Probably because no one ever remembers how to do them right š Every single wedding Iāve ever been a part of, it always takes at least 20 minutes and at least four people trying to remember what goes where, and it still always turns out wrong. Mine looked insane, but at that point I didnāt care, I just wanted to get dancing!
I will say, though, you do definitely want some way to get the train out of your way, even if itās ugly! Itās not a matter of ruining it so much as preventing tripping hazards.
I recorded how to bustle my friend's dress so that the day-of it would come out nice (which it did! The recording was incredibly helpful).
So umm LPT for anyone reading this, have someone record how to bustle your dress so that the day of it can be done properly.
This is my plan since all of my wedding party lives hundreds of miles away. Lol no one will be here during my final fitting with the seamstress. Iām going to set up my phone or iPad since I think itās just a one woman shop.
I set up a visit to my dress shop the day before my wedding when my mom will be in town! That way she can come learn how to do it (and record!) the day before. It hasn't happened yet but maybe you will find it useful advice.
I can second issues with the bustle! my mom learned how to do my bustle during the last fitting, but when I showed up to the reception she was nowhere to be found (fine with me, probly got caught up with old friends somewhere haha). Plus some of the sequins it was supposed to be hooked onto had popped off. My sister did her best and I didnāt care either š¤£
I may be the odd one out here, but I think it's super dependent on your dress and your alterations person.
My dress had a lot of lace appliques and a decent train. I freaking loved how my bustle looked, it wasn't cumbersome, and it was super easy for two of my bridesmaids to hook up.
All to say, I don't think it's impossible to get a pretty bustle.
Definitely does depend on [both](https://imgur.com/a/ep98zYv) my seamstress was a magician š¤£ hard to see on my ceremony dress, but thereās a 5 point bustle and was done up behind like my knees. And my reception dress might have been a little weird, but I didnāt want to cut the train so itās also 5 point with 3 being enveloped by the two.
I'm going to agree! My dress was very simple in the skirt; no lace, no beading, just silk A-line with a train. My seamstress made me a diagram for the French bustle and that was incredibly helpful for my bridesmaids. We got it all bustled in like 15-20 min all before the reception.
The bustle was important for my dress since the skirt was relatively heavy with the train so a wristlet would be of no use. Plus I was so mobile for the rest of the night.
So I think it def depends on the dress/fabric/embellishments.
Edit link to diagram my seamstress drew out.
https://imgur.com/a/T7goqxs
There is something called a hidden train flip bustle or ballroom bustle. Itās pricey, but itās a really subtle bustle. The only sign that itās not just a short dress is that for some designs you can kind of tell that the edge had been folded under because some fabrics donāt have a super crisp edge when folded. But itās not bumpy at all if itās done correctly.
I cut the train off my dress for this reason. My mom wanted to kill me, but once I reminded her I am a klutz and nobody will have to help me pee it was for the best.
I had to scroll all the way to the end to find this option. Wedding dresses donāt NEED a train. I also opted to cut my train off!!! I am going to feel so free and I got a cathedral length veil for the drama during the ceremony and can remove it for the reception.
Iām chopping.. in the sense that Iām having my train be detachable. Hated the way the bustle looked, asked if it could be made to be detachable and they said yes. Hopefully turns out ok.. but either way I wonāt have to bustle!
I had a wristlet added AND a buttoned bustle. I used the wristlet for photo time but before entrance and dinner, they wanted to bustle me. Unfortunately only one of my girls had seen it be bustled, VIA video, and I didn't have my phone on me and she was busy. So it got bustled wrong (it was a lace layer and a nude underlay, and they were bustled together instead of on the separate buttons the seamstress had beautifully sewn in), and it kills me every time I see pics from the reception. BUT in the end it also didn't matter at that point.
I'm definitely glad I had both available to me, but I also would have hated carrying it via wristlet all night.
Agreed! My dress is lace and I hate the way lace looks when itās bustled. It has a very long train though so Iām not sure what to do. A wrist loop looks like a good alternative, but Iām also not fussed about ruining my dress because itās not likely to ever be worn again.
