Bride’s Guide: Storing Your Wedding Dress Long-Term

You spent so much time and effort to find your dream wedding gown. No one should have to throw their dress away after wearing it for their ceremony.

Use these tips to store your wedding dress long-term to preserve the memories or keep it pristine for your future child.

1. Get Your Dress Cleaned

Brides have so much fun during their weddings that they might not notice stains on their dresses until long afterward. Although you can remove simple stains with dish soap, ammonia and other household supplies, it’s best to schedule a professional cleaning. Dry cleaning experts will remove stains using the dress tag for specific washing instructions.

2. Consider the Effects of Humidity

If you store your dress in a humid location, the airborne moisture will cause your wedding dress‘s fabric to decompose with mold and rot. Installing a dehumidifier continually removes any moisture to ensure safe long-term storage. It also makes more storage locations possible, like a crawlspace or garage closet.

3. Schedule the Cleaning Quickly

When stains and moisture linger on your dress for days, weeks or months after your ceremony, it’s much harder to preserve the gown. Schedule an immediate cleaning right after your reception or honeymoon. Your dress will look more beautiful in the coming years because you quickly took care of dirt, stains and other imperfections.

4. Pick the Best Container

The container keeping your wedding dress safe is one of the most critical storage factors. A professional cleaner will have airtight boxes on hand, but you can also buy one online or vacuum seal your dress when it’s completely dry. You’ll save more money for fun wedding details like groomsmen gifts or honeymoon adventures while preventing oxidation that causes discoloration.

5. Remember Your Accessories

Even if you don’t plan on passing your wedding dress down to your future kids, you should still save the accessories that made your big day so wonderful. Add your bridal jewelry, shoes and veil to your storage container after cleaning them. Don’t forget details like your headband, fur wrap or any other personalized accessories that made your bridal style complete.

Store Your Wedding Dress Safely

These are the most important factors to remember when figuring out how to store your wedding dress long-term. Taking care of issues like moisture and oxidation makes your gown look immaculate even if you unbox it after decades of storage.