Mary Catomy

A solid 5 stars for Mary! Get in touch with her ASAP since she books up quickly. She was well worth every penny for her attentiveness, patience, and hard work. She miraculously was able to use fabric from one part of the dress for another, and gave me realistic advice about sizing, dieting, and ensuring the dress would fit like a glove for the wedding.

Mary is a true angel! She completely redesigned my wedding dress to make it my dream dress. After waiting the 8 months it took for for my dress to come in to the shop I purchased it from, I didn't like it. Thank God I went to Mary! She saved the day!She is an amazing, kind hearted person. Yet, she also knows how to get down to business!TIP to all you future brides --- she books waaaaay in advance! So call as soon as you get engaged ;) I booked her Jan 2010 for my July 2011 wedding.

Mary is AWESOME!! I loved the work she did, and her prices are so reasonable. She completely fixed the back of the dress, adding in more loops so the corset back would stay closed properly, as well as a modesty panel. Otherwise I would have been hanging out all over the place! Plus she added boob cups (a nice addition), hemmed it to the right length, and her work on the bustle was fantastic. The back had lovely beadwork and she bustled it so that everything would be visible and properly aligned. Just gorgeous. All of this for less than $200. But you have to get an appointment at least a year in advance -- she books up early! I called in late July 2010 for my July 2011 wedding and was the last bride she took for that month. But she's worth it!

Mary is simply the best. She is an expert at what she does, and she is also incredibly affordable. The only problem is you have to book her very far in advance, so I’d recommend calling her as soon as you buy your dress, and she will put you on her calendar. If you wait until your dress comes in, she might be completely booked – she is that good!

If you are interested in hiring Mary Catomy to be your wedding dress seamstress, look no further and contact her immediately! Mary is so talented and sweet, her prices don't even seem fair! It was so nice to have a relationship with the person (not shop!) altering the dress you've waited your entire female existance to wear. There is a reason this woman does not need to advertise - Highly recommend!

I love Mary! Her card actually says she is the "Boob Fairy." I definitely needed boobs too. I am Asian and although I am almost thirty, I only fit training bras. My dress looked wonderful, and Mary made me look shapely despite my stick-figure.Her pricing is better than any bridal shop or seamstress, and her work is excellent. Not only is Mary a good deal for her awesome quality of work, she is also a pleasure to work with. She is fun and funny. She made me feel more relaxed about the big day and even provided me with an emergency sewing kit.I wish I had also taken my bridesmaids dresses to her for alterations. I had assumed she only did wedding gowns.

I needed a number of alterations done on my dress (due to some bad advice regarding size when ordering the dress) and Mary did a fantastic job. Walking into her shop, you can see how well-regarded she is in her area. She has a shop in her basement and the walls are lined with happy brides and stuffed full of garment bags full of dresses. Mary was very professional in her work and finished all of the alterations on time and impeccably. She even attached a blue ribbon as one of my bustle ribbons to ensure that I had my something blue. My dress had a satin lining with a netting overlay that had lace appliques that needed to be removed to be altered - all the alterations had to be done on both the lining and the overlay. The dress was hemmed, taken in a size, bra cups sewn in, the halter strap shortened, and given a 6 point bustle. Total cost $225. I definitely recommend her.

Mary was amazing to work with - she is efficient, skilled, professional, friendly, and I felt like I could trust her expertise completely. Mary knows wedding dresses and how to make them fit beautifully. She is patient during fittings and truly makes sure that the bride is comfortable with the changes-big or small-that she is making.

She was able to transform my A-line dress into the mermaid gown that I had dreamed of. On my wedding day, my dress fit perfectly. I would recommend her to anyone!!

I highly recommend Mary! She is so helpful, honest, and fantastic at her job! I dropped a whole dress size between my 2 & 3rd fitting as she told me I would and she fixed it right there for me two days before the wedding! The dress fit comfortable and perfect to me! She was definately worth double what she charged me for. Very reasonably priced. My mother, grandma, and bridesmaids went to her and she only charged them about $30! She is amazing and everything she recommended and told me was dead on! Listen to her and appreciate her opinion and honesty!

