Should You Preserve Your Wedding Dress?

Wedding dress cleaning is essential, but preservation is optional. Both processes start with stain removal, and it is crucial to store your wedding dress properly in a cool, dry, and dark location. The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists recommends getting your dress dry cleaned as soon as possible after your wedding, even if there are no visible stains.

Preserving your wedding dress allows it to stay frozen in time, holding not just delicate fabric but a myriad of emotions and memories. To preserve your gown, place the tissue between the layers as you fold your dress away, and use acid-free tissue paper to preserve it.

There are several reasons to preserve your wedding dress, including sentimentality, memories over the years, passing on to family members or children later on, repurposing into different family heirlooms, and keeping it for re-wearing during vow renewals. The first part of the wedding dress preservation process is deep cleaning, which involves using museum-grade cleaning agents and techniques.

The cost of renting a wedding dress typically ranges from $50 to $600, but it can be much less or more depending on the dress and rental company. When deciding whether to preserve your wedding dress, consider its sentimental value, the cost of preservation, available storage space, and the best place to store it.

What happens if you don’t preserve a wedding dress?

If you don’t preserve your gown, it will be ruined. What if you don’t preserve your gown? Six months after the wedding, the fabric will start to yellow and discolor. Untreated stains are harder to remove. If it isn’t reinforced, the gown will lose its shape. What does gown preservation include? The services included in gown preservation depend on the provider you choose. Some providers will clean your wedding dress and also include the veil, train, shoes, and ring pillow in the preservation package. Some providers will repair your wedding dress. Other preservationists clean your wedding dress and then package it in a museum-quality archival box with acid-free tissue paper. Our advice: Shop around and research to find an affordable provider that can preserve your bridal gown. How much does bridal gown preservation cost? Bridal gown preservation costs vary depending on the provider, add-on services, and location. Bridal gown preservation costs $200 to $550 on average. Bridal gown preservation makes a great gift for showers or weddings.

Why do people save their wedding dress?

A cherished heirloom. Wedding dresses are special to brides and their families. Looking at your wedding dress with your family over the years is a special tradition. Women often keep their dresses so they can be passed down to their daughters. This makes a special heirloom for your family.

The cost. You spent time, money, and emotion on your dress, so take care of it! A designer gown needs to be treated right to last. Show your gown some TLC after the wedding.

Sell your gown. Preserve the gown to maintain its value if you ever want to sell it. If you don’t want to get rid of it right after the wedding, or if you want your daughter to wear it first, keeping the gown in good condition will let you pass it on to another bride when you’re ready.

Is it worth it to preserve a wedding dress?

Wedding dress preservation is important. Wedding dresses are intricate and delicate, so they can’t be cleaned like other clothes. Cleaning and preserving your wedding dress ensures it lasts a lifetime. If you don’t preserve your wedding dress, it might yellow, get brown spots, mold, mildew, or crease. We consulted an expert to learn more about wedding dress preservation. Jonathan Scheer, president and CEO of J. Scheer & Co., shares everything you need to know about the process. Jonathan Scheer is the president and CEO of J. Scheer & Co., a company that cleans and preserves wedding gowns, modern couture, and historic costumes. He has over 30 years of experience and is the go-to preservation expert among many bridal designers.

Can I wear my wedding dress after preservation?

If your dress isn’t damaged, it can be restored and worn again. Buy our Wedding Dress Clean-Only Kit™ with Restoration Upgrade. Wear your preserved wedding dress with confidence on your wedding day. By having your wedding dress preserved, you can let the next generation honor a loved one by wearing the dress again in their wedding. Your dress will be picture perfect for another family member in their wedding. If you’re still unsure, read our reviews. Over 3 million brides have rated us the best wedding dress preservation company since 1913.

What happens if I open my preserved wedding dress?

When we spoke to the experts at the WGPC about cleaning your wedding dresses, we asked if cleaning and preserving the dresses means the brides can’t open the boxes. We learned the answer is no! They want you to open your dress and inspect it when it arrives. They provide gloves so you don’t transfer oils to your gown. Opening the box after preservation will void the 100-year guarantee. That was good news! You can personalize your wedding gown preservation box with your name, wedding date, and wedding photo. There are lots of great options now! Bring your wedding dress to Strut for cleaning and preservation. You pay when you drop it off, and we’ll pack up your gown and up to five accessories and send it off for you. It’s one of our Strut Brides’ services!

Is it too late to preserve my wedding dress?

When is it too late to preserve a wedding gown? If your wedding dress is old or dirty, don’t worry. Ideally, you should clean and preserve your wedding dress as soon as possible. Sometimes your dress needs to be restored before it is preserved. A company that specializes in wedding dresses can do this.

