How to Effectively Preserve Your Wedding Dress Before It’s Too Late

How to Effectively Preserve Your Wedding Dress Before It’s Too Late

Among your wedding purchases, a wedding dress is probably the most expensive one at an average cost of $1,300, considering that you only get to wear it once. Whatever you plan to do with your gown right after your wedding, it is only right to have it cleaned and preserved after spending a significant chunk of money on it.

Whether you want to keep a beautiful memory of your wedding day, or you want to hand it down to your daughter and granddaughter when they get married, preserving your wedding gown is one of the best things that you can do. Here are some practical ways on how you can preserve your wedding dress before it’s too late.

Keep your gown safe before the wedding.

Before saying, “I do,” the number one thing that you should consider is to make sure that your wedding dress is handled with care. You would not want to walk down the aisle with your gown full of food stains and mud. Aside from food, drinks, and dust, pollens can also cause invisible stains to your dress, which are more harmful than other dyes. Ask your florist to remove the buds of your bouquet and not put it near you while doing your makeup. 

When you bring your wedding dress to the hotel or your room, make sure to put it on its appropriate garment bag with a hanger. Do not fold it as much as possible and keep it away from getting fold lines. Also, put your accessories in an acid-free tissue paper to avoid any damage. 

Lastly, the last thing that you should wear before heading out to the ceremony is your wedding dress, to avoid all possible kinds of stains while you are still doing your hair and makeup. Wear a robe or a dress instead so that you only have to wear your gown when you are all prepared.

Clean your dress right after the wedding.

Cleaning your wedding dress might not be the first thing that you can think about right after your wedding, but it is a must to do so. The reason is that you will not have enough time to bring it to the cleaning and preservation company, so you must find a way to keep it secured in the meantime. You can ask your mother, siblings, or friends to do it, but if there is no one available to have it cleaned right away, follow these tips:

  • Place your wedding dress on its garment bag accordingly. Do not wrap it on plastic because it can cause more stains. 
  • Hang it on a hanger and make sure that it is well put in the garment bag and put it away from light to avoid any moisture that can cause yellow stains on the dress.
  • Put it somewhere isolated from any food and drinks and cover it with a white cotton sheet to avoid any stains. Also, store it in a room that is not too dusty because even though you put it inside a garment bag, dust may still settle in the dress. 
  • Call your cleaning and preservation company. Ask for tips on how you can store it safely while waiting for free time to deliver it to them. Follow their advice to keep your wedding dress safe and clean. 

These are just precautionary measures to keep your gown safe while you do not have the time to have it cleaned. Make sure to deliver it right away to the cleaning and preservation company so they can start the deep cleaning and check any further damage if there is.

Do more than just dry cleaning your dress. 

If you think that having your wedding dress dry cleaned is enough, please reconsider. While it is more convenient to just bring your gown to the nearest dry-cleaning in your neighborhood, it is much safer to have it cleaned by experts not later than six months. While your local cleaners might be the best in removing stains on your shirts and casual dresses, gown cleaning is another thing.

Fabric experts use high technology such as UV lights to detect invisible stains on your gown that cannot be seen by our naked eye. They also use the most advanced cleaning system to deep clean your dress and make sure that no stain is left untreated. 

Aside from deep cleaning, master seamstresses also do repairs on your wedding gowns such as damaged embellishments and tattered fabrics to make it look brand new. It will be delivered to you safely, looking like it’s the first time you are wearing it.

Pro tip: Do not be afraid to ask wedding gown companies any questions that you are curious about. They are always ready to help and give you answers, so prepare all your questions and ask away. 

Look for a safe place to store your gown.

Right after getting your gown from the cleaning and preservation company, store it in a safe place in your house. Do not just place it anywhere, especially in areas with extreme temperatures, light, and humidity. It will cause more harm to your gown than good, even if you already have it cleaned and preserved.

Put your gown in a cool and dry environment with a relative humidity of 50 percent. Avoid putting it in the attic and basement as well, because attics are too hot while basements are damp and are prone to flooding. Store it in places where you are sure confident enough not to get it stained for the second time around. 

If you do not have any containers or storage for your gown, ask your preservation company if they have any storage units available to keep your gown safe. Again, do not hesitate to ask questions because it can help you a lot in making sure that your wedding dress is well maintained.

Check your gown with the utmost care.

The first thing that you would want to do when getting your gown after it has been cleaned is to check if there are any missed damage. While you are too excited to check it, make sure to handle it with utmost care to avoid any damage. 

Wash your hands before taking it out of the box and make sure that you are not wearing any lotion or perfumes because there is a high possibility that it can transfer to the fabric. It is best if you keep white cotton gloves with you so you can freely touch your gown without any worries of getting it stained. Experts suggest checking your dress every two to three years and refold it. That way, you can see if there are dust and stains settled in the gown while you keep it stored.

Getting your gown cleaned and restored might just be another addition to your post-wedding to-do-list, but we guarantee you that it is a must-do right after your wedding. However, if you are not yet sure whether you want your dress to get cleaned and preserved, there is nothing to worry about. 

Also Read: 8 MUST-DO CHECKLIST RIGHT AFTER YOUR WEDDING DAY

Trusted Wedding Gown Preservation Company can help restore gowns that are kept uncleaned for a long time. Using a high standard cleaning and preservation technology, our fabric experts can do wonders on your dress and make it look brand new. Contact us today for any gown preservation and cleaning needs.