations were perfect, and they were done pretty quickly. The peace of mind you get feeling like your dress is in good hands is worth it!

I can’t say enough good things about Celia and her team. I was so nervous about getting my dress altered since it needed a lot of work done but just as soon as I put it on in their shop, they had it pinned and tucked and the transformation to perfection began!
I only needed to go to two fittings and the third time I went in, they had my dress fitting perfect. Their level of craftsmanship was absolutely impeccable and their sincere enthusiasm to make me look beautiful in my dress definitely did not go unnoticed. You can tell they truly love what they do… and they’re excellent at it!
Their shop is adorable and welcoming. Their customer service was kind and genuine and I thoroughly enjoyed working with them. They are all such lovely, talented people.
Yes, their prices are a little high but to get those amazing results, it was worth every single penny.
My dress fit me perfectly and I felt absolutely amazing in it.
I HIGHLY recommend Bridal Alterations by Celia and Emily!

I had spoken to several tailors to get alterations done on my gown as well have a jacket made for me. Most of then sounded totally confused as to what I wanted done. One even said there wasn’t enough time between then and my wedding.
Enter Celia. I was referred to her by two shops and was so grateful I went in. Celia’s prices were very reasonable and her work was impeccable and fast. She was always ready for my appointment and even whipped out a thread and needle on my last appt to make sure my dress was perfect.
The biggest credit is the lace topper I had wanted made. I didn’t want a strapless dress and that is pretty much all that is out there. Since I bought a sample dress I figured I would have to try my luck getting a topper or jacket off the rack. Sadly, everything i saw was not quite right or incredibly expensive. One store offered to order a «sorta right» St Patrick’s shrug for $ 600.
I tried explaining what I wanted to Celia and she was hesitant at first, or so I thought. Turns out she was just envisioning. She went in the back and pulled out a piece of place that EXACTLY matched my dress. Kismet. She threw it over my shoulders, pinned it and began cutting. I had better than I could have imagined within a week of that appointment.
I may never wear the dress again (vacuuming anyone) but I have worn the topper twice already.
She is open weekends, her salon is very comfortable and she lets you bring anyone you like and take as many pictures as you need. Honestly had I known about her before I bought a dress I might have looked into having one made.

Celia and her team are amazing! When I bought my strapless wedding gown, it had a traditional horizontal neckline. I really was wanting a sweetheart, but the alterations team at the store I purchased it would only pleat the top, which looked odd. After search Unilocal reviews for a wedding alterations place, I found Celia’s and decided to give her a try. She told me she could do the neckline as well as a few other minor fittings to the torso. I was rather nervous because she was going to cut the neckline – and something about someone cutting my wedding dress just made me a bit uncomfortable. But she pulled it off! It turned out exactly as I dreamed and I even managed to find a flowered sash to finish off my look. Celia and her team were always SO nice and did such a great job. It was well worth the price!!!

Celia and team are incredible at what they do — true artists. I went I with my dress feeling overwhelmed. It was too big and I wanted several adjustments. The team knew just what to do and fit it to my body perfectly, while still making sure it was comfortable! With all the layers of tulle, I thought the bustle would be a challenge, but not for Celia!
She is a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for. I have seen some ill-​fitting dresses, where the bride was fussing with the dress or it hung awkwardly… this is the one day you want to wear something that looks like it was made for you!

Celia and her wonderful crew made me feel beautiful in my dress! A friend of mine re-​designed the top of my dress however it was not holding up properly and every time I lifted my arm a boob would pop out. Cant have that during the wedding.
A person I know got her dress altered here and left a raving review so I decided to see what they can do to fix the issue. Once I put on the dress Celia was able to identify what needed to be done to have the dress fitted to my body.
After 3 visits of making sure that the boning, the bustle and other small alterations were done, the dress fit like a glove. She even told me to stop losing weight! HA, something every bride likes to hear.
She was very thorough in explaining the changes and asked me questions to make sure that I was happy with the fit. Her staff even took the time to teach my friend how to bustle my dress and let her practice a couple of times.
Great service, friendly staff and exceptional craftsmanship!

Received my dress and overall it fit ok but it left the quality much to desire.
Celia appears to be very nice but i think she really needs to listen to her clients and concerns, my dress ended up with this ugly bunching in the bust area and the belt was crooked although they fixed it i didn’t quite trust them for fixing the rest and when i got my dress fixed at a different place they told me it had been GLUED! Making their alteration fix a bit more challenging, who glues a wedding dress? so just a warning, they use glue as a quick fix for your dress like some kiddie craft.
For the pricing, i would not come back again! i was charged over 600 dollars, they didn’t even take credit or debit cards which is pretty inconvenient for someone who doesn’t want to carry big amounts of cash.
I really wish i had gone to the second place in the first time and left with a bad experience but my dress looks perfect now, i just wanted to share my story.

This review is long overdue, but I have to say, Celia did an amazing job on my wedding dress.
I needed a bustle done on my dress but my original person could not figure it out (the skirt was a little more complicated than she anticipated). I was down to the last 2 ½ weeks before the wedding and we found Celia on Unilocal.She was very sweet and accommodating even on such short notice. She even made a diagram as well as had a couple practice sessions with my mom on how to button the bustle.
She was a pleasure to work with!

They worked with a lot of beading in the torso and took it in about three sizes in two weeks. I had one visit to drop it off and one visit to pick it up. I had a consultation from Roxie Couture (which is actually located in Vista, not Rancho Santa Fe) and Roxie said she would have to go up each side and re-​bead all of the beading and it would take her 20 hours or more. She quoted me at $ 650 for taking in the torso alone and said she would need 4 – 5 visits for me to keep trying it on. Celia’s staff gave it one look, realized it wouldn’t need to be re-​beaded due to the mesh outer fabric and quoted me at $ 250 for the same assignment. They also send you text message appointment reminders.
I will say though, buyer beware because it looks as though it has been quickly altered and they removed the loops for all my buttons down the back. It looks like they tend to do this with most gowns from the pictures I am seeing on Unilocal.It would have been nice if they had replaced the loops. Now there are only buttons with no loops. Also, the designer tag sewn into the back is only half showing now. They did not remove the label and reaffix it, which would make it nicer for a buyer when I go to resell my dress.

Celia is top notch. I had my wedding dress altered and pressed to perfection. I had my dress hemmed up a bit, cups sewn into the bodice, and buttons to attach/​detach my bolero to the dress. Everything fit perfectly! Celia is such a sweetheart, and her services are amazing.

Celia is a genius with gowns. Her company was pleasant from first call. I called to make my appointment in late December or so and Celia was gone for the slower winter months. The lady who answered the phone stated they would start taking clients again the first week of February and assured me that they would have ample time for my March 15 wedding.
I had let them know that I lost about 25 lbs since I purchased the dress some 7 months ago, and they wanted to see me 3 weeks before the wedding so that if I wanted to try and lose more, it wouldn’t be a problem. I was really pleased about this as I know some places want you there weeks and weeks in advance.
They had their work cut out for them. My dress was too large now in several areas (I was happy about that!) and they made it look like it was made just for me. Also, my dress was a giant ball gown with many layers that needed to be hemmed. Needless to say, it looked like a ton of work for them. The cost was not cheap by any means, but it’s your wedding gown… they did a tremendous amount of work and it was well worth it.
My dress fit perfectly for my wedding day and I received many compliments. Brides, please go see Celia!