So, you’ve already picked your flowers, your photographer, and booked your wedding and reception venue. Perhaps you are on the eve of your wedding or getting very close to the ‘big day’. Maybe you are like many already happily married women with your beautiful wedding dress still hanging in your guest room closet waiting for you to decide what to do with it. If you are a soon-to-be bride, a newly married woman, or celebrating your 10 year anniversary and wondering about wedding dress preservation, don’t worry you aren’t alone. If you haven’t gotten the details of what to do with your gown after the wedding ironed out, you still aren’t alone. It’s a very common concern and one that many brides procrastinate about long after their wedding day. We often have brides asking exactly how long they can wait to preserve their dress as they think too much time has passed to even consider cleaning and preserving their wedding dress. Well, fear not because we have all the answers you’ll ever need.
When is it too Late to Preserve a Wedding Gown?
If you have an older gown, or a gown that you haven’t gotten into the cleaners even weeks or months after your wedding, don’t fret. While ideally, sooner is always better than later, the actual truth is that it really is never too late to have a wedding dress cleaned and preserved. In some cases, your dress might be in the market for restoration prior to preservation, but a skilled company that specializes in wedding dresses has restoration specialists that can do wonders.
Wedding dress preservation typically begins with cleaning the dress to treat and remove both visible and invisible stains. Yes, invisible stains. Some stains are often not visible to the naked eye, such as perspiration, perfume, white wine or white cake frosting. Professional wedding dress cleaners will carefully examine your gown with an ultraviolet light to identify these culprits that will eventually surface as visible stains if they are not treated upfront. This is main reason why it’s important to stop procrastinating and get that lovely wedding dress out of the closet and sent off to a reputable wedding dress preservation company as soon as possible. Once your gown is professionally cleaned, and treated for preventing the fabric from yellowing, it will then be steamed or hand pressed, placed on an acid free bust form, and carefully placed in a preservation chest to ensure the fabric stays as good as new for years to come. In the case of dresses that are already heavily yellowed (a common issue with older gowns that have not been properly preserved) or have issues with moths or mold, a restoration specialist will need to work on the gown. While it may not be possible to remove all stains, a restoration specialist can usually bring your beloved dress back to life more than you’d think possible.
If your wedding dress has simply been hanging in the closet for the duration of your honeymoon, you won’t need to worry about much about timing as any stains you might have on your dress haven’t had much time to set into the fabric at that point.
If your gown has been hanging around for several months or even a few years, there’s an excellent chance it can be perfectly cleaned and restored back to looking practically brand new. Ideally, a good wedding dress preservation company will be able to remove all or most of the stains and pack up your dress without anyone ever knowing that you almost dropped the ball on this post-wedding chore.
What is the Ideal Time Frame?
Ideally, cleaners and preservation specialists like to see a gown as soon after the wedding as possible. In fact, it can be super helpful to have someone drop off the gown the following day. The reason for this is fairly simple; the quicker you get the gown into a preservationist the less time you’ll allow for stains to really set in. When a stain sets it makes it more difficult to remove it, although not impossible.
If a gown hangs in your closet for several weeks or months, you might also be allowing light exposure to degrade the fabric. While you may not notice degrading fabric after just a few weeks, the breakdown is happening, and that can alter how well the dress preserves over the long term. In fact, that lovely long white (or clear) garment bag is not doing your dress any favors other than keeping it away from more dirt. The plastic those garment bags are made of emits chemicals that will accelerate the yellowing of white or off white fabrics of most dresses. They are only intended for short term storage and transportation of your dress.
So is it too late or not?
Whether you are a soon-to-be bride hoping to restore a family gown to its former glory, or a freshly-married woman looking to finally deal with dress preservation now that you’ve settled into married life, or a woman whose had her wedding dress hanging in the closet for years, don’t worry. It’s never too late for wedding dress preservation and you’ll surely be impressed by what a skilled preservation specialist can do to keep your gown looking beautiful for years to come.
I had my dress dry cleaned but I’m not happy,I think they could of done a better job.it was a friend of the family…there was no tissue paper or anything g to help it be preserved,I don’t want to spend a fortune but I would love to get it i the right materials to store it and get it out the way 🙂 as it cost a fortune
Hi Lara – So sorry to hear that you were not happy with the dry cleaners you used. Sadly, we hear a lot of stories similar to yours from people who have brought their dresses in to their local cleaners. We call this out in our blog here – see most common mistake #3. https://www.affordablepreservation.com/7-biggest-mistakes-brides-make-after-wedding/
As you may know, we offer top quality cleaning and preservation for an affordable price and have an exceptional reputation. In order to be covered by the 100 year guarantee, we would need to re-clean your dress before preserving it. Let us know if we can assist you. Please be sure to check out our reviews on The Knot and WeddingWire.
My granddaughter married 5 years ago and my daughter never send it to clean and preserve. I will like to know how much it will cost to do it. I live in South Carolina next to Augusta, Georgia. Please help me thanks
Hello Ivonne,
Thank you for your inquiry. Below is the information you requested regarding our wedding dress cleaning and preservation services.
