The dos and don’ts of wedding gown preservation

Your wedding gown is clearly an expensive buy. It is not only delicate but also holds sentimental value for you. Therefore, once the wedding day is over, you must take the right precautions to make sure that the gown stays pristine for years to come. Gown cleaning and preservation isn’t easy, but it’s no rocket science either. Luckily, we have few reliable service providers providing quality wedding gown preservation services around. So, here’s a brief lowdown of the dos and don’ts of gown preservation. So, let’s get started!

The dos of wedding dress preservation

• The dress has to be cleaned thoroughly before being preserved. Thus, you can either opt for it after the honeymoon, or perhaps ask someone close to sending it to wedding dress cleaners right after the wedding. Find a company that specializes in removing marks and stains from delicate garments.
• Keep the wedding gown away from light, heat, and damp areas. Store it in a dry room – especially one that doesn’t have a history of mold or insects.
• Check for online reviews and find out if the gown preservation service you’ve selected has enough experience in cleaning and preservation of delicate attires. Also, not all gowns need the same level of treatment. Some need better care than others because some come with more designs and embellishments than others. Always look for a gown cleaning service that uses virgin solvents and other gentle cleaning agents.
• Make sure that the company uses acid-free tissue and pH-neutral packaging materials.
• Try to opt for preservation boxes that don’t use sealed boxes. This would allow you to rearrange the dress every 10-12 months, and thereby prevent the dress from permanent damage from excessive creasing. Moreover, storing the dress in an unsealed box would allow you to take it out from time to time and to run a quick inspection.
• Lay the gown flat (as much as possible). If you must hang the dress, do it by the loops located inside the gown, and never by the shoulder straps, else the dress runs the risk of getting out of shape or sagging from the seams.
• It’s always a good idea to opt for a cleaning service that doesn’t make use of third parties and does the job itself. Make sure that you get in touch with specialists who are known for handling the cleaning and preservation part themselves. This comes in quite handy when the gown has a stain that needs special attention followed by a proper preservation process.

The don’ts of wedding gown preservation

• If you are planning on storing the dress for a long time to come, make sure you opt for a genuine and professional gown preservation company that uses acid-free storage boxes. Do not settle for wooden boxes, simple cardboard boxes, or plastic dress covers as they do not offer protection from humidity, light, or other environmental factors.
• Never use or pick a fabric or cardboard box as these aren’t acid-free and thus, may lead to the gown eventually losing its sheen and colors.
• It is never a good idea to wrap the wedding gown in colored tissue paper. Even if you’re opting for a DIY gown preservation technique, use acid-free white tissue paper only.
• Most reliable wedding gown preservation companies ask people not to hang the gown as the hangar puts unnecessary pressure on the seams. In fact, long usage of a hangar can cause the gown to lose its shape.
• Never store the gown where there’s moisture or a place that experiences major temperature changes. Sometimes, the gown may be bulky and may take a lot of space in the wardrobe, but it should still be stored in a safe place.