Gown Preservation and Restoration

Your wedding gown is one of your most precious possessions. It should preserve the elegance of the day you wore it. Today's wedding gowns are made from a wide variety of fabrics and are accented with many kinds of trims. Most gowns require professional care. As your Sanitone Certified Master Drycleaner, Citywide Cleaners has had the opportunity to care for gowns of every type and style. Our cleaning and preservation includes repairing loose threads and ornaments, and placing your gown in an archival-quality box for protection. We welcome the chance to preserve your wedding gown.  

After the Wedding

Whether having worn a new gown or family heirloom, most brides want to preserve their wedding dress. We recommend that you have it cleaned and repaired as soon as possible after your wedding day before you store the gown. It is important to get all stains (visible and invisible) out before preservation, as it is often difficult or impossible to remove them later. Food and beverage stains, make-up, and body oils, if not carefully addressed as soon as possible, may spoil the results of your preservation.

Cleaning instructions

Your gown, by law, must have accurate care instructions addressing all parts of the dress, including any beading, decorative trim, or sequins. We will strictly adhere to those instructions. It is of uppermost importance that you keep any labels that come with your dress and present them to us when you bring your dress to Citywide to be cleaned. You will be asked to sign a Consent to Clean so you are aware of the inherent risks. Read here.

Preservation

If you're storing the gown on a hanger, we recommend removing the protective plastic wrap, stuffing the bodice with white, acid-free unbuffered tissue paper, and then wrapping the dress in a protective white sheet or unbleached muslin covering.

If you've chosen storage in one of our specially constructed gown boxes, your dress will already have been carefully stuffed with white, acid-free tissue paper to prevent wrinkles. As long as your headpiece does not have a metal wire frame or colored flowers, we will enclose it with your gown.

Headpieces, veils, shoes, foam shoulder pads, bra cups, programs, glasses, etc should be removed and stored separately from the gown to avoid color changes and damage to the gown's fabric.

Store the wedding gown in a cool, dry location. Basements and attics are not good choices, as basement dampness can cause mildew and attic heat can promote yellowing of the fabric.

*Information from the International Fabric Institute.

Read CONSENT TO CLEAN HERE