Wedding Dress Storage

This article features wedding dress storage tips.

Preservation

It's not enough to have your dress cleaned; it will also need to be preserved. This includes packing in a box or a bag designed to keep the gown from incurring any damage from the elements or insects. Wedding dress preservation specialists know how to clean the dress and preserve the fabric so it can stay in storage for decades if need be.

Wedding Dress Storage Tips

If your wedding dress preservation specialist hasn't already packed your dress for you, keep these wedding dress storage tips in mind:

• Make sure your dress is professionally cleaned. Just because your dress looked clean to you when you took it off doesn't mean this is the case. Further examination may unearth dirt and stains. These stains can darken and become permanent if not dealt with quickly. Your dry cleaner or wedding dress preservation specialist will know exactly what to look for and which chemicals and solvents work best for particular fabric.

• Never store your wedding dress in plastic. When plastic breaks down it emits chemicals that can react with your dress and cause permanent damage.

• There's no such thing as completely "acid free" cardboard. If you're packing your wedding dress in a cardboard box, even if it's touted as being "acid free" you'll have to change the box every five years or so.

• Before packaging your wedding dress, wrap it in acid free tissue paper for extra protection. Don't you colored tissue paper as it can eventually bleed onto the fabric.

• Store your dress is a cool, dry place. Basements aren't ideal for wedding dress storage because they're damp and can encourage mold. Storing the dress where it's exposed to heat or sunlight will cause it to turn yellow. Your best bet is to store the dress in a closet.

• Don't use a wire hanger to hang your dress. Not only can it rust, but it can cause the fabric to tear. If you must hang your dress, hang it by the loops. Keep in mind that if a heavy dress hangs for too long, the fabric can tear under the weight of it all.

• If you'll be storing your dress in a wooden box, especially a cedar box, make sure there are layers of fabric or acid-free tissue paper between the wood and the dress. The acid in the wood will permanently stain the dress.

• Every now and then you should remove your wedding dress from storage and hang it in the fresh air. This will allow the fabric to breathe, making it less susceptible to mildew.