Virginia is AMAZING!! I live in NH and was planning my wedding long distance (MI). I was one of those brides who bought her dress 8 months before her wedding and then found another dress. Problem was, I already spent almost $2000 on my first dress and could not justify buying another one. My mom suggested looking for a seamstress to help me reinvent my purchased dress. I searched online and came across Virginia's website. I decided to give her a try (even though it was an hour from my house, but the reviews were awesome) and I am SO glad I did. Virginia re-created my dress. It was originally a backless lace gown with show buttons near the rear. Virginia matched the lace perfectly and was able to add an entire back to the dress with actual scallops and buttons. It lined up so perfectly, you never would have known the dress did not come that way. Also, I decided to add buttons all the way down my dress train (at the last minute). Virginia searched high and low for matching buttons and ended up special ordering them from NYC! She had to sew 144 buttons perfectly aligned all the way down my dress and they were perfect!! I could not have imagined a more perfect dress. Additionally, I ended up buying a reception dress that was too small. Virginia recreated the entire bodice, including beading, in order to let out the dress to fit me. Plus, I decided I hated the straps, so Virginia again search high and low in order to find matching beading for the straps. In the end, the dress was again completely different. Words cannot express how thankful I am for Virginia's service. My entire family lives in MI and I was going through the entire dress saga alone. Virginia became like a mother figure in my dress situation. She never made me feel like I was just another customer. She truly makes her brides feel special. I came to her studio more than 5 times and every time she made plenty of time for me. I never felt rushed and I always felt like she went above and beyond for me. Seriously, ladies, go to Virginia if you need any assistance with your dress. She also makes custom dresses! She also allows for convenient appointments. I am an Attorney and work full time. Virginia always made time for me to come to my appointments around work. She also is very reasonably priced. Make the right choice and go to Virginia! read more

I would recommend Virginia's Custom Bridal Gowns to any bride who wants to look perfect on her wedding day. After buying my dress, I was concerned that some of the beadwork would need to be moved. I am very short (under five feet tall and weight about 100 pounds) so finding a good seamstress was very important for me. One day I was speaking with my aesthetician and she told me that Virginia had made her wedding dress. I was intrigued and got in touch with Virginia regarding my dress. I brought her the dress in early June although my wedding is not until October because I was so concerned about the dress fitting me perfectly. I put on my dress for Virginia and I didn't have to tell her anything. She knew exactly what needed to be altered to make the dress fit me perfectly. Luckily, none of the beadwork needed to be moved. The only thing I had to explain was that I wanted cups in the dress so that I didn't have to wear a bra and that I wanted a flat bustle because being my height, it would look weird if I had a huge bum on my wedding day. I was so happy with my first fitting that I brought my mother and her mother of the bride dress for the second fitting. Virginia listened to my mother's concerns and addressed them immediately with professionalism and care. My mother and I were both very pleased with her work and her prices are reasonable for the work we wanted done. I also like the fact that Virginia puts everything in writing in a contract so that there is no question about the work she does or what I want done to the dress. I am so happy with the work she has done that in the future, I will be bringing her my pants that need tailoring. It is extremely difficult to find a good tailor and I feel that Virginia and I will have a long relationship because she is very professional and kind to her clients. read more

I was the Maid of Honor for my best friend's wedding last year. We purchased our dresses from a bridal salon and scheduled alteration appointments at this same salon. I received a call the day before my appointment to inform me that the salon had to cancel my appointment and I would have to go elsewhere for alterations because they are understaffed. I was freaking out because I needed to have this dress altered before the wedding and I had a very nervous bride that kept checking in with us to see if the alterations have been completed. I ended up finding Virginia from Virginia's Custom Bridal Gowns online. I called her up and told her my situation and she looked at her calendar and actually stayed late to accommodate me. She was so friendly and she really knows what she is doing. This woman designs wedding gowns . . . creates them from scratch. She also teaches classes to groups of young children so they can learn how to sew and create their own designs. My dress needed thicker straps than the ones that currently dug into my skin and I needed a bustle for the train. A week later, I came back and she did place straps on the dress and they looked like they belonged to this dress originally. The bustle worked perfectly and she showed me how to do it. Absolutely gorgeous! I could tell that this was probably a very simple task for her compared to all the other things that she does here. I kept her information because I knew I would be going to her from now on for any type of formal dress. In fact, now that the wedding is over, I will be coming back to her this year with that same bridesmaid dress. I'm going to have her redesign it so I can wear it again as a guest to a wedding. read more