Wedding dress preservation starts with cleaning to remove stains. Yes, invisible stains too. Some stains are not visible, like perspiration, perfume, wine, or frosting. Professional cleaners will look for stains with a UV light to find the ones that will show up as stains later. It’s important to get your wedding dress cleaned as soon as possible. Once your gown is cleaned and treated to prevent yellowing, it will be steamed or hand pressed, placed on a bust form, and placed in a preservation chest. If your dress is already yellowed or has issues with moths or mold, a restoration specialist will need to work on it. While stains can’t always be removed, a restoration specialist can usually bring your dress back to life. If your wedding dress has been in the closet during your honeymoon, you don’t need to worry about timing because any stains haven’t had time to set in.

How much does it cost to preserve your wedding dress?

Professional wedding dress preservation costs between $300 and $400. Some companies charge over $1,000. The cost of preserving your wedding dress depends on many things, like personalizing your display chest, adding wedding accessories, expediting shipping, adding insurance, and more. This guide will cover the average cost of wedding dress preservation, how it varies by location, and the factors that affect the cost.

The Cost of Wedding Gown Cleaning vs. Preservation: The Cost of Preserving Your Wedding Dress in 2024; Different Wedding Gown Preservation Packages; Understanding What Warranties You Get For the Cost of Preserving Your Dress; How Much Insurance Will Be Included With Your Preservation?; What Preservation Companies Charge for Preserving Your Wedding Day Accessories; Bonus: 5 Questions to Ask Your Preservation Company.

How long is too long to preserve your wedding dress?

Is it ever too late to clean and preserve your wedding dress? You can have your wedding dress cleaned and preserved at any time. Your wedding dress will yellow in 6 months. Wedding dress yellowing is caused by stains from your wedding day, pollutants, and how you store your dress. Leaving your wedding dress in a plastic dry cleaning bag will make it yellow. Storing your dress in an non-acid-free cardboard box can cause scorching where the fibers of your gown come in contact with the chemicals the box was made from. Modern technology and delicate fabric cleaning techniques allow professionals to remove yellowing from vintage wedding gowns. Cleaning and preserving your wedding dress right after your wedding is better for the fabric. It won’t be stressed as much, and you’ll save money.

How long after wedding should you preserve your wedding dress?

How long can you wait to preserve your wedding dress? Rubinetti says to preserve your gown right after the wedding to avoid sweat damaging the fabric. After the wedding, your dress might go to storage, a secondhand store, a donation bin, or be repurposed. Wedding dress preservation is usually neglected, or only thought about when it’s too late. Preserving your wedding dress is important to keep it in good condition and to get the most out of your investment if you decide to sell it. It also keeps your dress in its best condition long after your wedding. To get the most out of your wedding dress, we asked experts for tips on how to preserve it, when to do it, and other storage solutions.

Can you dry clean a wedding dress after 5 years?

Can you clean a wedding dress after five years? You can still have your wedding dress cleaned after five years. You can clean a wedding dress at any time, but it’s best to do it soon after the wedding. Any stains can set in and be harder to remove. The dress may also fade or discolor over time if it isn’t stored carefully. Who can clean a wedding dress after 5 years? Professional wedding dress cleaners like us at Confetti can clean wedding dresses that have been left for years. However, traditional cleaners are not suitable for wedding dress cleaning, even the day after. Don’t try to clean the dress yourself! Professional cleaners will get the best results without damaging your dress. They use proven methods and solutions. They know each dress is unique and a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work.

How much to preserve a wedding dress?

Wedding gown preservation services cost between $300 and $500, or more than $1,000 at a high-end boutique in New York City. We don’t recommend paying that much because the boutique will probably outsource the preservation to a third party, who will mark up the price. You can find bargain basement wedding gown preservation for as low as $99 at big-box wedding stores that don’t specialize in preserving wedding gowns. However, be careful unless the dress you’re preserving is also cheap and future yellowing isn’t a concern. Our Traditional Wedding Gown Preservation Kit costs $325, but other services charge up to $450 for additional wedding accessories. Our packages include up to 5 accessories at no extra cost with our limited-time checkout code, FREESHIP5 (shoes, slip, and silk flowers extra). What about the cost of different wedding gown preservation packages? Every wedding dress is different, so why have one package for them all? We created these kits to meet your needs. The Traditional Wedding Gown Preservation Kit is for everyday gowns, and the Celebrity Kit is for couture wedding dresses. We also offer a restoration kit for wedding gowns over 20 years old. We believe brides should have a choice, not just one solution for all.