Question about Tux Fittings

[Mermaid_Ariel]

Okay, since we're being asked this already..

We haven't contacted Carolyn Allen's yet for Tuxedo Services and Gown Steaming but I was wondering how it works. How does everyone get fitted on such short notice? How soon do you have to fly down for Tuxedos to be fitted? How does it work?? (That's my freaking out face LOL!)

 

[Swmhc]

You have your men measured at a local shop and fax the info with deposits to Carolyn Allen's. They prefer you arrive two days in advance if possible in case there are any problems, but I am sure it can be done with less notice. Then, they brought the tuxes out along with the gowns. I had shipped our gowns down in advance, so they actually had them already steamed when they came out. They brought the steamer in case anything needed touched up after they got the gowns to the resort. The guys took turns trying on their gear. We needed a few adjustments, so they took the wrong sized items and just delivered the corrected sizes to bell services later that day. It worked wonderfully !

 

[Swmhc]

Oh, I forgot to add...after the ceremony we took the tuxes and my gown back down to bell services and CA picked them up the following morning. I had my gown cleaned and shipped back to my house. Soooo easy and hassel-free !

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

Wow! Thanks so much for the quick response! I do feel better! I was only requiring people to fly down the day before the wedding so maybe I should say two, or do you think that would be enough time with the measurements in advance?

Where were you able to go to get the measurements locally without actually renting through the place you go to? Can you pay just to get measured?

I'm planning to ship my gown there, too. I don't think I want to drag it on the plane, I'll be way too stressed.

 

[BaBeeCee14]

Oh, I forgot to add...after the ceremony we took the tuxes and my gown back down to bell services and CA picked them up the following morning. I had my gown cleaned and shipped back to my house. Soooo easy and hassel-free !

Just curious, how much did have to pay to ship your gown to CA's and how much for them to ship back to your house? TIA!!

 

[lurkyloo]

One caveat - if the days before your wedding fall on a weekend, Carolyn Allen can't exchange wrong-sized pieces for you because their warehouse is closed. If you have a popular style of tux, they may have other peices on hand in the shop, but for us, all they can do is take in the cuffs and hems.

We decided to go with them anyway, but having heard so many stories about CA (and all the other tux companies) bringing pieces in the wrong sizes, I'm pretty nervous.

Your guys can have their measurements taken at any tuxedo shop anywhere. CA is in the Jim's Formalwear network, so we went to a Jim's dealer, but they were just as unenthusiastic about giving us free measurements as anyone else when they found out we weren't actually renting from them...

The dress shipping and storage fee is $15 plus the actual cost of return shipping. CA quoted me $35 for UPS return shipping, although I was able to get it to them FedEx for $19....

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

One caveat - if the days before your wedding fall on a weekend, Carolyn Allen can't exchange wrong-sized pieces for you because their warehouse is closed. If you have a popular style of tux, they may have other peices on hand in the shop, but for us, all they can do is take in the cuffs and hems.

We decided to go with them anyway, but having heard so many stories about CA (and all the other tux companies) bringing pieces in the wrong sizes, I'm pretty nervous.

I have to back Carrie up on this, since we're wedding twins. I was originally going to have them come out on saturday (our wedding is monday) and do the fitting. I was told they could do minor alterations but couldn't swap pieces. Then we had some drama with our best man and he's not coming down until Sunday evening! He won't even get minor alterations, So when we get into town on Friday we're going straight to Carolyn Allens from MCO at 12:30pm and I was told that that was early enough to swap something if need be, b/c they do put an order in to the warehouse for Saturday shipment. So at least my groom will look good. We're also going to pick up the best man's tux. He's going to be s.o.l. if it doesn't fit. scared: <--- scrapbooker worried about her pics!) They said they'll still come pick the tuxes up the morning after the wedding from bell services!! HTH.

Edit: We picked non-standard tuxes too... so there's no chance of emergency swaps for the best man.

 

[BaBeeCee14]

I'm planning on using CA for the tuxes. Our wedding is on a Sunday and we were planning to do the fitting on Saturday since almost all the groomsmen are coming in on Friday night. Is that going to be a problem? That means if anything doesn't fit on Saturday, they won't be able to swap anything?

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

I'm planning on using CA for the tuxes. Our wedding is on a Sunday and we were planning to do the fitting on Saturday since almost all the groomsmen are coming in on Friday night. Is that going to be a problem? That means if anything doesn't fit on Saturday, they won't be able to swap anything?

That is correct, unless you go with standard pieces that they have in the shop. I'm not sure what those may be, so you'll have to ask them. They should be able to do minor alterations though, like a hem or something...

 

[mermaidbride1108]

I'm confused about this weekend thing. Is it just if your wedding is ON the weekend or is it the the days leading up to the wedding like if you wedding is on a Tuesday then you would have a problem?

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

I don't think you would have a problem if your wedding was on a tuesday b/c they get a shipment monday. So as long as you had your fitting early enough Sunday morning (or perhaps Saturday?), they could get the order in to swap pieces early enough for the new pieces to be in the monday shipment.

I'm using some deductive reasoning here. Your best bet would be to call or email CA's. Ask to speak with Kathleen. If she's not available, leave a message and she'll call you back. She's been a DREAM to communicate with.

 

[KT27]

I had my wedding on Monday - the groomsmen were fitted on Friday. My husband & best man wore their uniforms. I believe the issue with getting fitted on a Saturday was the tux warehouse closes at noon or close to it. And I believe that it is also closed on Sunday. Double check with Kathleen.

 

[lurkyloo]

It turns out the CA's warehouse is now in... Georgia? It's in another state, at any rate, so between my first call to them in September and my followup in December, they lost the ability to swap pieces on Saturdays - argh!

If you're doing a traditional notch-lapel jacket, they have extras on hand. We wanted a peak lapel, and you'd think we asked for fluorescent brocade Nehru jackets or something - NOT in stock....

So basically, it's the days leading up to the wedding. Saturday and Sunday are no-swap days. And an 8am Monday wedding is too early. But if you came in Friday or Thursday, you'd have a better chance of swapping!

 

[meelee514]

Hmm.. our wedding will be on a Monday and we'll be driving down from PA Saturday and getting there early Sunday morning. Is there anywhere that I could drop off my dress that late for steaming and pick it up that night, since the wedding is the next day?

Same with the tux. If we fax some place measurements, could they have it ready by that Sunday night? Or would we need more time? We want a really long honeymoon and the only way to do that is to minimalize the days we spend there before the wedding.

 

[mermaidbride1108]

Wow, this thread disappeared before I got a chance to say thanks for your replies.

I''ve contacting Kathleen and I'll be asking to get a concrete answer. I'll let you know what they say.

 

[meelee514]

Oh great!