If you have purchased your wedding dress and you want to make sure you store it properly, then this episode is for you! Today I’m sharing expert tips about looking after your wedding dress before and after your Big Day – a HUGE thank you to this week’s guest, Bridal Gown Cleaning, for sending in some fabulous tips.
Before the wedding: storing the dress at home
- Hoover your room
- Close your curtains/blinds to keep the sunlight from fading your gown
- Place a clean, white sheet on the floor under your gown
- Use white gloves to avoid staining
- Take your gown out of the bridal store bag if it’s plastic and non-breathable
- Hang the gown on a strong wooden hanger
- Cover with a white duvet sheet, with an opening to the end, allowing the train to hang
- If your dress is vintage or too delicate to hang, place it flat on a bed covered under and over by a white sheet
Things to consider when storing your dress
Temperature – Make sure you store your wedding dress in an area that is cool and mildew-free.
Longevity – Protect your dress by keeping it away from other clothing and away from coloured tissue paper or tissue paper with acid.
Lighting – Light can turn your white dress yellow, so keep it in a dimly lit or dark space.
Humidity – An air conditioned home, or one with a humidifier, is a good place to store your wedding dress.
Right before the wedding
To keep it in a dry room, in a breathable dress bag,
Avoid trying on the dress a lot as oils and (any dirt or make-up) that are on your hands can transfer and cause staining after time.
The week before the wedding the gown should be taken out of the hanging bag or preservation box and hung to let any creases fall out of it. Make sure to hoover the room before taking out the gown, as any floor dust may leave marks on the gown. Place a white sheet on the floor under where the gown will be hanging and place a white duvet cover over the gown to keep it from prying eyes.
After the wedding: wedding dress preservation
Bridal Gown Cleaning share more about their gown preservation services:
We offer a preservation boxing service. The storage boxes are acid free and ph neutral, this is the only way to prevent the gown from oxidising over time.
Unfortunately most brides wouldn’t be aware of this and believe once they have the gown cleaned, that it will be safe from further staining.
Unfortunately all fabric will age if not stored correctly, the aging process appears quicker on lighter fabrics, you can see it turning yellow “oxidising” as the fabrics break down.
We would advise all brides to avail of a clean and preservation service at the same time to prevent this occurring.
We offer nationwide collection with cleaning of gown, veil, acid free preservation boxing and return delivery.
A few cleaning tips from Bridal Gown Cleaning:
I would recommend that they book the cleaning of the gown the same time they are booking all other wedding related services, not to be left disappointed if their chosen cleaning specialist is booked up. We are usually booked out 3 weeks to a month in advance, but popular dates and months can book out faster. Make sure that the couple include the cleaning and preservation in the wedding budget.
Also cutting the hanging loops off the bridal gown will decrease the cost of the gown if selling after the big day, especially if it’s an off the shoulder gown, as it makes it very difficult to clean and to hang for pictures the morning of the wedding. It’s very easy to prevent them from popping out on the day, once the bride steps into the gown, they can pop their hand up either side of the gown from underneath the skirt and pull the loops down at either side.
