Wedding Dress Restoration and Preservation

After it’s all said and done, what the heck do you do with the dress? Do you sell it? Do you preserve it? One thing is for sure, you have to at least get it cleaned!

We flew out for our honeymoon the morning after the wedding so I didn’t have time to inspect the wedding day damage on the dress until we got back. A week later when we returned, I looked over the dress and was surprised at how dirty it was. The dress was hemmed to my height with my wedding heels, of course, I took them off for a short period after the ceremony so my dress did drag lower than it was supposed. As a result, the train and trim was filthy! There was a few makeup stains on my collar/shoulder area, either mine or from a lady guest when we exchanged hugs and overall the dress just looked worn.

My goal is to try to sell my dress especially since the dress is still current. I looked into some consignment shops but most want the dress cleaned before they help you sell your dress. My other option was to sell it on eBay, but then again I would still want the dress cleaned before I try to sell it. If at the end, I can’t sell my dress at least I have it cleaned to set it up for storage.

The dress shop where I bought my dress has an alteration center where they can ship your dress out to a third party for preservation and restoration, when I inquired it was way over $275 – yikes! I then visited a mom and pop dry-cleaners that had rave reviews on Yelp for being inexpensive and great with wedding dress cleaning and preservation, so I made my way down and asked for a quote which ended up being $250 – seriously? No thanks. Finally, I remembered that David’s Bridal sold a preservation “kit.” At first, I thought it meant like a kit where I would have to clean it myself. Either way I decided to check it out. I actually used to work at David’s Bridal about eight years ago, but I couldn’t recall how the kit worked. When I got there the manager was nice to explain the kit, a box which includes tape, prepaid shipping and paperwork. You simply bag your dress, fill out a short slip with your information and dress information, put the dress in the box, attach the prepaid postage, and drop it off at your local UPS store, Staples, or other convenient drop-off locations. According to the manager, she had never heard of any complaints. Seemed easy enough, the best part was the price, it was only $143! I guess there are three price ranges, if you bought your wedding dress at David’s Bridal its only $99, if you are one of their registered brides and in my case my bridesmaids bought their dresses there, it was only $143, lastly if you didn’t do either you pay the regular price of $189. Regardless this has to be the best deal out there!

I bought the box, went home, set it up, packed it, filled out the slip, and dropped it off at UPS and boom, about three to four weeks later my dress arrives on my doorstep and it was BEAUTIFUL! It comes in a beautifully sealed white box, with a window front, so you can see the dress. The dress looked nicely placed and so clean! It had a lovely touch of a thin ivory ribbon with silver lettering place around the waist of the dress stating “Preserving Memories for a Lifetime.” The box came in an air-tight plastic seal which protects the dress from mildew, mold and oxidation. On the back of the box, sealed inside was the paperwork for the dress: the receipt, the certification of the 30 year warranty, the inspection checklist, and a sheet with details of the dress like fabric, color, etc. Genius, that way you never have to worry about losing the paperwork.

Additionally, you could request add on’s to the preservation kit like special monogramming on the front cover of the box with your wedding date and name for a small fee of $15. I decided against it since I’m planning on selling my dress. You can also add on other pieces like your veil, shoes, and other accessories and have it preserved and displayed for another small fee.

I love admiring my dress in the box, it’s so nice! What’s great is if I’m not successful in selling my dress then at least it’s cleaned and preserved and ready for storage.






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