Newbury Tailoring Co.

tting married in September. Just weeks before our wedding, my mother, father, and aunt were involved in a horrific car accident. My mother suffered a shattered leg and broken arm requiring major surgery and a long rehabilitation. My father suffered a heart attack following the accident along with multiple broken/crushed ribs. My aunt was critically injured and remains in the ICU on life support. Our entire world changed overnight. We did not cancel our wedding because we changed our minds. We canceled because there was simply no possibility of celebrating while our family was fighting to recover. My fiancée called Newbury Tailoring ahead of time to explain what had happened and why she could not pick everything up on time. She works at a hospital and was trying to balance work while supporting me and my family through this crisis. Despite explaining the circumstances ahead of time, she was still told she would be charged a $50-per-day late penalty on top of the approximately $1,500 we already owed. When she finally went in, she was on the verge of tears. She thought perhaps explaining everything face-to-face would lead to some understanding. Instead, the response came down to the contract. I understand contracts. I run a business myself. I understand policies, expenses, and why agreements exist. We also aren’t asking businesses to simply absorb our losses because something terrible happened to us. But this was not someone casually forgetting to pick something up. Three members of our immediate family were nearly killed weeks before our wedding. My fiancée had called ahead to explain the emergency. She was working at the hospital, watching her future in-laws suffer, supporting me through the worst period of my life, and watching the wedding she spent so much time planning disappear overnight. Yet when she walked through their door visibly emotional and hoping for some understanding, the answer was effectively: it’s in the contract. The $50-per-day penalty isn’t what bothers me most. What hurts is the complete lack of compassion we felt during an unimaginable situation. Other wedding vendors also had contracts and financial obligations. We understand that. But many still approached us as human beings experiencing a catastrophe and tried to find reasonable ways to help. Unfortunately, that was not our experience here. What I will remember is that my fiancée called ahead, explained that three members of our family had been seriously injured, and then walked into the store on the verge of tears hoping for some understanding. She was met with a contract. Contracts matter. So does humanity.

st appointments with a few measurements was all he needed to make my dress fit perfectly.  He hemmed the dress, lowered the back and added buttons, and took it in to hug my body while allowing room for it to flow. I could not believe how beautifully my dress fit me by the end of his work.  Carlos also took the time to teach my mom and sister how to French bustle my dress. He made me feel comfortable and confident at each appointment.  The front desk was very clear and helpful about the timeline of dates for dropoff / cut / final fitting / pickup, and how the payment schedule would work.

day, she brought in a few bridesmaids to learn how to bustle the dress, and they offered no help. Just let us flounder. Which is then what also happened at my wedding. They added straps to the wedding dress, which was great... until the day of, when one strap was so much longer, we had to fashion tape it. Classy. Not. Even classier.. the left breast insert (for support and coverage) broke about 45 minutes into wearing the dress. The amount I spent on the alterations almost cost the same amount as the dress. I am so disappointed. I think that they are probably good at other things, but boy did we have a bad time. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend them to another bride.

n though I had to have a couple of extra fitting appointments leading up to the wedding! They were always very upfront about any potential additional costs and they even offered to make a mask for me out of my dress! The whole team also made me feel really comfortable throughout the tailoring process, both in terms of masking/other COVID concerns and in terms of feeling beautiful in my dress and confident that it would be perfect for the wedding. Newbury Tailoring came very highly recommended by the store at which I bought my wedding dress, and I'm glad I chose to work with them. I would certainly recommend them to others for wedding dress tailoring and I will definitely be using them for any other tailoring needs I have in the future!