Despina saved the day when my Lusona failed me ... I believe that's a theme among some of these reviews. Lesson learned, but only 4 days before my wedding (!!) She was quick, confident, conveniently located at her home in Alamo, friendly, created a bustle when Lusona told me it was "impossible" ... I could go on. I literally took my dress directly from my final fitting at Lusona straight to her doorstep at 7pm at night. I only meant for her to add a bustle, but she was so appalled with their work that she fixed the neckline/straps for free as well. She told me she "couldn't" let me wear the dress as it was, which was true, it was basically in tatters with the sewn in cups already falling out. It's always nice to find a place that values quality workmanship, not just a profit these days. I'm honestly not sure what I would have done if I hadn't found her. read more

Despina's Wedding Gown Alterations - Wedding Planning Near Me

I found Despina through Clarissa's Bridal. She helped me the day I came and made me feel very comfortable, at the time I had some extra weight and had a bad experience at another shop so was not coming in with high hopes. Despina was very nice throughout the whole experience, and I really appreciated that she was protective of me as the bride, and what my opinion was of the dresses compared to those that came with me. I walked out of Clarissa's that day feeling great about my decision, for the most part due to her. Her experience proved valuable, as she did not try to put dresses on me that were not figure flattering. I also went to her for the minor alterations and bustle that I needed done. All of it was done to the standard I had hoped for at an affordable price. A few weeks before the wedding my mom noticed a little rip in the lace on the side of the dress when I was trying it on. She didn't tell me this to save me the anxiety, but she took it back to Despina and she fixed it in about 20 minutes without any problems at all. read more

Despina's Wedding Gown Alterations - Wedding Planning Near Me

Despina is an angel! I purchased a sample gown for my wedding and originally took it to another shop for alterations (taking in the top to fit, a hem, and creating a bustle, all fairly standard). I was incredibly unhappy with the bustle from the other shop, the opaque layers of the dress ended up inches shorter in the front than the sheer layers on top, and it just looked crazy and sloppy. Despina completely reconstructed the bustle and made it immaculate! She even got the giant train to lay really flat, the dress looked just as beautiful bustled as not. Despina also noticed that the hem done by the other shop had mangled the horsehair trim in several places. At this point I was $700 deep in alterations between the original place and a new bustle, and I knew replacing the horsehair and re-hemming the dress would not be cheap, so I asked her just to try pressing it and I'd just deal with it being imperfect. But I could tell that hem really bothered her. You guys. When I came back to pick up my dress she had replaced all that horsehair and redone the hem and didn't even ask for a penny. Like I said, ANGEL. I have never felt more beautiful than I did wearing that dress on my wedding day, and she made it perfect. Despina is honest, straightforward, and I thought her prices were very fair, especially considering the incredible quality of her work and attention to detail. I'd recommend her to everyone. read more

Despina's Wedding Gown Alterations - The awful bustle I brought to Despina from another shop. She totally redid it and made it perfect! - Wedding Planning Near Me

Despina is top notch. She altered my wedding gown and MADE me a veil, all the while being friendly, fast, and no-nonsense. She is inexpensive compared to shops and makes you feel at ease. She "gets" what you want and delivers. She even drew up "instructions" for how to bustle my gown! Great service, great lady! I recommend Despina with no reservations. read more

I was referred to Despina by Clarissa Bridal in Walnut Creek. Despina is AWESOME. She's not only thorough and detailed (a must in a wedding dress alterations person), but she is kind and welcoming. She made me feel so confident about myself in my wedding dress. Additionally, I really appreciated that her focus is making sure that my dress is altered so well that I don't have to wear Spanx, and therefore be uncomfortable on my wedding day. I wish that all of my wedding vendors could be like Despina! I highly recommend her! read more

I found Despina through Clarissa's Bridal after I purchased a gown from Priscilla Of Boston, who happened to go out of business a month before my wedding. Luckily my gown was finished and ready in time. Despina did a wonderful job fixing the tulle inside my dress so that I was able to walk without stepping on it. She also put in a french bussle. I will admit at first I was a little nervous handing over my gown to a stranger, who works out of her home, But as soon as I met her and saw how she worked with my gown and the others in her work space, I knew I was in good hands! You could tell watching her work that she really knows the art of dressmaking and altering. My Dress fit perfectly! It was beautifully steamed, and looked amazing on my wedding day! Thank You Despina!! I would recommend her to any bride in need of alterations. (She was also very reasonably priced!!!) read more

