Blog for Wedding Gown Care

What Happens When I Break The Seal On My Wedding Dress Preservation Box?

Contrary to common belief, the seal on a wedding dress preservation chest does not protect the dress from air.  A dress that is vacuum sealed is likely to be ruined after just a few years.  In fact, for a wedding dress to be successfully preserved over many years, air must circulate around and through the gown. 

So why is a wedding dress preservation chest sealed?

The main reason is to keep pests away from your gown.  You certainly don't want moths getting to your wedding dress, depositing eggs and causing damage to your wedding dress as the larvae hatch.  Sealing the wedding chest helps.

But a properly cleaned and preserved wedding dress does not have to be sealed in order to last for generations.  Just make sure the preservation chest is protected from pests...the six and eight-legged versions (i.e., insects) and the two and four legged versions (i.e., kids and pets).

Yes, the seal can also help keep out kids and pets so don't forget about that advantage of sealing the chest.  But the preservation chest does not have to be sealed if you can protect it by storing it away from the reach of the kids and pets and away from insects.

But Happens If You Break The Seal?

While WE don't void our guarantee because the wedding dress preservation chest is opened, some other wedding gown cleaners will claim their guarantee is voided if seal is broken...so be sure to check first. If your wedding dress was cleaned and preserved by a member of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists (including us!), a broken seal does not void anything. Make sure your wedding dress preservation chest carries the AWGS seal.

Read more about our guarantees by following this link.

(C) 2009 - 2010 Champion Wedding Gown Specialist.  All Rights Reserved

Protect Your Wedding Dress Before The Wedding - Six Easy Ideas

Of course you will do everything in your power to avoid spilling red wine on your gorgeous wedding gown during the wedding reception.  But what can you do to protect your wedding dress before your wedding day?

Here are my suggestions for protecting your wedding gown before the wedding...so your wedding day will be perfect.

1. Before your wedding, store your wedding gown where it will be protected from kids, pets, heat and moisture. There are many stories out there about all four of these culprits causing pre-wedding damage to a wedding dress.  Keep it in a protective covering before the wedding but remember to check it for wrinkles before the wedding so you can get it steamed pr pressed if needed.  Often the wrinkles will fall out on their own.

2. When you unpack your gown, be sure to unpack it in a clean, uncluttered area away from food, children and pets. Be sure your hands are clean and dry and remove all jewelry when handling your bridal gown. 

3. Remember to keep all labels and anything that came with the dress that covers care for the dress and fabrics used in the wedding dress. You'll need them later.  They'll help your wedding gown specialist clean your wedding dress. Please don't remove the care labels from your wedding dress.  If you don't have the labels, don't fret.  An experienced wedding gown specialist can determine the fabric and proper treatment in most cases...but it still helps to have the labels.

4. Inspect your dress after your pictures for soil, especially on the hem lines on a floor-length wedding gown and around the collar from makeup.  Have the gown cleaned if necessary.

5. Before your wedding, locate a qualified Wedding Gown Specialist and discuss your wedding gown cleaning and preservation. Be comfortable with the people who will be cleaning and preserving your wedding gown.  The best way to get that feeling of confidence is face-to-face discussion of the care for your wedding gown.  Don't do it over the phone.  Don't just take it to your local dry cleaner.  Take it to a Wedding Gown Specialist...someone who is qualified and experienced in wedding gown cleaning and preservation...someone who will clean the gown himself...not ship it to some distant, wedding gown mill.  Arrange to see your wedding dress before it is placed in the preservation chest.  Take a look at the problem areas...the grass or wine stains.  Make sure it is your dress being packaged.  That's the advantage of using a local wedding gown specialist.  That's why I'm in the wedding dress preservation business in Birmingham, Alabama.

6. My final suggestion is to arrange for someone (your Mom, your Mother-in-Law, your Maid of Honor, your brother...anyone) to take your gown to your selected wedding gown specialist immediately after your wedding.  The sooner the expert receives your gown, the better are the chances that any problems can be corrected.  Have your wedding dress preservation done as soon as possible...because there are risks of leaving it hangling in your closet (remember the kids, pets, heat and moisture).

If you have any other ideas for wedding dress care before the wedding, please let me and the other readers of my blog know by responding to this post.

(C) 2009 - 2010 Champion Wedding Gown Specialist.  All Rights Reserved

Wedding Gown Care Before and After Your Wedding

Are your aware of the many problems that can arise with your wedding gown, both before and after your wedding?  While wedding gown cleaning and preservation by a certified wedding gown specialist is absolutely essential for the long-term protection of your wedding gown, there are many things YOU can do  to protect your wedding gown.  Even a simple wedding dress needs your attention. The three culprits that can cause many of the problems with the long-term protection of your wedding gown that you need to keep in mind include:  Kids Pets Heat and Humidity OK...so that's four...but I'll talk about heat and humidity in the same context. Watch Out for the Kids First, kids don't always know the significance of a wedding gown to the bride.  This is always a concern both before and after the wedding.  Of course, the little girls want to preen while imitating the big girls.  So they may "try on" your gown just to feel like a big girl. Greasy hands, dirt, ice cream or just innocent oils from her hands can do a job on your gown.  Guard against this.    And for the little boys and girls, they might just want to hide from their friends when playing inside.  The bottom line here ladies...put your gown away so it's not attracting the kids.  Don't let let your gown become an "attractive nuisance" to any youngsters exploring your home.  Messy hands, noses, hair...and maybe some body parts I haven't thought of...can all cause problems for your gown.  The last thing you need is to get your gown out to take it to your wedding site just to learn that little Billy ate some chocolate ice cream while hiding behind your bridal gown stored in the closet.    Plastic Can Help...But Only For So Long If your wedding gown is in your possession for a couple of months before your wedding, it's OK to keep it in the plastic bag you might have received from your gown shop or the wedding gown dry cleaning specialist.  But even two months is pushing it a little because plastic emits fumes that can cause a gown to discolor.  Don't leave it in plastic for much longer than a couple of months.  But your wedding gown needs protection, both before and after the wedding. And What About Pets? There have been problems with bridal gowns from pets on more than one occasion.  Once, a frantic bride brought a gown in when she found out that she had locked her pet cat in the closet with her gown.  It's amazing what a cat's claws can do to a wedding gown in just a short period of time.  A couple of hours with a seamstress who is qualified to handle wedding gown alterations can work wonders with a scratched and clawed wedding gown.  And while not perfect, I'm betting that no one noticed...but the bride. I know of another case where a bride had her bridal gown dry cleaned after the wedding and was storing it in a closet.  The cat got in, had her litter of kittens overnight, and made a mess out of her gown. The bottom line here is to protect your gown...before and after the wedding.  I believe the best way to protect your gown after your wedding is by dry cleaning and preserving by properly boxing your gown using the right materials...including acid-free "treasure chest" and tissue are essential.  Hanging your gown in a closet for a long time will result in seam streatching and leaves your gown exposed to other risks...like kids and pets. Coincidentally, I can help you with proper wedding gown preservation methods!  We are a Certified Wedding Gown Specialist.   I'll give you the low down on HEAT and HUMIDITY in the next post!

(C) 2009 - 2010 Champion Wedding Gown Specialist.  All Rights Reserved