The Dos and Don'ts of Storing Your Dress After the Wedding

A wedding dress is the most expensive, delicate, and sentimental item of clothing a girl wears in her lifetime. After the big day, many brides keep their wedding gowns as keepsakes of their special day. Some also pass their gown to their daughters as an heirloom. 

But do you know the fabric and material of the gown are prone to damage due to improper storage? Dust and stains of makeup and wine can settle in the fabric, causing discoloration. 

In addition, humidity and exposure to sunlight can compromise the integrity of your precious gown. That is why proper care and storage of your wedding gown are crucial to ensure it remains pristine for years, or even decades, to come.

So, here are a few dos and don’ts you should keep in mind while storing a wedding dress. 

Dos to Store Your Wedding Dress

1) Do Make Sure It Is Clean Before Storing

Wedding dresses often accumulate invisible stains from sweat, oil, and food during the ceremony. All these stains can become permanent, especially if left untreated. So, don’t wait too long to get your dress cleaned. Instead, get your dress cleaned immediately after your special day or you return from your honeymoon. 

2) Do Hire an Expert to Clean Your Wedding Gown

Several companies claim to be experts at dry cleaning. However, not all dry cleaners can handle wedding dresses properly. That is why it is recommended you get your dress cleaned by a professional. Verify that the dry cleaner has enough experience and credentials for wedding dress cleaning. 

In addition, remember that each gown is unique and requires a different cleaning method. For instance, silk can withstand some chemicals, but sequins can’t. So, choose a cleaner who don’t follows one-size-fits-all approach for all fabrics. 

Don’t use any cleaning solution on your own to remove stains. It can worsen the problem, and your small mistake could permanently set the stain.

3) Do Store Your Gown in Acid-Free Tissue to Avoid Creasing

Wedding dresses are made up of multiple layers of fabric, adding weight to the dress. When a dress is folded improperly or too tightly, the fabric can develop deep creases. These creases can become permanent over time, especially in fabrics like silk, satin, or taffeta. The heavier the dress is, the more pronounced creases it will develop. So, fold the wedding dress carefully with layers of acid-free tissue paper between the fold. This special tissue helps buffer the folds and contours of the gown, preventing harsh creases and fabric stress.

In addition, the acid-free quality ensures that no harmful chemicals contact the delicate materials of your dress, preserving its color and fabric for long-term storage. 

4) Do Inspect Your Gown At Regular Intervals

Once you have stored your dress, it is recommended to inspect your wedding gown every 6 months or 1 year. This preventive measure is helpful in the early detection of any possible issues, such as yellowing of fabrics, mold growth, or pest damage. As a result, you can take action on time and prevent irreversible damage.

In addition, these inspections enable you to refold the gown in different patterns, helping prevent the fabric from developing permanent creases.

Inspecting the gown also gives you an opportunity to reassess and ensure that the storage conditions remain ideal—consistently cool, dark, and dry. This regular check helps confirm that the preservation materials, like acid-free tissue paper and boxes, are still effective and do not adversely affect the fabric. 

5) Do Pay Attention To Metal Accessories

Metal is prone to oxidation. It can rust over time, which may stain the fabric irreversibly.  So, if your wedding dress has metal hooks, buttons, or embellishments, ensure these are properly covered with acid-free tissue during storage. 

Don’ts to Store Your Wedding Dress

1) Don't Keep Your Wedding Gown in the Loft or Attic

A loft or an attic usually experiences extreme temperature fluctuations and high humidity levels. If you store your wedding gown in an attic, these temperature fluctuations can accelerate the degradation of delicate fabrics, whereas humidity can lead to mold growth and fabric weakening.

Moreover, these areas have relatively more pests that can cause direct damage to your dress by chewing the fabric. That is why it is recommended not to store your wedding gown in the loft or attic. 

2) Don’t Let It Close to Any Damp, Direct Sunlight or Smoke

Your wedding gown is susceptible to damage from environmental factors such as dampness, direct sunlight, and smoke. 

Dampness can lead to mold growth, leading to irreversible stains and fabric deterioration. Direct sunlight exposure can fade delicate fabrics and alter the dress's color over time, diminishing its beauty. Smoke particles can penetrate the fabric, leaving behind unpleasant odors that are challenging to remove. 

So, it is recommended to store your wedding gown in a sturdy dress box that is free from dampness, direct sunlight and smoke. 

3) Don't Store Your Wedding Gown in Plastic

It is a common myth among brides that plastic bags are ideal for wedding gown storage. What they don’t understand is that your precious gown needs to breathe and be protected from dust. Plastic bags emit harmful gases, especially when coming in contact with light, which can permanently discolor the fabric over time. So, it is advisable not to store your wedding gown in plastic bags for a long time.

4) Don't Hang Your Wedding Gown

Wedding dresses, especially with multiple layers, heavy embellishments, or a long veil, tend to be heavy and can stretch or deform the fabric if you hang it for a long time. In addition, continuous hanging can put extra strain on the seams dress, leading to tearing or loosening of the stitches. 

So, it is really important to store a wedding dress flat instead of hanging it in a closet. This will not only evenly distribute the weight of the dress but also prevent distortion. You can also choose to store it in an acid-free preservation box to maintain its pristine beauty.

5) Don't Handle Excessively

Delicate materials, like lace, silk, chiffon, and tulle, can snag, stretch, and tear while handling a wedding gown. Even the oils and residues from hands can wreak havoc on the fabric over time, leading to stains. 

In addition, wedding gowns have delicate embellishments that can become loose or fall off with frequent handling. Moving your dress frequently can also lead to structural stress, affecting its fit and overall appearance. That is why it is recommended to minimize handling your gown.

Store Your Wedding Gown With Trusted Wedding Gown Preservation

Even after following all the precautions, wedding gowns can get stained. That is why Trusted Wedding Gown Preservation offers wedding dress storing and preservation kits to help you preserve the beauty and integrity of wedding gowns for 100 years. Our deep understanding of fabric care and state-of-the-art preservation techniques have allowed us to preserve wedding gowns for over 3 million brides.

Highlights of Our Preservation Kits:

• Museum Quality Cleaning Using SYSTEMK4 Technology
• White Preservation Chest
• 100-Year Anti-Yellowing Guarantee
• Preserve 5 Additional Items
• Gown Tracking Included
• Satisfaction Guaranteed