Q. I put so much thought into finding my dress, but I haven’t
thought about what I should do with it after the big day. What’s the best way to
preserve it for years to come?
A. First things first—enjoy your honeymoon! While it’s
important to have your dress cleaned and preserved, there’s no reason to stress
about it immediately after the wedding.
When you return from your honeymoon (or if a family member is willing to take
on the task for you while you’re away), take your dress to a cleaner that
specializes in wedding gown cleaning and preservation—the sooner, the better.
“Preserving a gown is really about preserving memories,” says Polly Nemec,
owner of Treasured Garment Restoration. “So it’s important to find a company
that understands that every wedding dress is unique—different fabrics,
embellishments and stains should be treated differently.”
“The wedding dress more than likely is the most expensive piece of clothing
you’ll purchase, so it’s important to protect your investment,” adds Karen
Boehne, owner of Wedding Gown Care Specialist. Be sure to choose a vendor who
does his or her own cleaning and has a considerable amount of experience.
Once your dress has been cleaned and preserved, it will be stored in a gown
chest and should be wrapped in acid-free paper. While preservationists do
recommend fluffing your dress from time to time wearing garment gloves, try to
resist trying it on, as this can cause discoloration. But that beautiful dress
is yours; should you find the occasion to don it again, use utmost care but know
that you can always have it cleaned once again.