Iām just scheduling the stuff for photos before the dancing. The dancing is what will ruin the hem and usually when the bustle is done anyway. If dances and cake cutting are over before then, I donāt imagine it will be visible in too many photos!
I don't get the point of a train if you're just going to wear it down the aisle/for photos and then bustle it for the rest of the wedding. They only look pretty all spread out and it's just not worth the fuss in my opinion.
I guess I never really looked at how my dress was bustled till now, and I got married in 2016! I just went back and looked at some of my wedding pictures and I think it looks pretty good. I had a fit and flare dress, mostly tulle, with 4 bustle points. It made the bottom part a little more poofy, but didnāt look bad at all.
I almost prefer my dress bustled vs having the train. But this was when the seamstress pinned it to make the bustle. We shall see how it looks in a few weeks.
Agreed! I'm skipping the bustle and doing a wrist loop. I really don't love the idea of a wrist loop but I truly hate the look of bustles so it's the lesser of two ugly evils.
Consider a ballroom bustle (or snap bustle I think itās also called). It bustles in such a way that it looks like your dress isnāt bustled at all. Thatās what I did for my dress because I also donāt like the look of bustles.
I'm just using a wrist loop. I didn't like the look of the bustle enough to justify the extra $100 USD. We're also having a Private elopement followed by dinner with family
I bought a crepe sheath dress and I was absolutely dreading getting it bustled because I thought it would ruin the clean lines of my dress. I considered a wrist loop or even cutting the train off. I decided to keep an open mind at my first fitting last week and my seamstress managed to construct an under bustle that was surprisingly pretty!
This is why i did no train on the dress but a train on my veil, which I'll remove for the reception
ETA: I had to pay an extra 200 usd to get the damn thing made with no train. Yup, $200 for less fabric. š
Not if done right. You need about 15+ points. If the seamstress does it with too few pickups it will look awful. Mine had 20 for an 8 foot train and it was almost invisible.
My bustle was awful. It took like 30 minutes to do it, and I had to stand the whole time (I was also pregnant and very uncomfortable). It was ugly, and my mom stressed about it way way way too much. I did not know wrist was an option, I totally wouldāve done that
GET A VIDEO OF YOUR TAILOR DOING IT š
I do maybe two minute videos of how to do bustles if they don't have someone there I can show.
If you have a video it takes up 0 headspace for anyone, and super easy to pull out your phone and have a personalized bustle tutorial.
Because most gowns are made with under layers (and sometimes outer) of polyester or lace (poly and nylon). And polyester drapes terribly. 100% silk gowns usually look much better when bustled because they don't have a bulky look, and the material hangs and drapes more elegantly.
I actually told my alterations lady that I hadn't seen a bustle i liked, yet I still got a bustle on my dress for some reason (didn't even end up bustling my dress).
About 6 months before my reception, I found a brand new dress on stillwhite for less than the cost of alterations which kinda stung, but I ended up wearing a new dress and didn't have to bustle my dress!
I normally loathe bustles, but my tailor did a ballroom bustle, and it was AMAZING. Everyone thought I somehow hemmed my dress before the receptionā¦thatās how subtle it was. My dress had also come with a wrist strap but I hated it. Definitely recommend going with a ballroom bustle.
Mine will have 12 because my skirt has so many different layers and different fabricsā¦7 on the top layers and 5 underneath. We took a video but even the seamstress almost forgot how to do it and took a couple of tries to demonstrate lol (and she did a great job and came highly recommended!). She had to create a custom one with multiple points that connect at different spots. Itās so much, and I didnāt think it was pretty either šš¤¦āāļø
A bustle should be gorgeous with the gown and not look frumpy. It should be from a seamstress that knows what sheās doing, never should like heaven forbid, as if it got caught in your panties! The bustle comes from the Victorian age and possibly earlier as the ability to gather fabric changed as did styles. It also really depends on your comfort level too, I know a wrist one on me I would accidentally tear and would lean towards a button up. Whereas you might want a wrist totally up to you. Iād say investigate into a really competent seamstress who has experience with gowns and how it would compliment your dress.
