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You spend countless hours poring through pictures of beautiful wedding gowns, try on many samples, and finally find that one dream wedding dress. After so much care has been put into selecting that once-in-a-lifetime dress, it is important to reserve it properly after the wedding day has passed. Learn how to care for your bridal gown after the wedding so that it will last for generations.
The very first step in caring for your wedding gown is to have it professionally dry cleaned. It is best to do this as soon after the wedding as is practical. If you are headed off on an extended honeymoon, ask your mother or maid of honor to take care of taking the gown to the cleaner's for you so it can be cleaned before stains have time to set in. Do your research on dry cleaners before the wedding. Many regular cleaners do not know how to properly clean and press a bridal gown. Look for a dry cleaner who specializes in bridal and formal wear. That goes double if your gown has beading, buttons, lace, or is made of silk. Depending on where you live, you may well have to ship your gown off to a specialist to get this service, but it is worth it to know that your precious gown is in good hands.
It is important to get your wedding dress cleaned even if you do not see any visible marks or stains. The tiniest splash of champagne will oxidize into a brown spot over time, and the perspiration marks which you may not see will turn yellow. By the time those stains oxidize and become visible, they may be permanent and nearly impossible to remove. Of course, preventing stains is another excellent care tip for your wedding gown. Brides who are wearing dresses with sleeves may wish to have thin garment shields stitched into the underarm area of the dress (glamorous, no, but highly practical). I have even known brides who served only white wine at their wedding for fear of what a splash of red wine could do to their wedding dress!
Once your gown is clean, it is time to pack it away. Leaving the gown hanging up is not the best long term solution, as the weight of the fabric will invariably cause the dress to stretch out. A flat box is the proper way to store a bridal gown. And not just any box will do; It should be an archival acid free box specifically designed for long-term garment conservation and storage. Your dry cleaner or bridal shop may offer an archival boxing service, or you may obtain the supplies from an archival catalog geared towards museum preservationists. The gown should be placed over an acid free bust form to maintain the shape of the bodice, and then loosely folded with acid free tissue between the folds and wrapped around the dress.
Never seal the box or use plastic, as this can cause dry rot and fabric deterioration. Take your wedding gown out of the box to refold it (and to admire it, of course!) Annually. It is ideal to wear a pair of white cotton gloves to handle the gown so that the natural oils in your hands do not get on the fabric of your clean bridal gown. Brides often wonder if they should store their bridal jewelry, veil, headpiece, and shoes in the same box as their gown. If you wish to store your veil in the box, take extra care to wrap the metal comb of the veil with tissue and to place it away from the gown; otherwise the metal comb can make rust marks on your dress. Shoes are too dirty to store in the same box as your pristine gown, and your bridal jewelry is too precious to pack away and not use. The best advice is to dye the shoes black if possible and to wear your bridal jewelry as often as you can. That way you will get the best use out of those special wedding accessories. Then slide the box with your carefully packed bridal gown flat under a bed (better than a hot attic or a damp basement), and rest assured that your beautiful wedding gown will be preserved for your future daughter to wear one day.
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Source by Laura Firenze
