People often dispose off their wedding dress bags, thinking that the plastic bag would be of no use in the future. A little known fact is that the bag can be very handy, when you want to preserve your wedding dress for the future. So, make sure to save the bag in which your wedding dress came.
In addition to the bag, you will need a clean, white cotton sheet to wrap the wedding gown. Wash the cotton sheet in hot water, before using it for the purpose. Do not use detergent to wash the sheet, because the chemicals might ruin the fabric of the sheet and eventually, your wedding gown.
Wrap the wedding gown in the washed and dried cotton sheet and then cover it with the plastic bag. Be careful while wrapping the gown, so as not to result in tearing away of the fabric or the hemming.
Send your wedding dress for dry cleaning, one or two days after the wedding ceremony is over. Ensure that you send your precious gown to a professional dry cleaner, who specializes in preserving formal gowns. You may get some help from the bridal shop, about a good dry cleaner.
Ask the dry cleaner to take care of your gown, during the cleaning process. Alert him about the stains in the gown, if any. If the ornaments in the gown are glued on to it, rather than sewed, do not forget to inform the cleaner about the same. This is very important, because the ornaments often fall off during the cleaning process.
Ask your dry cleaner to wrap the wedding gown in a clean, acid-free tissue papers. Be sure to mention that you want the high quality tissue papers to be put in between the folds of the gown, to avoid permanent wrinkles on the dress.
Ensure that the dress is stored in an acid-free box, since the chemicals present in the acid can spoil the fabric of the gown. If possible, ask the cleaner to wrap the dress in an acid-free box, after completing the cleaning process.
After you have collected your wedding gown from the dry cleaner, place it in your closet, in a very neat manner. You may hang the wedding gown in a padded hanger, to avoid wrinkles.
The wedding gown should be stored in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. The temperature of the store room should also be taken care of. This is because the temperature has an indirect effect on the fabric of the gown, after it gets treated with chemicals during the dry clean.
Inspect your wedding dress on each anniversary to check whether it is in good condition or not. Make sure that you allow the dress to 'breathe' and then store it properly again.
