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Caring for your Dream Dress
Your big day may be over, but how can you store your wedding dress so that it stays in perfect condition without fading or discolouring beyond repair? Here is how best to preserve your dress
On the day of the wedding
Start preserving your dress on the day by making sure that you have sufficient bridesmaids to fetch, carry and help you whenever necessary. Avoid applying make-up when wearing the dress if you can, check the weather forecast and avoid listening to old wives tales. For example, if red wine is spilled on the dress, do not add white wine. Seek professional advice from a suitably equipped and skilled dry cleaner that offers a pre-treatment service.
As soon as possible after the wedding, entrust a friend to take your dress away for professional cleaning. Do check that the dry cleaner you select is experienced in handling wedding dresses.
Remember, everything from perspiration, atmospheric moisture, car fumes and general air pollution will have impregnated the fabrics and begun their task of breaking them down and discolouring them.
Post-Honeymoon storage tips
- Ensure the wedding dress is professionally cleaned before storing.
- Avoid unnecessary handling. Try and avoid the temptation to show your dress to everyone. Handling is the most risky time for a garment.
- If you are going to show off your dress, ensure your hands are clean. Better still, wear fine cotton gloves and remove jewellery that may snag. Ensure you have a clean area to lay out the dress before unpacking it. Make sure food, pens, pets and children are in a safe place!
- Store your box at around 13-18 degrees C with a relative humidity of less than 50 per cent. To put it simply, don't store your wedding dress box near a tumble drier, in the garage, unheated loft space or anywhere you suspect dampness exists.
- Use plenty of acid-free tissue paper between the folds and around the dress.
- Pack the dress in a suitably sized box to avoid excessive folding. Also, ensure the box is made from acid-free materials. Avoid boxes that claim to be Ph neutral. Many materials may test Ph natural, but it does not necessarily mean they are manufactured to meet archival specifications.
- Store items in the dark wherever possible.
- Store the box in a room where air can circulate freely.
- Remove any dust carefully before storing and keep boxes and contents as clean as possible.
- Store the box in a pest-free, insect-free area.
- Lastly, if it applies, don't forget the little people. Curiosity will some day get the better of them, so make sure your box is out of reach.
- Occasionally unpack your wedding dress to check and to reduce the risk of permanent creasing. Carefully repack if all is OK. Otherwise, seek advice from a professional textile conservator if needed.
Information provided by David Waterman, managing director of I Waterman (Box Makers) Ltd, suppliers of specialist preservation materials to world renowned museums, institutions and archives.
For more information on preserving your dress and other wedding memorabilia either e-mail: info@memories-nostalgia.com or visit www.memories-nostalgia.com.
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