7 Top Tips How To Care For Your Wedding Dress

7 Top Tips How To Care For Your Wedding Dress...

Once you have tied the knot, the next most important thing on your to do list is this.

When you return from your dream honeymoon is trying to work out how to look after your dress so it can withstand the test of time.

Like most brides today, you will have invested heavily in your beautiful dress which is why you should aim to preserve it, to keep it safe.

Actually preservation is the watch word here.

There are professional "preservation wizards" who work in museums around the world and their sole responsibility it is to preserve antique garments for future generations.

These preservation professionals know exactly how to future proof old dresses (as well as new ones like yours).

The advice below is based on their knowledge and so without further ado, here's their essential tips to help you keep your dress looking gorgeous for the rest of eternity.

 

1.) Don't remove the wedding dress from the bag

Number one of the list 7 Top Tips How To Care For Your Wedding Dress is this.

For the time being, you should keep your dress in the bag which was given to you by your wedding dress designer.

Those super heavy duty bags are the safest way to store your dress until you get it professionally cleaned.

The bags were designed specifically to preserve wedding dresses from harmful mould spores, dampness or mildew.

The kinds of hidden harmful spores which may be present in the wardrobe, closet or room where the dress is kept.

However, the danger is that these hidden spores can cause long term damage to the delicate fabrics used to create your gown.

You may be tempted to allow the dress room to "breathe" or to hang it but it is really important that the dress stays put in the bag for the time being.

 

2. Never attempt to clean any stains at home yourself

The temptation to try to remove any spots or stains yourself will be so hard to resist, however resist you must.

If you try to clean any marks at home yourself using Vanish, soap or any other home remedies for stain removal could end up causing long term damage.

It's always best to leave cleaning any stains or marks to a professional dry cleaning specialist.

If you Google wedding dress dry cleaner near me, undoubtedly there will be a professional nearby who you can entrust to do this properly.

A word of warning though - dry cleaning a wedding dress is an expensive business.

It definitely won't come cheap but it will be an investment which you can pass onto your daughter.... when she eventually marries.

 

 

3. If you have the room, try to keep the dress laying flat

And at number 3, of 7 Top Tips How To Care For Your Wedding Dress is this.

One of your greatest challenges is trying to keep the dress in the original shape as no doubt you will have already noticed!

And sadly, hanging a wedding dress on a hanger is a short term solution.

The longer the dress hangs on a hanger, the more likely it is to become misshapen.

Dress can sag and stretch when hung on a hanger which is why bridal designers often advise their gowns are lay down flat as opposed to be hung in the long term.

That said, not everyone has the luxury of a spare bedroom in which to lay their dress flat!

So if you are not able to lie the dress down and have no option but to use a hanger, then make sure you do this.

Hang the dress using the internal satin straps inside and not the actual shoulders of the garment.

Hanging from the dress shoulders will cause your dress to become permanently deformed, especially for a prolonged period of time.

 

4. Why you should have your wedding dress professionally cleaned

You will have invested heavily in your wedding dress, so it makes sense to invest in having the dress cleaned by a professional.

Furthermore, the sooner it is cleaned the better.

If you have any stains, the longer they sit in the fabric the harder it will be to remove them.

So who should you turn to for this delicate task?

Ideally a specialist dry cleaning professional who has experience with wedding dresses.

The way in which the professional dry cleaner will clean your dress will preserve it for decades to come.

They work with specialised cleaning products to remove any unwanted marks or stains from the day.

These people also employ seamstresses to make good any minor repairs if required.

Then once the dress is cleaned and repaired, there are then three options available to you in terms of long term storage.

 

5.) Box

The clue is in the name!

Quite simply, a huge oversized box that has been made using acid free materials.

This can't be emphasised enough.

If you use a substandard material to box your dress up, there's a chance that residual moisture could get into the box.

This could damage your dress with all the usual suspect mentioned above.

Namely mould spores, mildew or dampness which can permanently damage the delicate fabrics.

But a top notch acid free box with acid free paper will preserve your dress from any nasty spores as well as keeping the integrity of the fabric without creasing.

Another positive from using a box to preserve your dress is that your gown can breathe inside the box.

The beauty of this type of preservation is also that it will be easy for you to regularly check your dress from time to time.

It is well advised to use gloves when handling the dress from here on in as even clean hands can leaves marks on a fabric.

 

6.) Seal

To seal a wedding dress is the most cost effective options when it comes to keeping your gown safe in the long term however.....

There are a few cons to this method of preservation.

Firstly, you won't be able to check on it, in the same way which you can if it's boxed.

Once it's sealed, it simply can't be un-sealed.

If you want to access the dress, essentially the seal will need to be broken and a new seal will need to be purchased.

Secondly, when you seal a dress in this way, it results in permanent creases which will make it very hard for it to be worn again.

In a nutshell, this form of preservation is as a keep safe or sorts, a memento I suppose.

 

7.)  Bag

The bag method or simply 'bagging' is how the museum wizards preserve their ancient costumes, dresses and fabrics for posterity in their museums.

So what does that look like in terms of a wedding dress?

The advice is as per no.1 on this list.

The garment be kept inside a large cotton bag, possibly the one you were given by your dress designer if it's deemed good enough by your professional dry cleaner?

If not, they will supply you with the correct bag to last the ages.

So, the dress can be hung on a special padded hanger, using the inside satin straps.

From here, apparently the dress can either be hung or folded over once though all the usual caveat apply (see above).

 

So that's it.

If you want to beautifully preserve your wedding dress for the next generation, take a look over the various options above and work out which is the best fit for you.

I haven't got a wedding dress myself but if I did, I know which option I would go for!!!

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