To keep your dress in the best possible shape after your wedding, you’ll need to preserve your gown. Preserving your wedding dress will ensure that it remains in its original condition for as long as possible! You may be wondering just how long wedding dress preservations last, so we’re here to fill you in!
When estimating how long your wedding dress preservation will last, the largest determining factor is its initial cleaning. Before your dress is preserved it is paramount that you have it professionally cleaned. All reputable preservation services will include the cleaning in their packages, however, if you go with an at-home kit or a company that doesn’t include cleaning you must have your wedding gown cleaned by a professional.
Although some dry cleaners may offer to dry clean your wedding gown, you shouldn't just choose the same dry cleaning service your father uses to press his button down shirts. Make sure you go to someone who specializes in wedding dress cleaning as cleaning a wedding gown is much different than dry cleaning your regular clothes. Even small stains can become much more prominent as they oxidize over time, especially on a white or off-white wedding dress. This is why the thoroughness of this cleaning will have a huge effect on how long the preservation lasts.
Dress preservation guarantees vary from company to company. Some services guarantee up to 100 years of preservation! Choosing a reputable preservation service is important to ensure the life of your gown. Trustworthy companies will offer to clean and restore your dress for free if it begins to show signs of yellowing during their guarantee period. Be sure you choose a company that you trust to protect your dress for a lifetime.
While the preservation service is a huge aspect of the life of your gown, how you store your wedding dress also has a large impact on its longevity. It is important that the your dress be professionally placed in a box as hanging your dress can cause stress to the fabric and create distortion. Never use a plastic garment bag because it may yellow your dress fabric. Removing your dress from its packaging with dirty hands or exposing it to sunlight, and extreme temperatures will shorten its preservation time. Oils found on fingertips may be invisible to the naked eye but can darken and yellow if left on a white dress for years to come. Sunlight can also cause your wedding dress to yellow and become dull over time. Finally, if your dress is exposed to humidity or liquid, it can end up covered in mold and mildew. Keeping your dress in a clean, temperature-controlled area out of reach from children and pets will ensure that your preservation lasts as long as possible.
Once you have preserved your dress, it’s good to check on it every year or two! This way, if your gown has begun to yellow or show signs of mildew, you can address the problems as soon as possible. As we mentioned before, many preservation services offer a guarantee, and will restore your dress free of charge if you bring it in during the warranty period. Checking on your gown annually will allow you to take advantage of this should you ever need to!
If you’re planning on keeping your gown after the wedding, preserving the dress is a must to ensure that it maintains its beauty. Whether you’re planning on passing your wedding dress down to your children, or repurposing it for a vow renewal, preserving it will keep the gown looking its best.
Adorn Nashville’s wedding dress preservation service includes both the cleaning and repair of your gown. Whether you’ve encountered hemline stains, or loosened a few beads on your bodice, your dress will be cleaned and repaired with the best methods in the gown preservation industry, as recognized by the International Fabric Institute. Your gown is then fitted on an acid-free bust form and packed in an acid-neutral preservation box. Our preservation provider has a 100-year anti-yellowing guarantee. If you should encounter any yellowing within the century following your gown preservation, we’ll fix it for you free of charge!
To utilize our preservation service, you can either bring your gown to our Nashville location or we’ll send you a box and shipping label. For more information on wedding dress preservation and package options, visit our Wedding Dress Preservation Service Page.
