cleaning your dress

[linzwylie]

Hi,

I have been checking prices for having my dress cleaned after the wedding and they are ridiculous !!! £130 / $195 Now I will need my dress cleaned twice - Once before my home reception and then again before it is stored away until the vow renewal

So I was just wondering if this price is normal or if there are any tips for cleaning the dress yourself I mean do they really get THAT dirty??

Thanks
Linz xxx

 

[kcampbell]

The bottom of my dress was black by the end of the night! It was even worse after the MK shoot!
(I only had 1 reception, but if I'd had a 2nd- the dress DEFINITELY would've needed to be cleaned in between)

I had my dress sent away to be cleaned and preserved. It was $189 for the higher end package (because my dress was Italian Silk Satin) which wasn't too bad. ($149 for the standard)
It was worth every penny b/c they got EVERY SPECK of dirt out and my dress looks as if it was never worn.

 

[Justsyd2]

I paid around $120 about 15 years ago. That sounds like a good price.

 

[lurkyloo]

Have you read the book "Bridal Bargains" by Denise & Alan Fields? Gown preservation is a crock, and sometimes it actually does more to harm your dress than just wrapping it in a sheet and storing it in the back of your closet...

It cost me about $80 to have mine cleaned. It had a full A-line skirt but no decoration on it, which can add to the price. I did my own preservation based on web research into the best methods used by costume archivists.

Definitely don't let them stick it in any kind of so-called preservation box without inspecting it yourself first. A lot of companies say that if you open the box you void their preservation warranty, but that's just to keep you from discovering wht a crummy cleaning job they did.

 

[kcampbell]

Definitely don't let them stick it in any kind of so-called preservation box without inspecting it yourself first. A lot of companies say that if you open the box you void their preservation warranty, but that's just to keep you from discovering wht a crummy cleaning job they did.

Perhaps the company I used is not the norm b/c they actually encourage you to open & inspect your dress upon delivery (without breaking any sort of warranty) and provide tape to re-seal the box if you choose to do so.

I was very pleased by the cleaning job they did because they got out everything (lipstick, MAJOR dirt along the bottom, candlewax on the train, etc) from my dress. It looks gorgeous- just as if it has never been worn -- that was all that was important to me.

My DH is planning on purchasing a dress form for me to place my dress on and I was planning on draping it with a sheet, just as you suggested, once we get moved. Thanks-- I guess my inclinations to do that were right. Is that what you did with your dress after it was cleaned?

 

[lurkyloo]

That's so neat - I was thinking it would be fun to display my dress on a form and pin the necklace to it and all, but then I started thinking about it needing to be protected by a display case and suddenly I'd mentally mounted an entire museum exhibition in my living room!

What I ended up doing was stuffing the bodice with acid-free tissue paper and folding the skirt up in more of the same paper and then storing it in a Sterlite container (apparently they are the same kind of boxes used by preservationists). I keep meaning to post pix on the boards - I think it would be neat to start a thread where everyone shared how they preserved their dress.

 

[tiggerrifficheidi]

Mine was filthy, too. We never got it bustled right, and it was dragging all over the place and getting stepped on. I just had it cleaned, not preserved, but they got ever bit of dirt out, and I know some of it was grease-based!!

 

[adisneygal]

I just took my dress to the cleaners and it was $100. I am also having an at home reception and then at the last min decided I need a MK shoot next may so I will have to get it cleaned 2 more times....

I guess I am in the minority but I plan on selling it, if it is sellable. I figure with the great pics from the Roots....

I don't need to hang on to it. I doubt it will be fashionable for my girls to wear it when they get married or would even want to.

And if it is too trashed to sell, I think I will do a trash the dress shoot with it.