The preservation of a wedding dress is essential for protecting its beauty and integrity. This process ensures that the exquisite craftsmanship, fabric, and embellishments remain intact over time. It also prevents yellowing or discolouration due to long-term exposure to air, dust, and other environmental factors.
Should A Wedding Dress Be Preserved?
The decision to keep one’s wedding gown is entirely up to the bride. While some brides keep their wedding gowns as cherished keepsakes or heirlooms, others prefer to sell or donate theirs after the big day.
There are a few factors to consider when deciding whether to preserve a wedding dress:
1. Sentimentality
Considerations of sentimentality should be taken into account when deciding whether or not to preserve a wedding dress. It’s understandable if you’d want to keep the dress as a memento of your big day if it has a lot of personal meaning to you.
2. Condition Of The Dress
An additional consideration in deciding whether or not to preserve the wedding dress is its current state. Your wedding dress may be worth keeping if it is in good enough condition to be worn again at a vow renewal or to be passed down to a daughter.
The dress may not be worth keeping if it is in bad shape. You could donate or sell the dress instead.
3. Cost
When deciding whether or not to preserve a wedding gown, one must also think about the associated costs. Having a wedding dress cleaned and preserved professionally is not cheap.
The final price will be determined by the state of the dress and the preservation method selected. You can find preservation plans that fit your budget among the many options offered by some businesses.
Preserving a wedding gown is not required, and whether or not you do so depends on your values and the specifics of your situation. If you’re worried about the price of preservation, there are alternatives you can try, like cleaning and boxing the dress yourself, donating it, or selling it.
If you want to save money on preservation, it’s important to compare prices from different companies before making a final decision. Reading reviews and getting referrals from people you trust can help you find a reliable business, too.
4. Space
If you don’t have a closet large enough to hold a preserved wedding dress, you can always give it away or sell it.
The best way to keep a wedding dress in pristine condition is to store it in a cool, dry place, ideally inside a box or between layers of acid-free tissue paper. It might be more practical to go with another option if you don’t have anywhere to keep the preserved dress.
Alternatives to the above are as follows:
Do something good with the dress if you don’t want to keep it and can’t bear to part with it by donating it to a good cause. Brides Across America is one group that does this by collecting used wedding gowns and donating them to military families and the poor.
You can also sell your wedding dress through an online marketplace or a consignment store. If you can’t find a place to keep the dress and you’d like to recoup some of your investment, this might be the best option.
Turn it into a keepsake Have your wedding gown repurposed into something special, like a pillow or a christening gown for a future child. You can keep a meagre remnant of the garment in this way without worrying about it taking up too much room.
The decision to keep a wedding gown depends on the individual’s priorities and resources. If you’re limited on square footage, one of these alternatives could be a good fit.
Ways To Preserving The Wedding Dress
It is generally recommended to preserve a wedding dress after the wedding. Wedding dresses can be quite expensive and are often sentimental items, so preserving them can help to ensure that they remain in good condition for years to come.
Wedding dresses can be preserved in several different ways:
Cleaning And Boxing:
The dress should be cleaned by a professional dry cleaner and then boxed with acid-free tissue paper to prevent damage from light, humidity, and pests.
Cleaning and boxing are common methods for preserving a wedding dress. To clean and box a wedding dress, you will need to follow these steps:
Look for a reliable dry cleaner that offers special wedding dress preservation services. Check their portfolio to see if they have worked on wedding dresses before and if they are comfortable working with delicate fabrics and embellishments.
Eliminate any grime, perspiration, or stains from the dress before sending it to the dry cleaner. That way, the dry cleaner can give more attention to restoring the garment’s original colour and fabric rather than scrubbing out stains.
Get the dress cleaned at a dry cleaner and tell them you want to keep it in good condition. Next, the dry cleaner will use their unique cleaning methods to get the dress spotless without harming the delicate fabric or embellishments.
As soon as the dress is dry from being cleaned, it will be carefully packed in acid-free tissue paper and stored away. The dress box must be large enough to hold the garment without folding or creasing it, and it must be made of acid-free materials.
Make sure to keep the box out of direct sunlight, damp areas, and pests. Wrapping the box in plastic or putting it inside a storage container will keep it safe from moisture and dust.
Follow these guidelines to help keep your wedding gown safe for the years to come.
Encapsulation:
One way to preserve a wedding gown for future generations is to encapsulate it, which entails wrapping it in acid-free tissue paper or a special box. Companies that specialize in preserving wedding dresses often use this method.
Cleaning, pressing, and encasing the dress in acid-free tissue paper or a box is the standard procedure. To preserve the dress over time, it is placed in a cool, dry location.
A wedding dress can be preserved from damage caused by light, moisture, and other elements by encasing it. It can help the dress retain its original, pristine appearance for years to come.
Framing:
If you want to show off the dress in your home, one option is to have it framed. This entails having the dress mounted and displayed in a frame by a professional.
Putting a wedding dress in a frame or shadow box is a great way to preserve it and show it off as a decorative piece for years to come. It’s a common choice for those who want to showcase their wedding gown as a decorative accent or keepsake.
If you want to preserve your wedding dress by framing it, you’ll need to find a frame or shadow box that’s big enough to hold it without bending or distorting it. You’ll also need something to back the dress with so it stays put, like acid-free paper or foam board.
If you already have a frame or shadow box, you can carefully fold the dress and place it inside, taking care to remove any creases or wrinkles. The display can then be customized by including additional decorative elements, such as photos or mementos.
Preserving Professionally:
Selecting a trustworthy preservation company or expert is crucial if you intend to keep your wedding gown for future generations.
Professional wedding dress preservation entails having the garment cleaned, pressed, and stored in a box or acid-free tissue paper by a company that specializes in wedding dress preservation. It’s a popular choice for brides who want their gowns preserved in pristine condition for the next generation.
Having a wedding dress preserved by a professional has many advantages:
Experts Care: The experts at a preservation company have the know-how and tools to clean and press a wedding dress with care, extending its lifespan and minimizing the risk of damage.
Long-Term Protection: Prolonged safety Experts in the art of preservation use acid-free tissue paper and sturdy boxes to keep your dress safe for the long haul.
Convenience: If you don’t have the time or resources to preserve your wedding dress yourself, hiring a professional service to do so is a great alternative.
Conclusion
Preserving a wedding dress can be a meaningful way to remember and celebrate the special day. Over time, the dress may become worn, stained or discoloured if left unprotected. A preservation specialist can help protect the fragile material of your gown and specialize in cleaning and preserving it for years to come. The process is often safe and reliable, ensuring that the dress will look beautiful when taken out of storage.
Additionally, preserving your wedding dress can allow it to be enjoyed by future generations. It’s an opportunity to continue a family tradition or honour a memory. For some brides, it could even become part of a treasured heirloom passed down from mother to daughter.
Ultimately, every bride should decide what is right for her. Preserving your wedding dress is a great way to preserve the memories of one of the most special days of your life. It can be passed on to future generations as a reminder that love and commitment will always stand the test of time.