Mary Mary Mary! You did such a great job on my wedding dress!I'm SO thankful Freyda referred me to you! You have such a talent that blew me away! You are so detailed and thoughtful!Mary did my alterations for my wedding dress! I was very particular of course. She had to take it in three different times! My made it fit me like a glove!I can't tell you what she did so I don't spoil the surprise but she has something that she does as her signature! Brides, you will love it!I will tell you this:BOOK EARLY! Like 4-7 months in ADVANCE! She is SOOOO good that she books too fast!She literally does it out of her own home.She is very smart as you will see her accessories! Ladies if you don't have them yet, MARY does! :)She is so honest! She will tell you what looks good and why you should wear it a certain way, without stepping on your toes of course.My wedding dress had a corset back and she knew how to tie it properly. She told me about girls that don't put it on right and you get the back fat as a result. Mary is soooo good!I don't have enough nice things to say about her!She has everything ready as promised. Don't be late, since she is so busy everything is back to back.YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! Her prices are VERY reasonable too! She basically tore my dress apart and put it back together!On one of my vists she made a christening dress for someone that used her mother in laws old wedding dress. Again she is very talented!BOOK EARLY, you will be such a HAPPY BRIDE/person!Thank you again MARY!THUMBS UP!

Mary is a GREAT! She made my dress look perfect at a reasonable price, I bought a sample gown so she had to take out a little bit and hem it for me. I also bought a sash that I wanted built in to the dress and she did a great job. She also did the alterations for 3 of my bridesmaids and she was very reasonable in pricing. Do no get alterations at the bridal salons as they overcharged. I'm glad I found Mary, she was on the recommendation list provide by Wedding Belles where i bought my dress and she also has wonderful reviews on all weddingboards. She also custom makes veils, and she sells wonderful jewelry. Thanks Mary for everything.

If you've perused theknot.com Chicago wedding boards at all, you've undoubtedly seen recommendations for Mary Catomy. She does professional alterations out of her home at very reasonable prices. She's located in Schiller Park (near the O'Hare). I didn't need too many alterations done to my dress (which I ordered online), so I really didn't want to pay the high prices quoted by many bridal stores.Mary was able to fit me in her schedule and did an amazing job bustling and taking in my gown. She also steamed it so it hung beautifully on the big day. And on top of that, she was able to make me the short, simple veil I was looking for. One-stop shop!

Mary was so wonderful - her many years of experience made this such an easy breezy process. Get into the dress, have her assess, come back at the next appt and try it out - perfect!Mary's prices were extremely reasonable and she did such a wonderful job altering the dress and making my veil. She is extremely popular so please call in advance to get on her calendar!

Mary is GREAT and my dress was perfect! She books up quickly though so make sure you call her as early as possible! She is kind of hard to get to too but it is worth it. She is very inexpensive and does an amazing job. She sells great acessories too. I got a beautiful flower hair comb and earrings for $20 each, stuff that would be $100+ in bridal stores. Book her now! ;)

Mary was great! I found her reading other brides blogs. I was nervous about finding a wedding dress seamstress/alterations, and she fit the bill. Very reasonably priced and she did a great job with my dress. I went through 4 fittings. She took into account that brides will want to lose weight, and reassured me that she would have the dress ready when she said she would, 2 days prior to the wedding making sure the dress was a perfect fit. She also took into account the dancing I would do and did a great job with bustling the dress. She idiot proofed the connections to make sure my girls would be able to tie me up in a snap!I can't say enough good things about her. She was a delight to work with and asked questions to decide how to bustle the dress. And the cost was at least half of what I would have paid at a bridal store!!!!BTW, she does not need to advertise - that is how great she is - she gets business by word of mouth!

Mary was amazing from head to start. I had my wedding gown hemmed, bust adjusted, and bustle put in by her. The bustle was beautiful, she even put in a blue ribbon for my something blue. She also altered my Chinese qipao for five bucks. Most amazingly, with less than a month before the wedding, I had a very last minute request to remove the crinoline in my dress, and she was not only super accommodating, she was very fast and efficient. Her prices are extremely reasonable. She also makes veils, and I saw a very beautiful bolero she was making for one of her brides. I would recommend her to any bride!

