How to care for your wedding dress after your wedding day.
5 tips on wedding dress aftercare.
Ladies, you looked incredible! You certainly got the reaction you were hoping for and your dress was a huge hit! If you were lucky enough to make it through the day without any real damage, well done to you! Chances are, though, that your wedding dress isn’t heading straight to the cleaners after the reception so keep it safe in the meantime and follow my 5 tips on how to care for your wedding dress after your wedding day.
Every bride takes so much care in their wedding dress leading up to the wedding. Hanging it nicely, trying not to crease it but once the toasts are made, the first dance has been danced and the wedding bouquet is thrown and you've walked around saying hello to all your guests, what happens with your beautiful wedding dress – now covered in champagne spills, muddy marks, and makeup stains?
Although you may not be intending to ever wear your wedding dress again, cleaning and preserving it is so important as this iconic dress that we ladies either like to pass down to our own daughters or attempt to fit into on our tenth anniversary needs to be preserved in the best way.
How to care for your wedding dress after your wedding day?
Bag it and keep it safe!
Use a garment bag.
Wrapping your dress in plastic traps moisture, which means mold and mildew, and plastic also emits fumes that can yellow your dress. Store your wedding dress in its proper garment bag that you would have been given from your bridal boutique in Cornwall.
Keep it away from the light.
Like any fabrics that are left in the sun, they can after time fade, so make sure you don't leave your dress near a window that gets lots of daytime light.
Lay it flat (or hang properly).
Ideally, your bridal shop in Cornwall will keep your dress for you for as long as they can and with some time in alterations you shouldn't have it for too long before the wedding day, but if you do, lay it as flat as possible. If you must hang your dress, hang it by the loops located inside (never the shoulder straps) to avoid stretching and sagging at the seams.
Leave the cleaning to the experts.
This is a tricky process. One wrong move could set the stain and make it worse! Remember that sometimes the best course of action is to leave the spot until it can be professionally treated.
2. Professional wedding dress preservation
Preservation can protect your wedding dress from yellowing, permanent creasing, mildew and mold, oxidation spots, light, and dust. Since wedding gowns can be expensive, getting them cleaned professionally will protect your investment. Professional wedding dress cleaners will usually remove stains, make necessary repairs (within reason), press or steam the dress, wrap in acid-free tissue and store it. Generally, there are two types of preservation methods used.
Boxing.
With this method, your dress is still folded and placed in an acid-free box, but acid-free tissue is used to protect it from permanent creases (this tissue should be white as any coloured paper risks bleeding into the dress). Since the box is not sealed, the fabric can still breathe, and you are able to remove the dress periodically to inspect and refold it. Note: It’s best to use boxes made from the actual acid-free board, not boxes with an acid-free coating. You can buy these online or ask your bridal boutique in Cornwall to provide you with the correct supplier. I use a great company and details will be available to you.
Bagging.
This option is the most used and leaves your dress hanging unfolded. The wedding dress is reinforced with twill tape to add support and eliminate long-term damage from hanging and then placed in a specialty cotton bag to be hung somewhere safe (with a padded hanger).
3. Timing is crucial
The sooner you can get the wedding dress to the preservationist or the dry cleaners, the better. Brides often wait up to six weeks to take their dresses to be cleaned, and that's not good! By that time, stains will have had time to really set it. Take your dress off as soon as the reception is over and make sure it gets to the dry cleaner the very next day or at least within the week. If you're jetting off on a honeymoon, arrange for a bridesmaid or your mother to take it for you.
4. Be smart about where you store your wedding dress
Once you’ve carefully packaged your dress, be sure to store it somewhere safe from extreme temperatures, light, and humidity. Many brides choose to store their dresses under their bed or in a dry closet. Once the wedding dress has been cleaned, it's time to store it. Protect your dress from direct sunlight, which can quickly fade and turn the dress yellow. Take it off the hanger, which can cause the most massive dresses to become misshapen. Whatever you do, avoid storing your dress in a regular, zip-up-plastic bag.
5. Budget for your cleaning
Wedding dress preservation is often forgotten about when buying your wedding dress in Cornwall. Unless you are going to do something crazy with it, like trashing it, using it for fancy dress, or dying it to wear for another event you will need to consider a little extra for the cleaning in order to preserve it for years to come after your wedding day is over.
Every bride that finds their wedding dress with me will receive my full dress guide on how to care for your wedding dress after your wedding day, along with the best suppliers to help you preserve it in the best way that’s right for you.
I hope this helps ladies! How to care for your wedding dress after your wedding day can be just as important as the preparation prior to your wedding. For more information get in touch with me and let’s talk through any queries you may have. If not, head to the blog and read my crazy story of why I decided to trash my wedding dress!
