How to Store A Wedding Gown

You looked absolutely beautiful in your wedding gown, but after the wedding and honeymoon are over you might want to consider storing your wedding gown. Learn proper wedding gown preservation techniques and how to store your wedding gown. You can keep your wedding gown and wedding accessories looking as new as the day you walked down the isle in it. Learn the dos and don'ts of wedding gown preservation so that your wedding gown remains beautiful for years to come. You can preserve your wedding gown as a keepsake and maybe pass it down to your daughter or another close family member someday for their wedding.

It’s extremely important to have your wedding gown professionally cleaned within a few weeks of the wedding; the sooner the better. The longer you wait, any stains or perspiration that remains on the wedding dress, the harder it will be to have them removed. Be careful of trims like sequins and some beads because some cannot be dry cleaned, so read the care label on your wedding gown carefully.

If you aren’t certain of what services might be best for cleaning your wedding gown, take it to a dry cleaner or a preservation specialist or expert who has been trained in cleaning and preparing wedding gowns for storage. They can identify all the stains and spills, even those you can’t see.

Storing a wedding gown is all about doing it right from the start. Never store your wedding gown in a plastic bag. Plastic can break down over time and release chemicals and fumes that can discolor and destroy the fabric of your wedding dress. If you are boxing your gown for storage, be sure to wrap fabrics in acid-free white tissue paper. Bodices or curved areas of a garment should be stuffed with tissue to prevent creasing. If you use an acid-free cardboard box, you’ll need to change the box every three to five years. Cardboard is absorbent, and even acid-free boxes can re-acidify over time. Some companies even sell units, appropriately called wedding dress boxes, which are made specifically for storing these precious gowns.

Store your wedding gown in a cool, dry place. A damp basement or a hot, musty attic can cause mildew and yellowing of fabric, so you probably want to avoid those areas for storage. You also should keep your wedding gown packed away from sunlight and any artificial light. Most light sources can cause degradation and fading to your wedding gown. The back of a roomy closet in a spare room or rarely-used closet will make a great home for your wedding gown.

Once you have stored your wedding gown properly, you should check it periodically for damage. Stains that weren’t initially apparent can appear at a later date and should be treated immediately. Preserving your wedding gown is important if you want to enjoy and share it the future. See Classy-Gals Wedding Tips for more wedding related tips.