January 4, 2008

Preserving Your Wedding Gown

The rice has been thrown, the wedding favors handed out and all the gifts have been opened. Your wedding day has come and gone. So what do you do with the perfect dress now its purpose has passed?

If saving your gown for sentimental reasons, or the hope that one day your own daughter will one day waltz down the aisle wearing it, then its first step to longevity has to be having it professionally cleaned. Preferably within 30 days of the reception.

Before that cleaning process begins make sure to duly note and discuss any and all stains incurred on your wedding day with your cleaner. Be sure to stress before any "heroic" steps are taken to remove stubborn stains, that the cleaner disclose exactly what risks you would be taking by doing so. Not all fabrics handle well under the pressure of extreme cleaning solvents and neither do a lot of different types of beading. Using the services of a knowledgeable wedding dress cleaner will go a long way to ensuring your peace of mind that the dress will emerge as beautiful as it was on the day of your wedding.

Once cleaned, the dress must be readied for storage and should never be enclosed in plastic or hermetically sealed. Gases created and trapped by the plastic could cause unsightly staining or yellowing of the gown. Instead the gown should be wrapped and stored in tissues and boxes that are acid and lignin free such as those used by museums when storing archival textiles.

Acid free tissue should also be used between the folds of the dress so as to avoid causing permanent wrinkles or fold lines.

Once boxed, your storage location for your dress should be chosen carefully. Basements or attics where humidity and temperature vary greatly are not ideal conditions. Rather, boxes should be stored in bedroom or linen closets or even under a bed where air can gently circulate to give a consistent and stable environment.

Once stored, experts suggest airing the dress out to inspect it every 5-7 years to ensure the lasting quality and integrity of the fabric, and to ensure that new aging stains have not emerged as time elapses. If new stains are spotted, another trip to your drycleaners is in order before the careful professional repackaging of the dress for its next 5-7 year period.

By taking as much care with your dress after your wedding day as you did in choosing it, you can preserve your gown for many years.

©2008 Weddingstar Inc.