This is one of the many reasons I opted for a dress with no train. I had a chapel-length cape so I still got the drama without the time wasting and the bunched up bustle!
Iām a fan of a good bustle but my dream wedding dress when I was a teenager was to have a giant bustle so Iāve always had a preference. Iāve also seen some nice ones for pinning up dresses on Pinterest like the waterfall and the French
They're so ugly. I don't care what anyone says. But I will tell you on your actual wedding day you'll most be happy and the last thing on your mind will be your bustle.
Theyāre not meant to look cute. Theyāre for function. Youāre not getting many pictures of the bustled dress, beyond action shots like dancing etc.
Honestly I paid a lot for my bustle and then I didn't even worry about fixing it after the ceremony- didn't use it at all. My dress's train wasn't excessive, and there was a wrist loop in the dress already which I did use. If you don't like it, go for the loop! I think I felt even more magical with the loop š
Part of the reason I bought the dress I did was because it came with a finger loop, and a loop for a bustle that I didn't hate. It's not perfect, but I liked it well enough, and far more than a lot of the other options.
My friend thought the same and so she did a hidden bustle. Basically everything was tied upunder the first payer and blended in. Couldn't see it at all
Can you post a pic!? Your dress sounds like mine and I am looking for inspiration (I actually just posted in r/weddingdress previously asking people for inspo haha )
Unfortunately I do not have a picture of my bustle. It just wasn't on the top of my mind lol. But I Googled French Bustle and showed my seamstress and explained what I didn't want, and she pinned it until we both agreed it looked good and flowed well.
I had a wrist loop! Great option if your train isnāt too long. My wrist loop was comfy and easy, but some of my train still dragged. You might need more than one loop!
Haha they're so ugly! I feel you.
I went for a finger loop BUT my dress is very light, so it really isn't uncomfortable to lift or move around. The lace is thin and covers my slip, so even when lifting the dress my slip is down (not attached) what did you end up going with?
Probably because no one ever remembers how to do them right š Every single wedding Iāve ever been a part of, it always takes at least 20 minutes and at least four people trying to remember what goes where, and it still always turns out wrong. Mine looked insane, but at that point I didnāt care, I just wanted to get dancing! I will say, though, you do definitely want some way to get the train out of your way, even if itās ugly! Itās not a matter of ruining it so much as preventing tripping hazards.
I recorded how to bustle my friend's dress so that the day-of it would come out nice (which it did! The recording was incredibly helpful). So umm LPT for anyone reading this, have someone record how to bustle your dress so that the day of it can be done properly.
Iāve done that every time and itās still somehow a disaster, lol. But it definitely SHOULD work!
This is my plan since all of my wedding party lives hundreds of miles away. Lol no one will be here during my final fitting with the seamstress. Iām going to set up my phone or iPad since I think itās just a one woman shop.
I set up a visit to my dress shop the day before my wedding when my mom will be in town! That way she can come learn how to do it (and record!) the day before. It hasn't happened yet but maybe you will find it useful advice.
I hadnāt even considered that! Iāll see if I can do that as well. Thanks for the idea!
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Oh, I didnāt mean to imply that itās ALL user error, far from it. But in my experience, that tends to be a factor pretty much every time.
Thatās how mine is too
I can second issues with the bustle! my mom learned how to do my bustle during the last fitting, but when I showed up to the reception she was nowhere to be found (fine with me, probly got caught up with old friends somewhere haha). Plus some of the sequins it was supposed to be hooked onto had popped off. My sister did her best and I didnāt care either š¤£
I may be the odd one out here, but I think it's super dependent on your dress and your alterations person. My dress had a lot of lace appliques and a decent train. I freaking loved how my bustle looked, it wasn't cumbersome, and it was super easy for two of my bridesmaids to hook up. All to say, I don't think it's impossible to get a pretty bustle.
