Once your big day comes to end and you take off your wedding dress, you might think to yourself, “what am I going to do with this beautiful gown now?” We have already covered the topic on various possibilities for the future here. But until then, how do you preserve your wedding dress?
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Garment Bag
The most common way to preserve your wedding dress is to store it in a garment bag. Garment bags are usually very affordable and come in various sizes, colors, and styles. Although garment bags are great for temporary storage and transportation of the dress, it does not offer a lifelong guarantee. Following risks occur when you do not preserve your dress correctly: yellowing of fabric, brown oxidation spots, mold and mildew growth and permanent fabric creasing and so forth. To avoid this, we will be going through some tips and tricks to guide you to the right preservation.
Style: #LD5066; Image Credit: Kristine Krupenny Photography
What should you know?
When it comes to preserving your wedding dress there are three major things to take into consideration; dress fabrics, timing, and budget. These three factors play an important role in the quality you will be receiving to ensure that your wedding dress is properly preserved.
1) Dress Fabrics
Each dress is unique to its bride and might have its own characteristics. While some are very sleek, others can be covered in intricate lacing and beading. Although the dresses could not be more different, they should be handled in the same careful manner. Standard dry cleaning is not recommended for your gown. Depending on your dress’s fabric, stitching and details specialists will create a unique treatment plan to avoid harming the delicate fabric.
Style: #CWVT15002
2) Timing
I think a majority of us have made this unseemingly mistake by just packing our gown away with no further thought. But behold, it is more harmful than we think! There might be invisible stains that you do not see, e.g. white wine or other things that dry clear, that will stain darker over time. Sadly these stains are usually a pale yellow and can turn into dark brown if left untreated. So time is key for your wedding dress preservation! The sooner you get your dress to a specialist, the better!
3) Budget
When you think about how high preservations costs are, you might start to doubt your decision on keeping your dress as good as new. Preservation costs can range anywhere between $250 to $700, or even exceed depending on what kind of treatment your dress is getting. A good way to avoid sudden expenses is to include the wedding dress preservation in your wedding budget. By doing this there will be no unexpected surprises.
Style: #LD5359; Image Credit: Jay Lemus Photography
In addition, I would also like to add on that many online companies now offer so-called “Wedding Dress Preservation Kits”. From the comfort of your home, you can mail in your dress and receive notifications on your wedding dress preservation until you receive back it in its pre-wedding state.
I hope this article helps you with your decision on preserving your beautiful gown for years to come.