DO NOT LOOK ANY FURTHER!!! Virginia is a god! I am size 14-16 and had purchased a gown several years back when Filene's Basement was going out of business and finally was getting married. I was looking at a designer bridal store on the Northshore to purchase a gown and got very friendly with an employee and told her my story about my $29 designer gown from Filene's and she slipped me Virginia's card. Well I'm glad she did! Virginia has been doing this for upwards of 35 years or more. She took my gown and made magic. Not only did she alter it in ways I didn't even know could be done, she made me look like a size 10!!!! She is an amazing seamstress, as well as wonderful person inside and out! She also understands all aspects of the whole wedding experience and drama (mothers, brides maids, maids of honors, husbands to be, etc.) and has a way of making everything and everyone calm and collected. She also can make a dress from scratch even from just a picture. I am one of the pickiest people you'll ever meet and was looking for even just one bead missing just so I could her myself complain (it's one of my better qualities!) and couldn't find a missing bead or skipped stich or crooked hem, NOTHING! EVERYTHING was perfect!!! Thank you Virginia for everything and for being a wonderful human being. The world needs more people like you! read more

It saddens me to see all the people judging Virginia by her "phone etiquette" as opposed to her actual work. We have all been there when maybe you've got 100 things going on at once and someone comes to talk to you and you just snap without meaning to. She has a huge case load and deals with people at one of the most stressful events in most people's lives, so please try to take those reviews with a grain of salt. This review will be with my actual experience using Virginia for my alterations. I came to her with just shortly over a month before my wedding after the place I was planning on using for alterations fell through. She got me in right away and I could tell right from meeting her she knew what she was doing and instantly trusted her with my enormous lace ball gown. She did an amazing job taking my dress in at the waist where it desperately needed, pressed my veil and gown, and did my bustle which held my ENTIRE wedding night for my huge gown. She was a sweetie to work with, and even took the time with my MOH to show her repeatedly how to bustle my dress. I don't have my wedding pictures quite yet, but when I do will definitely add some to show how intricately this bustle was done and just how big my gown was to show there is no challenge too big for her. Thanks again Ginny! read more

My wedding is coming up in May,2010, and i met with Ginny months ago to discuss alterations, and the fact that i was ordering my dress from China!! i immediately felt at ease with her, she is very confident in what she does, and i knew i would not have to worry about a thing! she helped me with everything i needed to do as far as ordering my dress, and when i recieved my dress IT WAS PERFECT! a dress that easily could have cost $1000 only cost me $250 w/ free shipping!! in these times we all need a little help, right? after going to David's bridal and trying on dresses and finding out how much alterations would be, i knew i needed to find a better way.(especially because i didn't feel good about the alterations lady there, and whether she really knew what she was doing!) so i am telling you ladies, if you find a dress you realy, really love and it's beyond your budget, get a picture of it, go to Ginny , order your dress from China, (she knows the good websites) and you will be well taken care of!! believe me it's worth it! we have too many details to worry about on our perfect day, the dress is a big deal, and i am lucky to have found Ginny! thanks for reading, and good luck!! Pam:) read more

Well, now that the fanfare of my daughter's big day is over, I just have to comment on Virginia. This woman IS amazing. I accompanied my daughter to Virginia's on two occasions-a fitting and the final fitting. The studio is clean, organized and comfortable. Items are there to purchase at very reasonable cost. She has business cards for other businesses, which came in very handy for me-and whom I cannot say enough about either. My daughter's dress needed some very intricate bead work done, and Virginia did such a nice job, you would never have known repairs were done. The dress fit like a glove, told which undergarments to get and where to get them. She had suggestions to jewelry and hair accessories, and everything pulled together so beautifully. Virginia is very personable, friendly and professional. I felt totally at ease with her, her thoughts -she knows what she is doing, and it shows. My daughter and I walked out of Virginia's knowing everything was perfect for the big day-and it was!!! Highly recommend Virginia!! read more

