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How To Store Your Wedding Dress Before and After the Big Day
The excitement of picking out your wedding dress is something that’s hard to match. From finding the perfect dress and sobbing, “This is the one!” to having someone special, delicately lace it up on the big day, it’s a feeling you won’t experience ever again. So, when your big day is over, you need to know how to store it carefully for a lifetime of beautiful memories.
Your wedding dress is one of the most precious belongings you’ll ever collect and you have probably spent a lot of time and money to find the perfect one. So making sure it is kept in perfect condition for not just the big day, but happily ever after too, is a must.
So whether it’s vintage or new, old or blue, we’re going to tell you exactly what you need to do before and after your big day to ensure your wedding dress is protected for years to come.
Storing Your Wedding Dress Before The Big Day
Before your big day you may only have you dress for a few hours or a couple of days. You might be tempted to leave it out somewhere so you can admire it whenever you want. Or you might try and keep it hidden from your husband-to-be in the back of a wardrobe or even up in the attic away from inquisitive kids and cats. Keeping out of reach of the kiddies, good idea! Keeping it in the attic, not so much.
It might be tempting to keep it stored in the spare room so you can take a look at it and try it on as much as you want before the wedding. This isn’t the best idea, though. Taking your dress in and out of the dress bag increases the risk of damaging it — every bride’s worst nightmare!
Likewise, keeping it stuffed at the back of a wardrobe isn’t a great idea as you’ll end up having other items push up against it resulting it in getting bashed about and maybe even catching on something!
And what about keeping it in the attic? That’s a big no!
Dust for one, rodents for two, uncontrolled heat and humidity for three. Need we say more?
The best way to store your wedding dress in the countdown to the big day is in a breathable dress bag (don’t even think about using plastic — explanation here), hanging up on a hanger in a safe, clean, and dry space.
Also, make sure your dress isn’t in direct sunlight and is protected against any drastic changes in temperature or humidity. So, away from doors and windows and chimneys and anything else that creates drafts.
For a lot of people, this could be in a safe area in your spare room. However, if you don’t have a spare room or ideal space in your home, you can always consider hiring a personal storage unit.
If you keep your dress in a dedicated storage unit, it will be as perfect and beautiful as the first day you tried it on.
Storing Your Wedding Dress (Happily Ever) After
How to store your wedding dress probably isn’t the first thing you think of the morning after your wedding day.
Whether it’s down to a groggy head or the fact you are straight off to the Maldives, your beautiful dress has taken a back seat. And we forgive you for that!
But we hope, at least, it will be rehung back up in its dress bag and put somewhere safe until your return.
So off you go on honeymoon for a bit of rest and relaxation!
And now you’re back! Glorious tan and a wonderful husband in tow, it’s time to give your wedding dress its happily ever after.
So how do you prepare your dress for decades of pristine storage?
First things first, get it professionally dry cleaned. You might think it’s fine, you didn’t even spill any of that red wine down it on the day but even a tiny stain from a dropped crumb of cheesecake can get worse over time.
So go to a professional that specialises in wedding dress dry cleaning and wipe out any hint of contamination.
Oh and if you haven’t already ditched any plastic coverings, do so now! Plastic is the enemy for delicate clothes being stored long term. Read our article: It’s Not Goodbye, It’s I’ll See You Later: Storing Clothes Long Term to find out more.
For long-term storage, you can keep it in the same place as you did pre-wedding. Find somewhere safe and free from drafts and hand up it.
That said, there is a better suggestion. Buy a beautiful wedding dress box.
Find a box that’s big, sturdy and as beautiful as the dress itself. Pay particular attention to the following things for stress-free storage:
- It is a breathable box with good air circulation
- It is secure and sturdy
- It is the correct size for your dress
- It is pH neutral (acid free)
When placing your dress in your new wedding dress box be sure to use acid free tissue placed between the layers of your dress as you fold it as this will prevent yellowing.
Now you can store the box in a safe, clean and dry room, again away from any temperature extremities or direct sunlight. Think spare room, out-of-reach place in your wardrobe or a personal self storage unit.
And don’t forget to check in on it every so often. This not only lets you know it’s safe but it also prevents creases from setting in. And really, who needs an excuse to marvel at its beauty from time to time?
If you have any more tips, tricks or advice please feel free to leave a comment on our Facebook page.
If you have any more questions on how to store your wedding dress then please contact us on 0141 280 8887 or send us a message here.
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