Protecting Your Wedding Dress

Looking after and storing a wedding dress for several months or even a year is high on the list of problems that couples now face. Together with having to reprint and resend invites, cancellation notices and manage guest numbers during this strange climate.

The majority of the brides we have spoken to would prefer to have their gowns at home, but are a little uncertain of how best to protect their investment and what rules they need to follow to protect it.

bride looking at her wedding dress

We’ve taken a no-nonsense approach based upon our lengthy experience as bespoke bridal gown makers and designers with over 30 years of looking after and storing bridal collections. This is purely to help brides understand the importance of applying a few sensible processes that will protect their wedding dress investment.

Items You Will Need For Storing A Wedding Dress

50 sheets of ACID FREE TISSUE PAPER tissue paper, high quality dress storage bag and a large enough storage box.

Purchase a decent quality breathable wedding dress garment bag (Preferably 72″ long with a 3″ gusset – making it perfect for ballgowns & princess gowns with larger skirts) – this bag is just an example – please do your own research.

Acid free or dedicated pH neutral wedding dress box, if you are planning to pack your dress away.

Or, a large suitcase, you can also use this to store your wedding dress, ballgown or party dress, as long as it is packed and protected with tissue paper and inside the dress garment cover – it will be absolutely fine!

Ballgown Wedding Dresses

Storing Ball gown wedding dresses with multiple layers of netting and tulle underskirts requires a little more care. In the short term (prior to the wedding) we would certainly recommend keeping these dresses on the hanger and inside a dress cover to save time and costs in the longer run – as preventing permanent crease marks caused by folding and storing in tight spaces is essential.

1) Hanging your dress in the wardrobe or on the back of a door is perfectly fine. Be sure to follow the guidance provided and keep the weight evenly distributed between the hangers. See the Video below for guidance on how to stop the bodice from crushing whilst it is hanging. You can follow the same technique or use acid free tissue paper to stuff out the bodice.

Recommendation – Using a strong wooden hanger or a padded hanger that can take the weight of your dress is just as important. Be sure to also use the hanging tapes inside the dress – they are there for a purpose and are specially designed for hanging the dress

2) The wedding dress garment bag supplied with the wedding dress is important to protect the dress from dust and will be perfectly adequate in the short term to protect the dress inside. Some bags are made of PVC and will disintegrate after a period of time leaving particles all over your dress. Be aware that many bridal boutique bags are not high quality – they are free giveaways for promoting business. So dependent on what is important to you, you may wish to invest in a better quality breathable bag with which to protect your investment in the longer term.

3) Don’t panic if your wedding date is simply postponed until next year, your dress will not discolour within such a short period of time. As long as you do not have your dress hanging where there is bright sunlight, radiators and fireplaces, damp walls and damp storage rooms.

4) If you have to place your wedding dress in box to store in another location such as your Mum’s or friends house be sure to seal the box securely with tape to stop household pets such as nosy cats from peeking inside. Do check the contents of the box every few months.

5) To prevent your dress from getting too wrinkled, “stuff” the sleeves (if your dress has them), the skirt and the bodice of the gown with acid-free paper.

6) Choose a garment bag with multiple pockets to keep all your possessions stored away together. Remember that in six months or 12 months time, you will avoid the worry of trying to remember where everything is especially if not stored in your own home.

7) Don’t be tempted to store your wedding dress using cheap recycled or coloured tissue paper as the dyes contained can penetrate and stain your dress permanently.

For further advice regarding delicate wedding dresses that contain beadwork or embroidery, Strapless Gowns & Veils CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE below Featured on Rock My Wedding