Is it just me or does this look like a wedding dress coffin?

So I wanted to publish this post during the month which is most popular for weddings, but the internet failed me. I googled, “What is the most popular month to get married?” Well, google presented me with results that consisted of every month except for January, February, March, April, November, and December. So that leaves us with May, June, July, August, September, and October. I was looking for one month and I ended up with half the year as my answer. Oh well… If you’re about to get married or just got married CONGRATULATIONS! I thought I would write a post about the proper way to store your wedding dress.

 The first thing you need to do is get it professionally cleaned, ASAP! Sweat, perfume, make up, and alcohol stains may not be visible at first but the longer you wait, the darker the spots will eventually get. Therefore, harder to get out. Make sure you research cleaners in your area because a lot of them won’t clean wedding dresses. Get references from friends who recently got married or look at reviews online. The last thing you want is your dress that cost thousands of dollars to come back and be accidentally dyed purple or something. Unless your wedding dress was actually purple to begin with, which is pretty unique. Anyways…

 The second thing you need to do is decide whether you’re going to keep your wedding dress in a box or on hanger storage. Either way you’re going to need acid-free tissue paper.

If you’re going to store your wedding dress in a box make sure you purchase a big box. You don’t want your wedding dress all squished up in a box for all of eternity. Start by lining the box with acid-free tissue paper and put the hem, or bottom of the dress, in first. Then layer it accordion-style and put the tissue paper in between each layer. If your dress has sleeves, be sure to stuff the sleeves with the tissue paper also.

Hanging your dress may be a little easier. Make sure to get a wide, padded hanger. Once the dress is on the hanger be sure to stuff the sleeve and any deep folds of fabric with acid-free tissue paper. Then just cover the dress in a muslin garment bag that you can get online for around $30-$40 dollars.

For real preservation of your wedding dress, check on it once a year. If your dress is hanging take it out of the garment bag and wash the bag. For boxed dresses, take the dress out and repack it so that it’s not folded in the same places.

I hope this helps you keep your wedding dresses nice and pretty! Some women save their dresses for their daughters or just for sentimental value, but I think after a few years, take it out, modify it, and wear it to an anniversary party, or make it a little more casual and wear it out to another event. Make your multi-thousand dollar dress multi-purpose and put it to use, girl!

Happy Sunday everyone! Geez, where did that weekend go?!