A very happy Bride! I needed my wedding dress altered very quickly. I planned my wedding in only weeks. I bought my dress and I was scheduled to leave for my destination wedding in Cancun within 10 days! I found Despina from Yelp reviews and called her. She asked me if I could come see her ASAP and I did. Within 2 days and 2 visits, my dress was done!!! Despina is so patient and wonderful to work with. She also made my vail!!!! I could never thank her enough with her help and professionalism. read more

Despina did an absolutely perfect job with my wedding dress, my rehearsal dinner dress and my mom's dress. She has a high attention to detail and an amazing eye for how the dress should fit. She also has a very calming personality and made me feel so comfortable with all of the alterations and timelines. I will absolutely use her again for all my alteration needs! She is the best!! read more

Despina's work is second to none. While my dress (thankfully!) required minimal alterations, the ones that had to be done were complicated due to extremely detailed appliqué. Despina is patient, thoughtful, and extremely talented. Watching her in action is like watching a lost art! I appreciated Despina's honesty and valued her opinion - she always made recommendations as to what would look best, even if they required more work or time on her end. Every step of the way, I was 100% confident in the capable hands that I had laid my dress into. Thank you, Despina, for making me feel like a princess! read more

I was looking for a good seamstress to alter my wedding dress and was having a hard time since a lot of places had mixed reviews--all except for Despina's reviews. The Yelpers are spot on what they said about her. She is the nicest and most thoughtful person I've ever met in my wedding planning process. She has the bride in mind when making suggestions and is very professional. I literally showed up and stood in my dress and she did the rest. I felt relieved because I knew she knew what she was doing. She is determined to make your dress fit perfectly and she is also the sweetest! read more

Despina was such a pleasure to work with and really is a miracle worker! I was so lucky to have been able to work with her as I was one of her last clients for the summer. I bought my wedding dress from Kinsley James in Walnut Creek and received several recommendations from them for alterations. I ended up choosing Despina because she was the closest to me, and I'm so glad I did. She is one of the sweetest women you'll ever meet, she's very talented, very professional, attentive to detail, and also very honest, which is what I needed. She had such a great eye for catching certain details about my dress which needed fixing that I didn't necessarily notice, but actually made a big difference in the end once she made the alterations. She also knows exact measurements just by looking at it - for example, I had to alter my belt several times and she always knew exactly how much fabric to change to make it better. She even added safety pins underneath my dress to find the bustle strings easily, and even more safety pins in case the bustle broke during the night (which they thankfully did not). My friends and family kept complimenting me on how my dress fit me like a glove, and I truly felt special all day wearing my gown. If you're looking for someone to really take extra special care of your wedding dress, I would highly recommend Despina and you will definitely not regret it! read more

My wedding dress had many layers of lace and it needed to be shortened many inches. It also had an area that was open on the back which I wanted covered with a mesh fabric, so it was a bit complicated, to say the least. Despina was absolutely amazing and made me feel completely confident she could make it happen, which she did! It fit perfectly and the back turned out beautifully. You'd never know it was altered. It was pricey, but it took a long time and I think I'd have paid that price or more anywhere else. It was completely worth every penny. Thank you, Despina! :) read more

Despina's Wedding Gown Alterations - Despina added the mesh and buttons to the back of my dress. It was perfect! - Wedding Planning Near Me

I took my wedding gown to Despina last week. It is a lace gown so I was nervous to take it to someone. She did exactly what I asked and made some recommendations that made it even more perfect. She got the alterations done quickly and she was affordable. I would highly recommend her. read more

I bought my dress off the rack at Clarissa's bridal the day before they closed. My lace dress was extremely damaged. When I brought the dress to Despina she informed me of the amount of work it would take to fix the dress. I was immediately worried and she assured me she would take care of everything. I put my trust in her word and after a few visit she beautifully accomplished everything I asked her to fix on my dress. The list included: removing the capped sleeves all while keeping the scalloped edges in tact, lowering the champagne lining to showcase the laces giants my skin, lowering the back of the dress 5 inches the showcase my shoulder blades, patching the zipper from the damage done where it had been tried on who knows how many times, trimming and hand sowing every inch that had been snagged, cleaning the dirty bottom that had picked up dust and lastly pressing it to perfection. I am so glad to have had such a peaceful speedy dress alteration experience. I will be returning with any future alterations! read more

Despina's Wedding Gown Alterations - Second to last fitting - Wedding Planning Near Me

