Storing and preserving your wedding gown is a great way to keep the lovely memories of your big day alive. Keeping the dress looking as stunning as it did on your special day allows your future generations to make use of it too. At the same time, you can create your very own family heirloom.
Do Not Simply Hang The Dress on a Hanger
More often than not, brides merely hang their wedding gown on a hanger after their big day. They think that the dress looks clean and can stay in good shape in their wardrobe. Nevertheless, this is hardly the case, as delicate fabrics and additional items are prone to discoloration and fading. In addition, the wedding dress can become moldy if it is not properly cleaned and stored.
Wedding gowns that are not professionally cleaned before being preserved are at risk of staining due to oil marks, perspiration, and food that is often invisible to the naked eye. When you want to store your wedding dress, there are several factors that you need to consider, which include the right place to store it, the type of material of the container (some brides prefer cardboard boxes to plastics), and many more.
Actions Prior to Storing The Wedding Dress
To ensure that your dress remains unblemished throughout the years to come, it should be cleaned preferably after it is worn. You want to find a professional preservation company that you can trust with your gown. There are DIY options, however, make sure you understand the risks before attempting this on your own.
The 3 Best Places to Store a Wedding Gown
The best way to store and preserve your wedding gown is to send it to a specialist. The storage and preserving methods are extremely essential, as your gown needs to be protected from contaminants without compromising its originality. If you prefer storing the dress yourself, please follow the next invaluable advice:
1. Acid-free boxes.
Typically, wedding gowns are stored in plastic garment boxes or bags. Plastic bags usually give off fumes, which can eventually cause the gown’s material to fade or discolor. For that reason, the best place where your gown should be kept securely is in an acid-free box.
2. An environment that offers stable temperature and moisture conditions.
Places where inconsistent temperatures are the order of the day can speed up fabric deterioration immensely. To conserve the fabric for countless years to come, it is highly desirable to keep the acid-free box in a place where the humidity and temperature is more or less constant. Ensure furthermore, that you avoid areas that are open to direct sunlight, as it can cause the fabric to discolor or fade over time.
3. Unpolluted air conditions.
When you store your wedding dress in an environment that contains pollutants, such as the steam from your kitchen or cigarette smoke, it could be infused with terrible odors. In addition, it puts the dress at risk of yellowing from all the airborne dirt particles.
It is highly recommended that you choose a specialist to clean and preserve your wedding dress at least a month before your nuptial. That allows you enough time to learn more about the specialist and the way that she cleans and preserves a gown. It is also best to entrust your maid of honor or a sibling with sending the dress for cleaning right after your wedding day, so that you can enjoy your honeymoon without worrying about anything!
Photo credit: killrbeez / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)
