Ensure the timeless preservation of your cherished memories for future generations by exploring our comprehensive guide. This resource covers every facet of preserving your wedding dress, offering insights into its history, the mail-in preservation process, and a checklist for post-wedding tasks.

Potential Risks to Your Wedding Dress During Your Special Day 

Leaving stains and marks untreated can cause harm to the delicate materials in your dress. Remember, the organic nature of these fabrics means they have the potential to deteriorate over time. Certain stains, though not visible, can lead to yellowing as time passes. These consist of:

• Food Stains 
• Dirt Stains 
• Sugar Stains 
• Sweat Stains 
• Grass Stains 
• Pen Marks 
• Deodorant Stains 
• Alcohol Stains

From Ancient Times to the Present Day

The preservation of ceremonial wedding garments has been a longstanding practice since the inception of the marriage ceremony tradition. While traditional wedding attire has been donned for over 500 years, it is thought that advancements in modern technology enabled gown preservation around the mid-1700s. The earliest known preserved dress still showcased today belonged to Princess Charlotte, who married in 1816. As technology progressed, coupled with an increased understanding of fabric aging, the preservation of wedding dresses evolved beyond royalty, becoming accessible to the public in the nineteenth century.

The Rise of Mail-In Preservation Services for Wedding Gowns 

Mail-in preservation for wedding dresses refers to a service where individuals can send their wedding dresses by mail to a specialized preservation company. Customers can access this service by purchasing a preservation kit, usually through mail or online, and following the provided instructions to send their wedding dress to the preservation company.

In 1912, Robert Shapiro initiated his small-town dry cleaning venture, gradually evolving to specialize in equipment tailored for the treatment of delicate wedding dress materials. Today, Dress Preservation holds the title of the world's largest mail-in wedding dress preservation company. Its extensive network of distributors facilitates the sale of preservation kits to tens of thousands of brides nationwide who avail of this service annually.

The Oddest Dress Preservation in Recent History

Lady Gaga made a daring statement in 2010 at the MTV Music Video Awards by donning a dress crafted from meat (beef), triggering extensive speculation about the message she aimed to convey. Regardless of the interpretations, the dress garnered attention nationwide and was subsequently preserved and showcased at the Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, where it is displayed to this day.

A Quick Solution for Brides

While it's not advisable to personally undertake the cleaning and preservation of your gown, time constraints or a limited budget may prevent immediate professional preservation. The critical factor is that untreated stains, like icing sugar, can cause irreversible damage to your dress over time, being the primary cause of yellowing. Rather than merely hanging your gown in the closet and hoping for the best, there are several tips and tricks you can employ to minimize damage from stains until you can arrange professional cleaning and preservation.

If immediate professional preservation isn't possible for your dress, try your best to maintain its current condition until you can arrange for preservation.

• Keep your dress in a cool, dark spot, such as a main living area closet, inside a loosely tied plastic dry-cleaning bag.
• Check for stains before storing the gown, using sticky notes on the outside of the clear dry-cleaning bag to mark any issues.
• Avoid leaving stains on the dress for over a month, as prolonged exposure may lead to more challenging cleaning due to the setting in the organic material.

After the wedding, one option for a bride is to bring her wedding dress to local cleaners for cleaning and preservation. Although there may be numerous dry cleaners nearby, only a few are adequately equipped to handle the delicate fabrics commonly used in wedding gowns.

Typically, local dry cleaning services take 3-5 weeks, and you'll need to drop off and pick up your gown at their location.

It's important to provide detailed information about the materials used in your gown. If the staff member doesn't inquire about this, it's often a sign that you should seek a different cleaner for your gown.

Questions to Ask When Consulting a Local Cleaner

• Can your establishment handle spot cleaning and dry cleaning of delicate wedding gowns on-site?
• If gowns are sent elsewhere, which company is used? Direct-to-dealer online options often provide cost savings for preservation.
• Does the cleaning include a professional preservation box, or is the dress stored in a plastic bag?
• How long have you been preserving wedding gowns, and what is your specific preservation process?
• Does your company offer a guarantee for the preservation work performed?

What does Online Preservation of Wedding Gowns entail? 

While the idea of entrusting your gown to a distant company for preservation may seem fearsome, it is often safer and more cost-effective than opting for local cleaning and preservation. 

A previous study by The Wall Street Journal concluded that mail-in wedding dress preservation outperformed local dry cleaning services. The research revealed that local cleaners often sent gowns to the same mail-in preservation companies but inflated the service cost instead of directly ordering from online distributors.

What to Consider in Online Dress Preservation?

Here's a checklist for the preservation of wedding gowns using mail-in services:

• Does the company provide inclusive round-trip shipping?
• Is shipping insurance part of the company's offerings?
• Does the preservation box feature a viewing window for your dress without requiring a box opening?
• Are accessory preservation services offered by the company?
• Is there a guaranteed commitment to the quality of the work performed?
• Is there a tracking system in place for monitoring the preservation process from your computer?
• Does the company assure a low-price guarantee to ensure you secure the best preservation rate?
• Is gown preservation the company's primary focus, or is it secondary to regular dry cleaning?

What to Do:

• Inspect your preservation box before storage.
• Store the dress in a dry area with controlled temperatures.
• Ensure the storage location is free from moths or other pests.
• Periodically check the contents by taking out the box annually.

• Refrain from removing the gown from the preservation box, as it's designed for the material to breathe naturally.
• Avoid storing in the attic or basement.
• Keep away from areas exposed to direct sunlight.
• Do not enclose the preservation box in a sealed plastic garbage bag.

Getting your dress cleaned and preserved is just one of the many things a bride should keep in mind before heading off on her honeymoon. Here's a checklist to assist you in remembering the finer details following your significant day:

• Express Gratitude with Guest Appreciation Cards
• Complete Documentation for Name Change
• Acquire a Copy of the Marriage License
• Update Driver's Licenses
• Update Name on Utility Bills
• Modify Name on Financial Accounts
• Apply for a New Passport
• Capture Images of New Residence for Insurance Purposes
• Establish or Update Living Will
• Extend Thanks to Vendors through Notes
• Publicize Your Wedding in the Newspaper
• Return Rented Attire (Tuxedo)
• Temporarily Halt Mail Delivery
• Arrange Pet Care for Your Time Away