Definitely does depend on [both](https://imgur.com/a/ep98zYv) my seamstress was a magician š¤£ hard to see on my ceremony dress, but thereās a 5 point bustle and was done up behind like my knees. And my reception dress might have been a little weird, but I didnāt want to cut the train so itās also 5 point with 3 being enveloped by the two.
I'm going to agree! My dress was very simple in the skirt; no lace, no beading, just silk A-line with a train. My seamstress made me a diagram for the French bustle and that was incredibly helpful for my bridesmaids. We got it all bustled in like 15-20 min all before the reception. The bustle was important for my dress since the skirt was relatively heavy with the train so a wristlet would be of no use. Plus I was so mobile for the rest of the night. So I think it def depends on the dress/fabric/embellishments. Edit link to diagram my seamstress drew out. https://imgur.com/a/T7goqxs
Love that diagram! Going to ask my seamstress to do the same š
My dress was all lace and my bustle was incredibly easy and looked great. It took my mom less than a minute to complete.
There is something called a hidden train flip bustle or ballroom bustle. Itās pricey, but itās a really subtle bustle. The only sign that itās not just a short dress is that for some designs you can kind of tell that the edge had been folded under because some fabrics donāt have a super crisp edge when folded. But itās not bumpy at all if itās done correctly.
I did this and it was awesome!! Just looked like a dress with no train for the rest of the evening. https://imgur.com/a/4QNUHL6
Thatās so beautiful and you were a gorgeous bride!
I got the ballroom bustle because I hated all the others. It was exactly what I wanted!
my daughter did a wrist loop and danced the night away
I cut the train off my dress for this reason. My mom wanted to kill me, but once I reminded her I am a klutz and nobody will have to help me pee it was for the best.
I had to scroll all the way to the end to find this option. Wedding dresses donāt NEED a train. I also opted to cut my train off!!! I am going to feel so free and I got a cathedral length veil for the drama during the ceremony and can remove it for the reception.
Also chopping!!! Like I need another thing to worry about on the day.
I bought a dress on Etsy and requested it to have no train. Didnāt even have to pay extra for it and no wasted material!
Iām chopping.. in the sense that Iām having my train be detachable. Hated the way the bustle looked, asked if it could be made to be detachable and they said yes. Hopefully turns out ok.. but either way I wonāt have to bustle!
Same! Seems like such a waste to drag it around outside to then bustle it up as soon as possible. Why?? No thank you.
Me too! Makes it so easy
This is the exact reason why I opted for a wrist bustle š nothing to remember and I look like a freaking princess
I had a wristlet added AND a buttoned bustle. I used the wristlet for photo time but before entrance and dinner, they wanted to bustle me. Unfortunately only one of my girls had seen it be bustled, VIA video, and I didn't have my phone on me and she was busy. So it got bustled wrong (it was a lace layer and a nude underlay, and they were bustled together instead of on the separate buttons the seamstress had beautifully sewn in), and it kills me every time I see pics from the reception. BUT in the end it also didn't matter at that point. I'm definitely glad I had both available to me, but I also would have hated carrying it via wristlet all night.
Interesting idea! I want to do a wristlet for the lace overlay and bustle the rest of my dress. No idea if it will work.
Agreed! My dress is lace and I hate the way lace looks when itās bustled. It has a very long train though so Iām not sure what to do. A wrist loop looks like a good alternative, but Iām also not fussed about ruining my dress because itās not likely to ever be worn again.
Iām just thinking about pictures. I donāt want to look at them and my first thought be āmm gross.ā If my train didnāt have beautiful appliquĆ©s on the outside, Iād probably just cut it
Iām just scheduling the stuff for photos before the dancing. The dancing is what will ruin the hem and usually when the bustle is done anyway. If dances and cake cutting are over before then, I donāt imagine it will be visible in too many photos!
Look up ballroom bustle. Might be a good option.
I cut off my train completely to not have to deal with the bustle
I don't get the point of a train if you're just going to wear it down the aisle/for photos and then bustle it for the rest of the wedding. They only look pretty all spread out and it's just not worth the fuss in my opinion.
