A wedding may not be on everyone’s agenda right now but for countless ladies, it’s a dream come true – especially, if you’ve managed to bag the wedding of your dreams. It’s an unforgettable moment that you share with people you love and a big step in life with your favorite person. For a day you cherish, you would want to have a keepsake that will always remind you of the perfect day; it could be anything, but the most common object a bride would choose as a memento would be her wedding gown.
No matter what your plans are for your wedding gown (unless you just want to trash it), you will have to make sure that it stays untarnished – this means being knowledgeable in the dos and don’ts in the preservation of wedding dress. Cleaning and preserving a wedding dress aren’t rocket science, but there are numerous things to take into consideration.
Do’s
- Make sure you store your wedding gown in the right place. This means ultimately avoiding damp places with a history of molds and insects. A spare bedroom with enough ventilation is the perfect place to stow your dress.
- After use, make sure you get your dress laundered by a professional wedding dress cleaner. Even if you think that your dress wouldn’t be that dirty after a day of use, chances are, stains and marks have already accumulated; it might be hard to see for yourself, but professionals know what to look for.
- If you are getting your gown dry-cleaned, always make sure that the cleaners have a policy where they cover the whole worth of the dress just in case they mess it up beyond recognition.
- Wedding dress preservation also means considering the type of box your dress goes into if you decide to store it in one. Keep in mind that the box must be sturdy and acid-free. Investing in one is a great idea and will help you in the long run to preserve your wedding gown.
- If you don’t have an acid-free box, a garment bag is the next best thing. Laying your gown as flat as possible is the suitable way. Most of the time, the shop you bought or ordered your dress from would suggest this over anything else.
Don’ts
- Don’t wrap your wedding gown in plastic or any colored tissue paper; plastic will trap moisture inside, leading to the growth of molds, while colored tissue papers usually leave stains in the long run. Always opt for acid-free paper or stick with a good quality garment bag.
- Don’t just randomly leave your dress for dry-cleaning without looking at the history of the cleaners. A little research goes a long way and is the safest bet for your dress. To wedding gown preservation, don’t think about the price but the quality of work.
- Storing your gown in the basement or the attic is a big no-no. Basements and attics do not have enough ventilation and are the best places for mold build-up because it is moist. Even if you do put your dress inside a wedding preservation box, there is no assurance that your dress could come out unscathed.
- Do not handle your dress barehanded or when you just touched something else. It’s better to handle it with gloves on or after you’ve washed your hands. You also have to ensure that you aren’t wearing lotion, make-up, or anything with harmful chemicals. The best way is to take a shower before handling your dress so you don’t leave damaging residues that could stick to the gown. These residues are the culprit to yellow staining.
- Do not forget to check on your gown once in a while but also avoid touching it all the time.
Gown preservation is a painstakingly infallible method to make sure that your dress lasts a lifetime. It may be a little extreme at times (and quite costly) but it’s worth it.
