There is no way to sugar coat itmany brides are pushing their wedding date back due to the pandemic and the restrictions that are in place. As unfortunate as this may be, it is reality, and we want to make sure we do everything we possibly can to support anyone making this decision! We have received several calls about the best way to store a wedding dress to make sure it stays as pristine as possible without permanently preserving the gown. Read below to hear our recommendations!
(Photo by Katie Leming)
Store your wedding dress in a cloth dress bag.
All Ellens bridal gowns leave in a white, cloth dress bag. This bag protects the gown from dust and prevents anything from rubbing against the gown and snagging the fabric. Our first recommendation is to make sure that your wedding dress is in this bag. If you do not have a dress bag, call us and we would be happy to work on getting one to you!
Make sure your wedding dress is the only item in the dress bag.
It is important to remove any veils, jewelry, shoes, etc. from the bag. If you have purchased these items, it is likely that they were put into the bag with your wedding dress for easy transport home. Sometimes these items are wrapped in plastic, so you dont want that up against your gown. We also recommend removing any tags that might still be on your gown. This prevents the transfer of dye or ink from the tag to your gown.
Hang the dress using the sewn-in support straps.
Make sure that your wedding dress is hanging by the sewn-in support straps and not just the straps of the gown. Sometimes you have to dig down into the inside of the bodice to find these straps, but they should be there (if they arent, give us a call and we can add some). Additionally, sometimes these straps are really long, so you might have to wrap them around the hanger arms a few times. Make sure that the weight of the dress is support by these straps and not the straps of the wedding dress. Using the straps of the dress might cause them to stretch under the weight of the gown over time.
If your dress has a train, hang that using the loop on the underside of the train.
Similar to the support straps at the top of the gown, if your dress has a train there should be a loop on the underside of the train. Hook this over the top of the hanger and let your train swoop up the back of the dress. This prevents the train from pooling and wrinkling at the bottom of the dress bag. Some wrinkling is expected, and you will likely have to have your dress steamed prior to the wedding day, but this should help limit the number of wrinkles in your train!
Keep the dress in a climate-controlled environment
This might be the biggest tip we can give you! Make sure that your wedding dress isnt in the car, garage, or any other environment that might get too hot, too cold, or damp. The dress should be stored inside and somewhere that is climate-controlled. Avoid moisture and sunlight at all costs!
If you cant hang the dress, lay it flat.
If you dont have a safe place to hang the gown, another option is to lay it out flat. Some options could be under a bed or on top of a guest bedroom bed. Just be sure that pets or small children cant get to the dress!
Keep the dress out of the sunlight.
Keeping the dress out of sunlight is key! This keeps the dress from yellowing or fading!
We hope that you find this post helpful as you prepare to store your wedding dress for a later wedding date. If you find that your dress has gotten dirty or some repairs need to be made, dont worry! There are options for cleaning your gown (with the help of professionals), and your seamstress can help make any repairs to your dress as your wedding date approaches. We also partner with Great Lakes Wedding Gown Specialsts, and they are a wonderful resource for all things wedding gown preservation. They say that if you store your gown properly, it should be okay for 18 months!
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