Virginia did my alterations for my wedding gown in May 2016. My gown was a 2-piece ensemble which needed a zipper placed in the corset and a hem done for the skirt. She did an excellent job on all counts! I was nervous about the zipper because the corset is one-of-a-kind and could not be replaced, but I had no reason to worry as she did an amazing job! The corset was a perfect fit, the zipper was well hidden, and she was able to move some of the flowers on the bodice to cover parts of the zipper. The hem was perfect on my wedding day, I didn't step on it at all and it was the perfect length for walking and dancing. She stored my shoes along with my gown so I didn't have to remember to bring them with me to each fitting - very convenient. I found her manner professional and she kept very good track of every detail. I thought her prices were reasonable compared to other seamstresses I contacted. I enjoyed working with Virginia and I would recommend her to anyone who needs wedding or prom alterations in the Boston area! read more

I have to say that I had the most AMAZING experience with Virginia!! I had 2 daughters getting married within 2 months of each other and needed alterations on the dresses. I was referred to Virginia by a friend and I am so glad. She was ultra professional, really cared about her work and how my dresses would look and, best of all, did not break the bank for the work that needed to be done. I am a 6'2" woman and I really wanted to be able to wear a little heel with one of the dresses. Virginia agreed with my thought of adding some lace to the bottom that would match the top. She scoured the internet looking for a specific lace as it was not carried in the local fabric stores. She found what would be perfect!! I just picked it up and it could not have been more perfect if it came from the manufacturer like this!! It looks beautiful. Virginia is so very talented, professional and dedicated that I will make sure that anyone I know that needs a seamstress is sent to Virginia. You can't go wrong!! read more

Virginia is simply the BEST! We needed alterations to my daughter's wedding dress and a veil made with not a lot of lead time, and Virginia squeezed us in before she had some surgery and was out of commission for a few weeks. Told us that she could guarantee she could take care of us, and that she did. She is a professional who loves her brides and MOBs. She did a beautiful job hand-stitching a hem on my MOB gown that was loaded with beads. She is so welcoming and reassuring which puts everyone at ease. I can say that whenever I need anything altered, I will ONLY be going to Virginia. PS I cannot understand for the life of me some of the negative posts. She is not rude one bit. She values her customers and will not allow for interruptions (phone calls, etc) when she is with a client. Her reputation speaks for itself....endless supply of customers all by word of mouth (no advertising), many repeat customers....she really cares about her customers, especially her brides! WE LOVED VIRGINIA!! read more

I came to see Virginia after the bridal shop I purchased my wedding dress from told me they did not have an appointment available for alterations until after the date of my wedding. I simply can not say enough good things about Virginia. I am so happy I ended up going to see her at her studio. I arrived to her in a panic and she made the entire alterations process so easy. She is not only a lovely person, but an amazing seamstress. Her work is above and beyond anything I could have imagined for my wedding dress. She took fabulous care of my dress and me! After the alterations were completed, she took some time to go over a few pointers for the big day,icluding lifting the bottom of my dress up over my husband's shoes when we do our first dance. All in all, I just can't say enough about how much I loved this experiance. Shes a perfectionist. She is talented and she is the very definition of excellance!! read more

I went to Virginia after my mother's co-worker used her for her daughter's wedding. I was anxious because I am having my mother's 30 year old dress rebuilt into something I will fit perfectly in, and I didn't want the dress mangled in the process. After our first meeting, I felt comfy that Virginia clearly knew her stuff! She was so welcoming to me and my mother and instantly put me at ease. She also sent me to a cleaner that I will continue to use for more delicate and expensive items. I had my second fitting yesterday, and I can't believe what she is making happen with my dress. I'm bringing my rehearsal dinner dress there, a cashmere/wool Barbour coat, and my bridesmaids are having their dresses altered by Virginia. My mom just made an appointment to have her wedding day gown altered too. If you need an experienced seamstress, I wouldn't go anywhere but to Virginia! read more

Virginia was absolutely amazing! She worked on my wedding dress ensuring it would turn out absolutely perfect - and it did! She puts her heart and soul into everything she does and goes out of her way to make sure you are happy. She even gave me advice on many things, most importantly how to include my Mom's dress and veil into my look since she passed away when I was young. We were able to use my Mom's veil and take a pink ribbon that was part of her dress to cut out a heart and sew it over where my heart would be when in my dress. I even needed a bridesmaids dress taken in relatively quickly and she without even a thought agreed to help. I couldn't be happier with her and will be sure to go to her with absolutely anything I need in the future. If you want amazing work, a caring person and someone who ends up being a friend, then go to Virginia. Thank you so much! Xoxo! read more

