I had a recent request about how much time we need to clean a wedding dress. Here is the question I was asked from a UAB Nursing Student:
"My dress was sold to me 'As Is' from David's Bridal. They were unable to clean it fully because they said it would take too much cleaner around the bottom and there's a sweat stain from my bridal portraits. I will be getting married July 31st. I go to school in Birmingham, but I am currently in Brewton, AL doing a rotation and will be getting married here. The only time I will be able to come up to Birmingham is on July 16th to bring the dress up. I will be back up the next weekend of the 23rd. I was wondering if that would be enough time to get my dress cleaned. I'm also looking to have it cleaned after the wedding."
My answer to this question is simple. Yes We Can clean a wedding dress in a week.
Most wedding gown specialists take two to four weeks to clean a wedding dress, but unless the dress is in really bad shape...a lot of stains, repairs or discoloration issues, they don't spend more than a week working on it.
So why does it normally take two to four weeks to clean and preserve most wedding dresses?
- Since most dry cleaners or bridal shops DO NOT clean wedding dresses themselves, they need extra time to ship their dresses off to other locations to be cleaned.
- Since most Brides are not looking for their gown back in a week, the wedding gown specialist may simply take more time to smooth out their work flow
We are a little guilty of the second issue above.
But we do our wedding dress cleaning ourselves, right here in Birmingham, Alabama. So when needed, we can get it done right in a week...cleaned and pressed and ready to wear (or preserved for generations).
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Get Wedding Dress Alterations from a Specialist. From simple hems, to adding a bustle, altering the bodice to a redesign of a vintage gown. We can do it and you can relax.
Learn more about our wedding dress alterations services here.
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(C) 2009 - 2010 Champion Wedding Gown Specialist. All Rights Reserved
I’ve been asked several times about a home remedy for removing grass stains from a polyester wedding dress. The important fact here…and don’t miss it…is this applies to a polyester wedding dress and not silk or other fabrics. Polyester is much more forgiving than silk so don’t follow this remedy for you silk wedding gown.
I was talking recently with a Birmingham-area photographer, Michael Ray Wright. He told me that he tells every Bride he photographs to expect to get grass stains on her gown during the photo session. So don't be surprised if your white gown gets a little green during summertime photo shoots.
When you find a grass stain on your polyester dress, try using a diluted mixture of water and Dawn…about a 1 to 1 mixture should work.
This is how you should apply it:
- Work the mixture in on the wedding dress with the back side (rounded side) of a spoon or even lightly by hand.
- Don’t over work the area and don’t apply much pressure. Just apply the mixture and let the process work…maybe 10 to 15 minutes.
Don’t let it dry before going to the next step.
- Blot the stained area with a wet towel. Don’t wring all the water out of the towel…let it apply some clean water and then blot the area to get off the excess water.
Don’t rub hard because the finish on the wedding dress can become damaged.
- Rinse out the towel several times and keep blotting with the wet towel until the Dawn, the excess water and the grass stain are out.
- If you still have some grass stain, “lather, rinse and repeat.”
- Once you’re finished, be sure to let the dress air out and dry.
This might not result in a perfectly cleaned area on the dress…but I bet it will look much better and probably not that visible except maybe to you.
Dawn is an amazing product.
It can clean Pelicans drenched in oil at the Gulf Coast…and get grass stain out of a wedding dress…without hurting the Pelican or the wedding dress.
And finally, get your wedding dress to your
wedding gown specialist right after your wedding.
Clean and preserve your wedding dress so you can keep your wedding memories.
Do you have any tired and true home remedies to get stains out of a wedding dress?
Let me know by clicking in the comments section below and I’ll pass them on to others.
(C) 2009 - 2010 Champion Wedding Gown Specialist. All Rights Reserved
I have talked to several Brides, including one recently from Hoover, Alabama, about this emotional topic. The Bride wanted to have her gown cleaned after her wedding. However, she didn't want to place it in a wedding dress preservation chest. She wanted her wedding dress to last for many years in case she has a daughter one day who might want to wear her wedding dress. But she was adamant that she be able to hold and even try on her wedding dress (after the wedding) in order to re-live the memories of her wedding day.
The emotion associated with the dress and the thought that a Bride cannot hold her dress after preserving it make some Brides decide to delay proper care for the dress for several years.
Our response to this issue is different from some other wedding gown cleaners. We say you can hold...even try on...the wedding dress after it is cleaned. But you need to be careful. And you need to know how to re-package the dress so that permanent creases do not form.
If you have already had your dress cleaned and preserved by another wedding gown cleaner...one other than Champion...check with them about their guarantee. Will your handling of the gown void any guarantee they may have offered when you had your wedding gown cleaned? You don't want to lose the security the wedding gown specialist might provide.
If you must handle your wedding dress after it is cleaned and preserved, remember this important point: Museum standards for preserving vintage garments includes limiting the handling of the garment.
So keep that in mind...less is better!
