Read if You’re Unsure What To Do With the Most Valuable Dress in Your Closet
Your wedding gown isn’t just any piece of clothing you let hang in your closet — it’s an intricately crafted garment encapsulating the day you said “I do” and deserves special care and attention even after your wedding day.
That’s where wedding gown preservation, i.e., the careful process of retaining your gown’s beauty through special cleaning and storage techniques, comes in.
While you may feel inclined to DIY your own preservation, let’s face the facts: preserving your wedding gown properly requires attention to detail and expertise only a professional can provide.
Let’s explore the reasons why you should hire a professional wedding gown dry cleaning service to preserve your most fabulous garment.
1. To Ensure Safe Storage
What do stretched fabric, discoloration, and permanent creasing have in common? They are all the risks you take when leaving your wedding dress exposed to the elements. (Even hanging your dress in your closet can make it susceptible to damage.)
However, professional wedding gown preservation ensures that delicate materials — think lace, silk, satin, and tulle — are cared for correctly and stored in protective packaging, guaranteeing a dress free from wear and tear, and integrity that is safeguarded for the years ahead.
2. To Give Your Gown a Second, Third, and Even Fourth Life
Do you have a daughter just dreaming of wearing your wedding gown when the occasion of her own wedding inevitably arrives?
Hiring a professional to handle your wedding gown preservation guarantees a gown that looks and feels just as beautiful on your daughter’s wedding day as it did for yours.
And because this process of preservation is done with the utmost care, not only could you be giving your dress a second life, but even a third and fourth as professional preservation services can offer anywhere from a lifetime to a 100-year guarantee.
3. It’s Never Been More Affordable
With wedding gown preservation being a practice that’s been around for centuries, it probably wouldn’t surprise you that it was once a service reserved only for the rich and well-connected.
But because advancements in technology have come so far — think the advent of the internet — preserving your wedding’s statement piece has never been more affordable and accessible as prices for cleaning and preservation ranging from $300 to $500.
Of course, though, it’s important to consider that the cost of professional wedding gown preservation and cleaning services largely depends on the condition of your gown, e.g., fabric, decoration, and degree of damage. Preserving an intricately beaded gown wouldn’t require the same time and attention as one made of modest polyester. After all, not all wedding dresses are created equal.
4. Prevent Irreversible Damage
Imagine opening up your gown for the first time in years only to be met with yellowing fabric, darkened stains, and the growth of mold and mildew. Yikes!
While not all hope is lost, even in extreme cases like the above, failure to properly preserve your wedding gown can cause irreversible damage, especially the longer you wait to bring it in.
Moreover, hiring a professional to handle your wedding dress cleaning and preservation provides you with the peace of mind that your dress is safe from the elements and protected for generations to come.
5. Loan to a Friend, Family Member, or a Bride in Need
Let’s face it, life is unpredictable and there may come a time when a friend or family member needs your Gown. Wouldn’t it feel good to swoop in and save the day?
Now, let’s consider a stranger. (Yes, really.)
While it may feel uncomfortable to pass off your wedding gown to someone unknown, especially if you can’t bear the thought of parting with your dress permanently, you may not want it sitting around collecting dust either.
That’s where online lending platforms come in — like Rent the Runway and Poshare — providing a solution for those in the middle.
And while this option isn’t entirely altruistic, you’d still be helping someone find their dream dress after months of searching, giving a new meaning to the term “something borrowed.”
6. A Sentimental Dress Deserves Sentimental Treatment
Perhaps you have no future plans for the most valuable dress in your closet other than to admire it from afar and look back with fondness.
If this sounds like you, wedding gown preservation is still an option you should consider.
Think of it this way: your wedding cake may last up to a year in the freezer, and your photographs will forever have their place in your wedding album, but preserving your dress gives you a tangible reminder of one of the happiest moments in your life, allowing you to relive the day again and again.
So, why not choose wedding gown preservation to give your dress the sentimental treatment it deserves?
7. To Boost the Value of Your Wedding Gown
While your wedding gown is a sentimental piece of your life, there may come a time when letting go and selling makes sense.
Letting a professional take charge not only gives you the option to recoup your investment, but it goes without saying that a well-preserved gown will appreciate in value over time, making wedding dress preservation an investment that gives back tenfold.
Ready to Preserve Your Wedding Gown?
Whether you wore it down the aisle last week or last year, it’s never too late to get started on your wedding gown preservation. And at Columbus Cleaners, we have the tools and professional skills you desire to get the job done right.
Visit our website to learn more about preserving your wedding gown with Columbus Cleaners today.