In the months and weeks before your wedding, you’ll spend a lot of time searching for your wedding dress. It’s hardly surprising — after all, this the dress you’ll wear on the happiest day of your life, and you’ll want to make the right decision. However, the chances are you won’t haven given much thought to what happens to your dress after your big day. Indeed, with all the excitement you’ll possibly find it quite difficult to think about anything that comes after the wedding!

Not only is your wedding dress an expensive purchase, it also has a sentimental value that will make it priceless for many years after your wedding. For many families, wedding dresses become heirlooms of great importance. So, what should happen to your wedding dress after it’s had it’s big day? How can you make sure it stays in pristine condition for years to come?

Wedding dress preservation is a set of techniques for cleaning and storing the delicate fabrics that make up your wedding dress. Preservationists are professionals with expert knowledge of these methods, which are quite complex. In this week’s blog post, we’d like to explain the basics of wedding dress preservation. Hopefully you’ll find this information helpful when you find yourself wondering how to care for your dress properly.

What’s Involved in the Preservation Process?

A preservationist will first clean your dress using special cleaning materials, to remove any stains your dress may have picked up. Depending on the type of stain, different materials will be used. Even stains that are hardly noticeable must be removed, as their appearance can become more obvious over time. After the dress has been cleaned, it will be packaged in materials that won’t react with the fabric of the dress.

How Will I Find a Preservationist?

If you’re having your dress preserved, you should make the arrangements several weeks in advance of your wedding day. Time is of the essence in dealing with certain types of stains and damage that may occur, so getting your dress to the preservationist quickly will help to ensure that your dress is preserved as well as possible. You should ask plenty of questions of your chosen preservationist, especially whether they offer a guarantee that your dress will not be damaged during the preservation process, and whether they offer a warranty in case the preservation process isn’t carried out correctly.

How Should I Care For My Dress in the Meantime?

If you can’t get your dress to a preservationist immediately, it’s important to store it carefully until you can. Handle your gown carefully, with clean hands. If possible, store your dress flat, and don’t wrap your dress in plastic, as this will trap moisture which may damage your dress. You should store your dress in a cool, dark, and dry environment. To wrap your wedding dress, suitable materials include unbleached muslin and acid-free, uncoloured tissue paper.

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