I purchased my wedding gown from Kinsley James for my October 2014 wedding and worked with Despina for all my alterations. To say I love this lady is an understatement. She is so sweet, caring and a very talented seamstress . My dress, being all lace, presented a bit of a challenge for figuring out the bustle. What looked good to me, Despina was determined to make it look perfect, and that she did. Her careful eye and perfectionist nature made modifications to my gown that enhanced the dress and made it PERFECT! We had four fittings at her home studio and I know she would have done more if necessary. Where Despina far exceeded my expectations was her offering to sew a swatch of fabric from my mom's clothing on the inside of my dress that would rest against my heart. My mom passed away seven years ago, and Despina's nurturing nature picked up on the sad emotions I felt when putting on my dress without my mom there. She quickly offered to make a heart out of fabric from an item of my mom's clothing and place it on the inside lining of my dress. I was touched beyond words. The end result was lovely and I felt my mom with me all day. My bridesmaid, who needed some alterations to accommodate her pregnant belly, also worked with Despina. She altered the dress so that my friend could be comfortable while looking elegant at the same time. You are in EXCELLENT hands with Despina and you'll gain a lovely new friend in the process. read more

I went and saw Despina after another bridal salon ordered me a dress that was way too big and then tried to charge me $1000 to have it altered down. I wasn't 100% sure that they ordered the wrong size or that they were overcharging me until I talked to Despina. She actually insisted that I go back to the salon and see if they would do the alterations at a discounted rate even though it meant she would loose out on the money. Very classy. I ended up going somewhere else only because they were really experienced in the kind of bustle I needed(not the place I ordered my dress from, they wouldn't budge) but I am so appreciative for Despina's guidance and understanding. read more

Despina is in a word, INCREDIBLE! She was super helpful and wonderful to work with. She is honest and helps make your dress fit like a glove! I highly recommend her for any brides to be! read more

Despina did an amazing job altering my dress to keep my back fat from pouring over the top :-). She let the dress out just enough that it still stayed up and looks great. I'm an older bride on my second (and final) attempt and matrimonial bliss but Despina went out of her way to make me feel special...despite my self-deprecating nature. She had great suggestions for shoes and accessories and is clearly well-versed in all things bridal garment related. The price was reasonable and the process was painless. I highly recommend her services! read more

Despina's Wedding Gown Alterations - No armpit fat and no spanks! - Wedding Planning Near Me

I bought a sample dress in Newport Beach and moved up to Northern California before my wedding and needed to find alteration for one of the most important dresses I will ever wear..... my wedding dress. Despina is professional, talented and reasonably priced for wedding dress alterations. My dressed had some damage (large hole in the material) but she fixed it to look like a brand new dressed! I felt like million bucks in my dress. I was worried about my bust as I have a larger bust but the fit was perfect. I also had a bustle added and it turned out amazing. See my photos! Highly recommended! read more

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I used Despina for our recent March wedding and she was fantastic!! My dress was in pretty good shape to begin with, but I needed tons of little tweaks to make it perfect. She knew exactly what to do! I loved working with her. Also, I got so many compliments on my dress, one of which was that it looked like it could have been painted on me, it fit so well! Despina was really responsive to my questions and concerns about this or that on the fit, and handled every alteration really well. Even the bustle: we had to make a last minute change to it when I wasn't sure about the fold, she fixed it right away. She's so talented! Highly recommend! read more

Despina was amazing! I was in a very tight squeeze as my prior alterations were not done right. I called her and she told me to come over as soon as possible, and squeezed me in that day. Granted it wasn't a very difficult alteration but she got it done for a VERY reasonable price and I got the dress back the morning after. Highly recommend! read more

I was also referred to Despima through Clarissa Bridal Salon. I had a wedding dress that I purchased several years ago, and I had lost a fair amount of weight since I bought it. I was ready to E-Bay the dress and get a new one, but Despima was able to take it in several sizes and it looks amazing. She is very friendly and does excellent work, and was even able to make me a veil to match the dress. I would highly recommend her am looking forward to wearing my dress on my special day in June! read more

Despina was great at altering my wedding dress, and was the perfect seamstress. She charges fair prices and is pleasant to work with, it was always nice chatting with her at my dress fittings. She's helpful and is very knowledgeable about wedding dresses. I highly recommend using Despina for wedding dress alterations. read more

I also found Despina through Clarissa's Bridal in Walnut Creek. She altered my younger sister's wedding dress and did a fantastic job! I have taken several dresses to her and they all come back looking amazing! I like to buy high end designer dresses on sale and they are usually a few sizes too big. She works her magic and makes them all fit me perfectly! Not only is she an amazing seamstress, but she is so sweet and fun to be around. I am so glad that I found her! read more

I needed my daughter's prom dress altered....what a pleasant experience! Despina did a lovely job altering the dress (which I borrowed and needed to return to its original state). She is very sweet and professional...on time and reasonably priced too. Nice experience...I would definitely return read more