But you can handle your gown without damaging it. Here are a few suggestions:
• Wash your hands and wear cotton gloves when handling a clean gown (we'll provide you with a pair)
• Don't handle it excessively (remember, less is better)
• Be aware of makeup...don't hold it too close
• Be wary of children and dirty hands
- Learn how to re-package the dress in the preservation chest (we'll show you)
If anyone wears the gown outside you'll likely need to get it cleaned again.
When you clean, preserve and store your gown properly, it will last for generations. But you don't have to put it away and never be able to re-live the wedding memories with your dress...at least not when Champion Wedding Gown Specialist handles your gown cleaning and preservation.
(C) 2009 - 2010 Champion Wedding Gown Specialist. All Rights Reserved
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
I asked wife about what the wedding gown really means to the bride after a decade or two. With our 40th anniversary approaching, Sherry is quite qualified to respond to this...but without her wedding gown. That's right, we're in the wedding gown preservation business and we don't have her gown. That's sad, but it's a fact.
This is how she answered that question:
"The wedding dress to a bride is like the proverbial glass slipper to Cinderella. When you finally find the right wedding dress, nothing else seems to matter quite as much. It becomes easier to pick out the cake, the invitations; even the menu is easier when you've found just the right wedding dress. Like the glass slipper that fit just right, you'll know when you found just the right wedding dress.
"It doesn't matter if you're looking for second hand wedding gowns, brand new couture bridal gowns or even vintage bridal gowns passed down from family members. When the dress is right, the feeling is right...wherever you get it.
"Looking for wedding dresses can be like finding the right man. There's one out there for every woman...but sometimes you have to really search and try on a bunch of them! But be careful. If you really like one and you put it back on the rack for others to try on while you're still looking, it might not be there when go back. You'll know when you've found the right wedding dress...and the right man.
"Your wedding gown will absorb your wedding memories like a sponge. Years from now, when you hold your gown again, these memories will come flooding back. It's like a line from a John Denver song I remember...‘It will fill up your senses, like a night in the forest.'
"That's the meaning, the emotion of a wedding dress to me. Maybe it's the months of planning for your wedding day, your relationship with your Maid of Honor, the emotions on the trip home after the honeymoon and much more. From the broken beading on the wedding dress, to the grass stains from the outdoor reception, these memories never fade as long as you have that wedding dress. After your wedding dress is cleaned, repaired and preserved, the details of the day remain in your mind when you revisit your gown...like a night in the forest.
"And that's why we're in the business of preserving wedding memories through wedding dress cleaning and preservation in Birmingham, Alabama."
(C) 2009 - 2010 Champion Wedding Gown Specialist. All Rights Reserved
Every dress has a limited useful life. Clothes will wear out over time with continued use. But a wedding gown that is worn infrequently and is cared for properly can last a lifetime. And when preserved using museum-style methods, wedding gowns can last even longer.
Whether you clean and store your wedding gown yourself, you have a Certified Wedding Gown Specialist preserve your wedding gown, or you take it to the neighborhood dry cleaners, there are two silent killers of your wedding gown. These killers are heat and humidity. If you have any hope of keeping your wedding gown, you must avoid exposing your gown to heat and humidity. Even a properly dry cleaned and preserved wedding gown will not last when exposed to excessive heat and humidity.
The Consequences
Heat will cause discoloration and deterioration of the fabric. Moisture will cause discoloration in the form of mildew and related problems. These are the silent killers of wedding gowns being held for that next generation of bride. Successful wedding gown preservation requires control of the environment, especially heat and humidity.
What's A Bride To Do?
This means you should select the right place to store your gown. Here are some pointers in selecting just the right place to store your gown:
- Avoid storing your gown in the attic where heat and humidity make a living
- Avoid the unfinished basement where humidity thrives and moisture can find your gown (like from a water leak)
- Avoid storing your gown directly beneath a bathroom in case of a water leak
- Avoid storing the gown on the floor of a closet (you never know who or what might get into the wedding gown...plus water leaks can damage your gown)
- The ideal place to store you gown is a closet that is not overloaded. Your gown needs air. It needs protection from kids and pets...and heat and humidity.
In the hot and humid Birmingham, Alabama area, humidity can be a huge problem. Just be extra cautious about trapping your gown with other items that will not allow air to get to your gown. This is true for both gowns being preserved on a hanger and for those preserved is an acid-free preservation box. Don't pile clothes, linens or other items on and next to the wedding gown so it will not get a good circulation of air. Keep a distance of six to twelve inches of space around your gown. A good quality preservation box will allow air to pass through to the gown.
A museum quality preservation box designed for use by qualified wedding gown dry cleaner is a great way to store your wedding gown in the least amount of space required.
And NEVER place your precious wedding gown in an air-tight plastic container. The vacuum sealed plastic bag gizmos you see on TV infomercials may the worst choice possible for storing your wedding gown.
Call us at 205.588.4120 to learn more about wedding gown storage.
(C) 2009 - 2010 Champion Wedding Gown Specialist. All Rights Reserved