I can't believe this woman would even write such a review about Virginia. But of course, there is always a BRIDEZILLA out there and she is definitely one. I had my gown and 7 bridesmaids dresses designed by Virginia and they were perfect. She was very knowledgeable in her work as she has been designing and making gowns for over 35 years and has repeat customers. I can see why the bridal shop didn't want to deal with her anymore. She had to be a nightmare just buying the gown from them. I know that Virginia would never charge that much for an alteration but of course this bride was out of control and made up a story. SO everyone out there, disregard this woman and her allegations and go to Virginia's Custom Bridal Designs in Danvers for a perfect fit everytime. I loved my dresses and got lots of complements and my bustle was perfect!!!!!! read more

AMAZING! I was referred to Virginia ("Ginny") and have since referred her to a friend who is getting married next month. She is the BEST! Not only is she an amazing person - very friendly, very patient - but man does she know her stuff! She created a custom bustle for me which took my dress from beautiful to one of a kind! It was important to my Mom that I wear her wedding veil and Ginny came to the rescue when an 'at home' alter job to the veil went astray - Ginny worked patiently with my Mom to create two gorgeous veils for me - a cathedral with vintage appliques and a two-tier finger tip veil. I will be seeing Ginny again shortly to preserve my wedding gown as well as do alterations on a bridesmaid dress I have to wear. They say every fashionista needs a great seamstress and I've found mine! Thank you Ginny! read more

I contacted Virginia's Custom Bridal Designs in March to see about a Christening suit to be made from my flower girl dress and could not believe it could be done !! She was a pleasure to work with and was so unique in what she wanted to design for his suit. Not only was this a special day but it was made from a special dress that I wore in my mom's wedding several years ago. Virginia is so talented and knowledgeable in her field. I would never have given anyone this project but when I met her I felt so at ease knowing she would make a wonderful keepsake. It is so nice to know there are a few people left who do this type of work and I would recommend her to anyone who is looking for a unique project as she is the woman to see. Thank you so much Virginia, Everyone was complimenting me on his beautiful suit. read more

First off, Virginia was absolutely LOVELY. She was friendly, genuine, and talkative, and I always had fun at my alteration appointments. I bought my dress at Over the Rainbow, a consignment bridal boutique in Beverly, MA, and they recommended Virginia for my alterations. I had to get the skirt hemmed, the bustle made (I had a cathedral length train), the bust taken in, cups added, and boning removed from the torso, and Virginia did it all beautifully. She also pressed my dress and veil, and the dress looked gorgeous for the wedding. Unfortunately, someone stepped on the bottom of the bustled skirt while dancing, and one of the pieces ripped off of the dress--there was nothing Virginia could have done to prevent this, as the guest was just being careless. Overall, I was very impressed with Virginia's work! read more

Virginia is the BEST! She took the entire worry of my dress being anything but perfect right off my shoulders. She truly cares about her brides and always follows up to make sure that you are both on the same page. Virginia also has many years of experience, so those little things you don't think of- she is on top of (so important especitally when planning a wedding in a different state!) Top-notch, quality and a genuine interest in making her brides happy! Will recommend to all of my friends and I recommend to anyone looking for nothing less than perfection. Her sshop is a little hard to find, but, as the great person she is, she stays on the phone with you until you find her place (tucked away in an office building). But! once you find the location, very easy to get to for future fittings. 10 stars. read more

I can't say enough great things about Virginia and her amazing work! The minute you step foot in her elegant shop you immediately feel safe with your decision to have her work on your dress! I needed A LOT of altering done to my wedding dress and Virginia did such an fantastic job!! This wasn't a simple dress at all. Lots of details and lots of hours to work on it! Not only does she do stellar work but her attention to detail is one of a kind. When you have a ton of things going on it is nice to know you can trust someone to help make you feel and look good!! What I love about designs by Ginny is how unique and special the experience is. I can't think of a department store or bridal shop that compares to the love and detail Virginia puts into every sew and stitch!!!! I would highly recommend her!! read more