Getting Your Wedding Dress Ready for Professional Cleaning
Weddings are famously expensive occasions, with pretty much every part of the big day increasing your overall budget by a considerable amount. Often one of the most expensive things you'll hand over cash for is the wedding dress but, of course, it's not just the monetary cost that makes it an important item. For most people, it's an irreplaceable memento of one of the best days of your life.
For that very reason, how you handle your dress after your wedding day is extremely important, so it can be safely preserved. Before you store it away for the long term, you should have it professionally cleaned to leave it in the best possible condition. Make sure you follow these preparation tips prior to cleaning, to ensure you get the results you want.
Take note of any stains
With all the food and drink that traditionally follows the wedding service, there's a fairly high risk of something getting spilt on your dress. You might not even notice at the time, but the delicate fabrics normally used in wedding dresses can easily stain.
Thoroughly check the dress all over for any stains and, if there are several, make a note of where they are. When you take the dress to be cleaned, make sure the cleaner is aware of all the stains so they can remove them properly.
Repair any damage
Weddings are busy occasions and a fragile garment like a wedding dress isn't really suited to all the hustle and bustle. Unfortunately, this means your dress may have sustained some slight damage.
Before you have it cleaned, it's important to make sure the dress is in good repair so its condition doesn't worsen. Your cleaner may offer a repair service, but if not, contact the person you bought the dress from and ask if they can.
Pack it up and store it properly
When a wedding dress is stored, it should be kept in a proper garment bag to prevent moisture from building up inside and to protect against sunlight. You were probably given one of these with your dress, but if not, it's well worth buying one for transporting the dress to the cleaner.
As soon as you're done with it, put it into the bag and either hang it up or lay it out flat. When you take the dress in for cleaning, make sure it's kept safe in the car and doesn't get crumpled up while you're moving it.
Find the right cleaner
Instead of taking your dress to just any cleaner, find one with experience in handling wedding dresses. They'll know exactly how to clean a wedding dress, and you'll have greater peace of mind that it will come back to you in perfect condition.