After the wedding, the gown that you spent hundreds of dollars on needs to be cleaned and properly preserved, otherwise it will become little more than an expensive lump of fabric. The average cost of wedding dress cleaning has been on the rise in recent years, with some companies charging more to preserve the gown than you spent when you bought it. When you seek out a dress cleaning service there are three general options, all with their own price points.
Dry Cleaning
The cheapest and simplest way to preserve the gown is by having it dry cleaned the day after the wedding. There is no special preparation to do before you take it to the site. All you need to do is place the dress in a garment bag and take it to the store. The average cost of wedding dress cleaning using this method is around $150, but there are some significant drawbacks. First, all the dry cleaner does is remove spots from the dress; they don’t do anything to preserve it. If you want to keep your gown pristine, you will have to pay for another service to put the gown through the preservation process. Second, the chemicals and techniques used at most dry cleaners can wreck the beading or trim on your dress, leaving it damaged. If you want to keep your dress to display or hand down to someone, dry cleaning is not a good choice.
Brick and Mortar Preservation
You can take your dress to a brick and mortar dress preservation company for a more thorough job. Not only will they clean the dress, but they take the time to do minor repairs and restore the dress to like new condition. The biggest difference between a preserver and a cleaner is that the preserver prepares the dress for long-term storage. Rather than putting the dress in a plastic bag, which will turn the fabric yellow, preservers use acid free paper to wrap the garment. The downside is the price. The average cost of wedding dress cleaning and preservation with one of these companies is more than $300, with some packages exceeding the initial cost of the dress. Unfortunately, prices are even higher if you want to include your veil or any other accessories in your preservation package. In the end, the high overhead costs of operating a retail location drive up the prices to a ridiculous level, making this an unattractive option.
Online Preservation Companies
Today many of the best preservation companies in America offer their preservation services online. The best of them provide you with the packing and shipping containers that you need to get your dress to their location safely. Even better, you never have to leave your home to send the gown or to pick it up. The online companies do all the same work as the brick and mortar locations, but since the online stores have higher volumes and lower overhead, the average cost of wedding dress cleaning and preservation with them is considerably lower. You can find packages that include the dress, up to three accessories, a display chest and shipping costs for less than $200. It will take several weeks to get the dress back, but the savings and the peace of mind that you have, knowing that your dress is well cared for, are worth the wait.
You don’t want to spend a small fortune on your wedding dress only to see it age and decay. By spending the money on preservation, you have a dress that you can pass down, or even resell, in the future.
