A wedding dress is one of the most sentimental purchases a woman makes in her life. Now that you’ve walked down the aisle and danced the night away, you need to store this treasure so that the years do not steal any of its beauty. You may want to leave the possibility open for your little girl to one day carry on the family tradition and walk down the aisle in that very wedding gown. To maintain its timeless grandeur, check out a few of our tips:
- Check the gown’s label for care instructions. Some must be dry cleaned while other must be wet-cleaned. Which means cleaned with water and should only be handled by a professional. Check with your bridal shop for any special instructions that specify the type of cleaning your dress may require. Having your gown cleaned as soon as possible will prevent stains from setting in. Remember, not all gowns require the same treatment. So be sure to talk with a professional.
- Avoid storing the gown in a plastic dry-cleaning bag or a plastic garment bag for very long, even if the boutique sent the dress home with a plastic bag. Plastic emits fumes that could yellow or damage the gown. If any moisture gets trapped, the dress could mildew.
- After the wedding dress has been cleaned and preserved, you’ll want to keep it in a location where the temperature is cool and the air is dry. You may want to lease a climate control unit with these features that will allow you protect your gown for many generations of happiness.
- Boxing a wedding dress is the preferred form of storage, as it lets the gown lie flat and usesacid-free tissue paper in the folds of the dress to prevent decay. Brides may choose to box their gowns at home or have them boxed professionally. In either case, a boxed gown should be removed and refolded about once a year to prevent creases from forming.
- If you prefer not to box your dress, the dress can be bagged and hung. Just make sure to go with a cotton garment bag with a well-padded hanger. The major benefit of bagging and hanging is that it doesn’t require a yearly maintenance visit, which is much more convenient since the point of storing your wedding dress is that you don’t have to deal with it until you need it again. Consider storing a clothing rack or set of shelves in your storage unit so that your dress isn’t stacked in a corner or draped over furniture, where it can get knocked on the ground or crushed by other items.
Only these steps—and the selection of the best self-storage unit in your area—stand between you and the preservation of important memories for years to come!