Packages and Pricing
We offer 2 main packages. Both packages include the cleaning and preservation of your dress plus 5 additional accessories (such as a veil, gloves, handkerchief, small purse). Free shipping and insurance are included. Below are the prices for each package. You can click on the links for additional information about each package.
Traditional Line $225.00
Celebrity Line $300.00
How it Works
You can place your order with us through our website or by phone:
Affordable Preservation Online Shop
or call us toll free at 1.800.887.0135
We will send you a kit with everything you need to send in your dress including a shipping box, pre-paid shipping label, and instructions. Once your dress is professionally cleaned and preserved, it will be shipped back to you at no additional charge. Your dress is insured from the time you send it in to the time it is delivered back to you. The amount of insured value is determined by which package you select. You can also add additional insurance at the time of checkout.
For additional information on how the process works click on this link. How it works
Feel free to contact us for additional information. We look forward to serving you!
Thank you,
Tom
Customer Experience Team
I have a dress that is 30 yes old in a suitcase that I didn’t preserve. Is there a way to whiten it??
Hi Christina – Yes, we do offer wedding dress restoration of older and very delicate sophisticated dresses. Although we can’t guarantee the dress will be completely restored exactly to its original color or the complete removal of stains, the highly trained technicians on staff can make typically significant improvements in yellowed and stained gowns. You can see some of the ‘before and after’ pictures on our website for your reference. Let us know if we can assist you with restoring your precious wedding dress. https://www.affordablepreservation.com/wedding-dress-storage/wedding-dress-restoration/
Hi. My mother and father were married Christmas day 1945. I have her wedding dress and wondered if it was still possible for the dress to be cleaned and restored. It is a handmade dress with beading and a longish train. There are stains on the dress which to me seem probably from age. It would be lovely to have it restored to its former glory.
Hi Susan – Thank you for your comment. Your mother’s dress sounds beautiful and very special indeed. It is possible to restore older gowns that have become discolored and stained. You can see some of the photographs of the significant improvements that can be made on our website. However, we can’t guarantee that your dress can be restored until it is evaluated in person, as some fabrics that become too brittle or damaged are unable to be restored. We offer 2 restoration packages whereby once your dress is received and evaluated, if for any reason it cannot be restored, you will be be notified, the dress returned, and you will receive a full refund.
Below are links to our 2 restoration packages. We would be delighted to assist you with this precious wedding dress.
Traditional Line Restoration
Celebrity Line Restoration
Hi what about if you never got your wedding gown cleaned and you had it hanging in a closet for almost 10 years and it had black on the beads of the dress! Could that be cleaned? How much?
Thanks Cheryl
Hi Cheryl,
Thank you for your inquiry. Based on what you described you may have to send us pictures of your dress or we may need to see the dress to make that determination. How many beads are there? Do you think the black on the beads is mold?
We do have a restoration service that could address this. Please feel free to give us a call to discuss. 800-887-0135.
Thank you,
Madelaine
I bought an Ivory/Antique white wedding dress going on 12 years now that was never worn. It was packaged (unopened) for about 5 years when my DIL decided to open it to try it on for her wedding. That’s when we noticed the discoloration throughout the dress. I was shocked that that could happen since I never unwrapped the dress after picking it up from the store. I didn’t realize that could happen, otherwise I would have handled it differently.
So now I want (hoping) to sell the dress, but I need to get it restored. What do I need to know about picking a place that can do this? Also the cost?
I’m afraid at this point I would probably be just giving the dress for free.
Would it be worth it?
I also bought the matching flower girl dress that did not discolor. Why not? Is it the type of fabric?
Thanking you in advance.
I have my wedding dress .I I am bringing out to my daughter to try on .If she likes it but not time for wedding in a year. Should she get it dried cleaned and preserved again ?
Hi Kelly – Thank you for your question. If your dress is in good condition then you probably only need to have it cleaned for your daughter to wear it for her wedding. Our ‘Clean Only‘ package is for dresses that will be worn within a year, and is not suitable for long term storage. Whereas wedding dress preservation is meant for long term storage and protection, and also includes cleaning. If she decides not to wear your dress, we would recommend having it preserved (includes cleaning) so the fabric doesn’t yellow or deteriorate. If it is not in very good condition (yellowing or staining), then it might also need to be restored. You can add the restoration option to your order if needed. Let us know if you have any other questions. Thank you, Affordable Preservation Company
I have my Mother-in-law’s wedding dress. It’s probably nearly 100 years old. I received it in a plain box from their house years ago. I believe the fabric is satin. Right now it looks off white to lightest cream. Is it possible to get this dress cleaned, restored and preserved? We are hoping it can be worn by a fourth generation family member: my grand-daughter. Looking forward to hearing from you.
My wedding dress is 48 years old. It has been stored in a dark closet and very yellow. Is there any chance it can be restored??
Hi Brenda, Thank you for your inquiry. Yes. We offer a restoration service that can address the yellowing. Please see the Restoration page for photos and more information.
Hi Barbara, Thank you for your inquiry. Yes. We offer a restoration service that can address the yellowing. Please see the Restoration page for photos and more information.