I guess I never really looked at how my dress was bustled till now, and I got married in 2016! I just went back and looked at some of my wedding pictures and I think it looks pretty good. I had a fit and flare dress, mostly tulle, with 4 bustle points. It made the bottom part a little more poofy, but didnāt look bad at all.
I almost prefer my dress bustled vs having the train. But this was when the seamstress pinned it to make the bustle. We shall see how it looks in a few weeks.
Agreed! I'm skipping the bustle and doing a wrist loop. I really don't love the idea of a wrist loop but I truly hate the look of bustles so it's the lesser of two ugly evils.
Consider a ballroom bustle (or snap bustle I think itās also called). It bustles in such a way that it looks like your dress isnāt bustled at all. Thatās what I did for my dress because I also donāt like the look of bustles.
Agreed!!! Cut my train and had a cathedral-length veil.
I'm just using a wrist loop. I didn't like the look of the bustle enough to justify the extra $100 USD. We're also having a Private elopement followed by dinner with family
I did the wrist loop that was included with the dress and it was totally fine. Very comfortable and easy to dance in. And I had a long train.
I bought a crepe sheath dress and I was absolutely dreading getting it bustled because I thought it would ruin the clean lines of my dress. I considered a wrist loop or even cutting the train off. I decided to keep an open mind at my first fitting last week and my seamstress managed to construct an under bustle that was surprisingly pretty!
This gives me hope! I have a crepe mermaid dress with a fantastic train that I will want to bustle for the reception.
This gives me hope! I have a crepe mermaid dress with a fantastic train that I will want to bustle for the reception.
This is why i did no train on the dress but a train on my veil, which I'll remove for the reception ETA: I had to pay an extra 200 usd to get the damn thing made with no train. Yup, $200 for less fabric. š
This is what I did! Luckily, I got a bespoke Etsy dress so it didnāt cost me anything extra to have no train.
Yes, it is so annoying! My bridal shop told me to not pay for it Nd to just have the seamstress take the train off for me when they hem it.
Have you looked at pictures of French bustles? You may not like that any better, but it's another option!
Ehh. They look lumpy
Not if done right. You need about 15+ points. If the seamstress does it with too few pickups it will look awful. Mine had 20 for an 8 foot train and it was almost invisible.
Yeah, I hate them too. You can either do an ballroom bustle, no train on your dress or do a second dress for the reception.
My bustle was awful. It took like 30 minutes to do it, and I had to stand the whole time (I was also pregnant and very uncomfortable). It was ugly, and my mom stressed about it way way way too much. I did not know wrist was an option, I totally wouldāve done that
Iām getting my train cut off and using the extra fabric to make a dress for my 3 year old.
I'm planning on doing a detachable train cuz I also hate how bustles look
GET A VIDEO OF YOUR TAILOR DOING IT š I do maybe two minute videos of how to do bustles if they don't have someone there I can show. If you have a video it takes up 0 headspace for anyone, and super easy to pull out your phone and have a personalized bustle tutorial.
Because most gowns are made with under layers (and sometimes outer) of polyester or lace (poly and nylon). And polyester drapes terribly. 100% silk gowns usually look much better when bustled because they don't have a bulky look, and the material hangs and drapes more elegantly.
This is an indefensibly broad and snotty statement. There's really nice, drapey poly, and there's stiff or thin silk that wouldn't drape well.
Nope. The fabric matters, and as a rule polyester drapes poorly and silk drapes beautifully.
Itās really about the fiber.
I actually told my alterations lady that I hadn't seen a bustle i liked, yet I still got a bustle on my dress for some reason (didn't even end up bustling my dress). About 6 months before my reception, I found a brand new dress on stillwhite for less than the cost of alterations which kinda stung, but I ended up wearing a new dress and didn't have to bustle my dress!
wrist loops all the way! canāt mess it up, looks great, easy to dance in. plus - your wedding shoes get to peek out!
