After brides say the highly-anticipated and much-wanted “I do,” one of the concerns they need to address revolves around their wedding gowns. For some, especially those who have long decided to donate or sell their dresses, this is a no-brainer. Other women also decide to repurpose their gowns into another article of clothing.

There is a significant number of brides, however, who understandably choose to hold on to their dress because of what it symbolizes, a decision that you are probably opting for. Years down the road, the delicate piece of fabric will remind you of a promise-filled future and may even be donned on by the next generation at their wedding. This is where the importance of wedding gown preservation comes in.

Preservation encapsulates the steps people need to take to clean and preserve their dresses after they were worn during the wedding ceremony and reception. The primary goals behind cleaning and preserving a wedding dress include maintaining its integrity and avoiding the risk of the following:

● Mold and mildew growth

● Yellowing of the fabric

● Permanent creasing of the fabric

● Brown oxidation spots

● Retaining the blemishes incurred during the wedding day activities

If you are thinking of giving your wedding dress its version of a forevermore, a plethora of questions would naturally come to mind, including “What do I do?” “What steps do I need to take?” “Should I have a professional service provider do it for me?” “How much would seeking the service of a preservationist cost?” “How soon should I do it?”

If you’re particularly curious about when to start the process of wedding dress preservation so you can help your gown maintain its fabric, color, and shape, the following much-needed information is for you.

Before the Wedding

Preserving wedding dress and the steps it entails start way before you’ve gotten out of your gown. Before you have even put it on, you and any other handlers of the dress must ensure that it is handled with care by transporting it in its appropriate garment bag. Additionally, this is probably on the bottom list of the items you can remember in the face of how hectic your wedding day activities could get, but avoid any substances that can stain your dress. Be on the lookout for liquids that dry clear, such as white wine.

After the Wedding

To put it simply, time is of the essence. It is understandable, however, why dry cleaning a wedding dress and getting it ready for preservation are the last things a bride would want to do after months and years of running around and preparing for one of the biggest days of their lives. Some make the mistake of waiting after their honeymoon to get their gowns professionally cleaned — the first step in the preservation of wedding dress — because, by the time a few weeks have rolled around, any stains in the fabric would have had the time to set in.

So, if you are planning to jet off to the Maldives immediately after the reception, ask for the assistance of a bridesmaid, friend, or family member in hauling off your wedding dress to the dry cleaners. Afterward, you can now either DIY the procedures or rely on the expertise of a professional preservationist who would generally select from three major types of preservation methods, namely sealing, boxing, and bagging.