Mary is amazing! She was so talented, affordable, and flexible. She was able to make me a beautiful lace shrug that got rave reviews at my wedding, and took care of everything I asked for on my wedding dress. She even shortened it at the last minute because I was nervous I would step on it during our first dance. And, above all, she is incredibly affordable. Thanks, Mary!

Mary is the woman you want altering your dress. She is PHENOMENAL! Her prices are unbeatable and she's such a pleasure to work with! I cannot say enough good about Mary -- she was truly amazing to work with! When my bustle came untied a bit and we called her on a SATURDAY NIGHT DURING MY WEDDING RECEPTION, she answered and walked us through bustling the dress the proper way. She goes over and beyond for her brides and is truly one-of-a-kind. I highly recommend Mary!

I was so happy that I had an experience with Mary Catomy .The boutique was specious and carry all kinds of gorgeous pieces. And I loved atmosphere in it - very relaxing and stuff is very helpful.

Mary is such a sweetheart. She not only did a great job with her craftsmanship, but she made every decision easy for me at a time when I just had too many decisions to make! I bought a sample size dress and she fit it to me perfectly and offered options for me without inserting her opinions until she could see that I was desperate for them! I even got a few accessories while in her workshop (her basement) for the flower girl -- a cute gold headband and sweet shrug. Mary's a fun lady to work with and if I have any other alterations to make to my dresses, she is the first person I will call!

Mary is absolutely the best! I had 2 wedding dresses including one that was my Mom's and over 53 years old. She did an incredible job. She was so willing to help with everything including some last minute alterations for my Mom's dress.

Mary was fabulous. She was always on time, and even let me come in for my appointment 2 hours early (because I entered the wrong time into my calendar and was confused).Her alterations fit to a T. We initially agreed on boob pads (she's known as the boob fairy for a reason), but after a few days, I decided I didn't want them. Out they went, with no additional charge or fuss. She knows how picky brides can be, and how often they change their minds too.I never felt rushed by Mary. The cost was the lowest of all the places I looked as well. She only charged me for the final product, none of the in between steps, and her initial estimate was the same as the final! No funny business with her! And I saw many many smiling brides picking up or dropping off their gowns at her home, so she clearly makes many people happy.There are some pictures in her studio of dresses she has MADE, which are gorgeous beyond words, so she can do that as well.

Mary was a doll to work with. She used to make my husbands Halloween costumes and did his moms wedding alterations, so I knew I would use her! I was really worried about the size of my dress, it was a little big when I bought it, and by the time the wedding came around, I had lost an additional 15 pounds. That was no problem, she handled it all and made my worries go away. I actually changed a lot of construction of the dress, as well. It should have been poof-ier, but she was able to make it much more fitted without giving me a hard time, like many others probably might have! I love the bustle she did for my gown, and it was so easy for the girls to do. It never fell out during the night. She also did my veil, wraps for the girls, found the brooches I gave the girls, some of the girls alterations, altered my fur wrap, and made my sisters dress when she freaked out about her other one only 3 weeks before the wedding. She really eased a lot of stress that I had building up prior to the wedding! I will absolutely go back to her for my alterations this year.

Mary is just amazing!!! She just altered my wedding gown for my wedding in May and it turned out exactly how I wanted it. We needed to do some major changes and she was awesome throughout the process. She is also reasonable when it comes to price, its insane-she keeps costs down because she works out of her house. I could not have been happier with her work!!

Mary was awesome. Upon receiving my dress it did not fit and I wanted to cry. I know I did not gain weight since I was the same size when ordering, so I don't know what went wrong there. Mary was able to make me a "Victorian" style back with the cross ties ...can't remember the exact word for it now. She shortened my dress and added a bustle that was very easy to tie. I was very happy with the results. She also fixed my sisters dress and did a great job. I was a little worried with the mixed reviews, but the dress turned out beautiful.

Mary is a complete doll and is super talented. She works out of her basement in Schiller Park (out by O'Hare), but is definitely worth the drive. She took in the sides of my dress and did my bustle and added a row of tulle to my crinoline, took in the elastic waistband of my crinoline and made my red reception dress and had me there for about 6 fittings for both dresses since my weight fluctuated so much before my wedding - all of this and she only charged me $125!!!!!!!