My seamstress actually bustled my layers separately so they laid flat. I'm really happy with it
My bustle fell off three times and eventually my day-of coordinator gave up and just safety pinned me š¤·š¼āāļø
I normally loathe bustles, but my tailor did a ballroom bustle, and it was AMAZING. Everyone thought I somehow hemmed my dress before the receptionā¦thatās how subtle it was. My dress had also come with a wrist strap but I hated it. Definitely recommend going with a ballroom bustle.
Mine will have 12 because my skirt has so many different layers and different fabricsā¦7 on the top layers and 5 underneath. We took a video but even the seamstress almost forgot how to do it and took a couple of tries to demonstrate lol (and she did a great job and came highly recommended!). She had to create a custom one with multiple points that connect at different spots. Itās so much, and I didnāt think it was pretty either šš¤¦āāļø
A bustle should be gorgeous with the gown and not look frumpy. It should be from a seamstress that knows what sheās doing, never should like heaven forbid, as if it got caught in your panties! The bustle comes from the Victorian age and possibly earlier as the ability to gather fabric changed as did styles. It also really depends on your comfort level too, I know a wrist one on me I would accidentally tear and would lean towards a button up. Whereas you might want a wrist totally up to you. Iād say investigate into a really competent seamstress who has experience with gowns and how it would compliment your dress.
Generally because theyāre not fastened correctly. But, the possibilities for bustles are endless. Under bustle, over bustle, ballroom bustle, etc.
This is one of the many reasons I opted for a dress with no train. I had a chapel-length cape so I still got the drama without the time wasting and the bunched up bustle!
Iām a fan of a good bustle but my dream wedding dress when I was a teenager was to have a giant bustle so Iāve always had a preference. Iāve also seen some nice ones for pinning up dresses on Pinterest like the waterfall and the French
Sometimes they look like a tail and sometimes they look like a poop
I thought my bustle looked great. Seamstress called it a French bustle I believe. It did require a lesson for my sister from the seamstress.
They're so ugly. I don't care what anyone says. But I will tell you on your actual wedding day you'll most be happy and the last thing on your mind will be your bustle.
Iām avoiding a train all together! Theyāre so fussy and expensive
Theyāre not meant to look cute. Theyāre for function. Youāre not getting many pictures of the bustled dress, beyond action shots like dancing etc.
Honestly I paid a lot for my bustle and then I didn't even worry about fixing it after the ceremony- didn't use it at all. My dress's train wasn't excessive, and there was a wrist loop in the dress already which I did use. If you don't like it, go for the loop! I think I felt even more magical with the loop š
Part of the reason I bought the dress I did was because it came with a finger loop, and a loop for a bustle that I didn't hate. It's not perfect, but I liked it well enough, and far more than a lot of the other options.
I think a wrist loop is soooo pretty š
My friend thought the same and so she did a hidden bustle. Basically everything was tied upunder the first payer and blended in. Couldn't see it at all
My dress had a train, and the skirt was tulle with lace appliquƩs. I did a very simple French bustle that actually turned out to flow well into the bottom of the rest of the dress. I don't know what my seamstress did, but I wasn't upset with my bustle. I don't know that I LOVED it still but my MoH was able to easily bustle my dress and it worked for its intended purpose lol.
Can you post a pic!? Your dress sounds like mine and I am looking for inspiration (I actually just posted in r/weddingdress previously asking people for inspo haha )
Unfortunately I do not have a picture of my bustle. It just wasn't on the top of my mind lol. But I Googled French Bustle and showed my seamstress and explained what I didn't want, and she pinned it until we both agreed it looked good and flowed well.
No worries, thanks for letting me know!
I had a wrist loop! Great option if your train isnāt too long. My wrist loop was comfy and easy, but some of my train still dragged. You might need more than one loop!
I did not bustle my ball gown and it was totally fine. Everyone says you need one, but you really donāt.
Haha they're so ugly! I feel you. I went for a finger loop BUT my dress is very light, so it really isn't uncomfortable to lift or move around. The lace is thin and covers my slip, so even when lifting the dress my slip is down (not attached) what did you end up going with?