Wedding Blog
Hello Weddingbee!
I journeyed over to Union Square last week for the infamous Running of the Brides!! And thankfully, I did find a beautiful gown for a bargain price!!
But now I’m stuck with details that bridal salons would normally take care of, such as cleaning, pressing, and alterations. I have some scuff marks on the gown and some of the embroidery has come undone on the bodice. I was wondering how brides-to-be have taken care of such issues with gowns purchased @ sample sales and etc. I do not want to get it professionally cleaned b/c I think it will be quite pricey at about $200+. Would spot cleaning work?
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!
- “kp” 
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Share this post: Open Question: Cleaning Sample Sale Gowns
My sample sale gown had minimal dust marks on my train and the bottom of the dress. I took it to a cleaner recommended by the salon, and they told me to get my alterations done first and to then bring it back to them… and my cleaning would be about $75. I’d rather have them spot clean it than me! 
Hi kp,
I’d definitely take it to a cleaner that has experience with wedding gowns - “spot cleaning” should be a lot less than full on cleaning. miss lemon’s suggestion of getting alterations first sounds great, as you’ll have less dress to clean.
If you’re looking for a recommendation in the ny area, check out http://www.fancycleaners.com/index.html.
it’s run by a friend of mine, and mrs. butterfly got her dress altered there. they do really great work!
Definitely have a professional clean it. Though brides can save money on a really fabulous dress at the sample sale, the money for cleaning should be budgeted in there as well.
Think of it this way — would you want to risk ruining your dress to save $100? Or, would you want to spend hundreds (or thousands) of bucks on photography and risk a dirty dress?
I also have sample gown and planned to purchased those preservation gown kit on sale for cleaning/pressing. But I found out one local cleaner, retailer with gown preservation, does cleaning and pressing for $50. Less than $150 for the kit w preservation which I don’t yet need. I went to seamstress for the alteration cost from $75~100.
Does anyone happen to live in Vancouver, Canada? I’m at a loss as to where to start for alterations / cleaning. On the upside, my dress is not necessarily “bridal”. It’s sold on Neiman Marcus as just a regular old dress. I don’t necessarily want to go to bridal stores because I’m sure they will charge way more than is necessary. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Dani - I have had huge success getting things altered by a good tailor. One place to start looking is at dry cleaner’s, who do alterations. I would make sure that the tailor is there on site (better if it’s the owner, not a contract tailor) and that they do not take alterations without the tailor being present.
I once dropped off a pair of jeans at a dry cleaner that they sent to an outside tailor and they did a fine job. But, with a dress, I would want someone who was present, could measure me in person, and who I could talk to specifically about what I wanted, etc.
Thanks for posting my question Mrs. Bee!!
and thank you ladies for all of your input & help:
cleaning for $75? cleaning & pressing for $50??
those sound like great deals!
i will def. look into the URL you posted Mrs. Bee~
i have major bodice alterations to do(it’s rather big on top)..and i’m kinda’ nervous since there is a good amount of continuous embroidery/sparkly action underneath the bustline from front to back…just want to find a tailor i can trust for alterations as wel as cleaning~
wish me luck!
ps - was anyone else at the “Running of the Brides” event @ Union Square last week?
hello! anyone else have sample sale gown alteration places they went to? I have a recommendation from the store - but i feel like it will be super overpriced ..nyc metro would be wonderful .. thank you!
someone said phyllis from gownfind.com works magic..but she’s out in LI. she runs a bridal salon but works w/ other gowns as well.
i think we just have to call in for estimates at a few places to see which works out the best..
you should try Mrs. Bee’s rec - Fancy Cleaners..there’s a 20% discount in the “trunkshow” section as well!!
It depends how dirty the dress is. My gown designer (fancy pants NYC type) advised that the silk fabric is weakened by drycleaning, and cleaners sometimes make mistakes. Spot cleaning is good enough pre-wedding, but only bother with what’s on the outside. I promise that NO ONE WILL SEE THE BOTTOM/INSIDE OF YOUR DRESS!!! My dress was from a sample sale, and it was gray on the inner hem, underneath. Most of that got cut off when the dress was hemmed. What remained just got dirtier, because after the wedding we ran all over the place taking pictures and it got REALLY dirty (little sticks and pebbles stuck in the lace, you name it). Then at the reception a truly beloved groomsman handed me a too-full mixed drink with cranberry juice and — pink splash down the front of my dress. Oops, but not going to ruin a happy wedding day. Mom had the dress cleaned for $20 (yes, twenty) after the wedding in my folks’ hometown (way cheaper than in NYC). I didn’t do the airtight preservation thing, because I want to be able to wear it to white tie formals in the future.
if anyone is still reading this post - fancy cleaners did an AWFUL job - my dress came back with a NEW pen mark stain and part of the front was ripped … NOT a good recommendation despite the 20% off .. its worth it to pay more instead
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