Wedding Gown Preservation
July 21st, 2007 @ 6:59 pm by Mrs. Plum
My gown is really REALLY dirty after having been worn not once, but TWICE to two different receptions and ceremonies. The underside of the gown is filthy - the gown basically acted as a broom/mop wherever I went. I have something that is reminiscent of a thin chocolate smear on the bodice.
I went to the recommended cleaner/preservationist of my gown designer and they quoted me $695-795 to clean my gown plus a $100 gift cert towards my purchase because I requested a quote online - this means it will cost $595-695 to clean. They clean it, preserve it, fix any broken beads, zippers, bustles, hems, etc., so it’s pristine again. They box it and guarantee their work for 50 years.
It sounds pretty reasonable to me, but I was wondering - are they charging me a premium due to the designer of my gown or is this a normal range? Someone please enlighten me! How much did you pay to preserve/clean your gown and what designer/type of gown was it?
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27 Responses to “Wedding Gown Preservation”
I think that’s a really high quote, unless they know it needs a lot of work. If your gown is torn, needs beads replaced, and you did say it was filthy, it might not be totally unreasonable, if you want it back in pristine condition. Why don’t you ask them why it’s such a high quote?
I haven’t decided what I’m doing with my gown yet. I know I have to make a decision soon. I can preserve it, donate it, or, as my mom and aunt lobbied for, it could be made into the fittings for a bassinet. (We’ll have to see about that last one.) I’m also thinking about doing a “trash the dress” shoot, I just want to lose a few pounds before the summer’s over!
I had mine cleaned through http://www.wedclean.net
It was $130 and it came back pristine and preserved very nicely.
According to the book Bridal Bargains, gown cleaning and preserving is a scam, they say you can clean your gown in a regular washing machine on the gentle cycle….now that seems a little risky to me, esp if your gown is extremely intricate with beads and whatnot. But I do think your quote seems high.
I’m toying with this as well - my mom paid a ton to clean and preserve her gown back in the 70s, only for us to open it last year and basically make fun of how silly looking it is (she joined in as well). My point being why preserve it? Is your daughter really going to wear it? Or try it on 30 yrs from now and poke fun at it? Although as a disclaimer, I am not a very sentimental person, and do understand that some sentimental people might feel differently. ..
As someone who doesn’t plan on preserving the dress, can someone explain to me why people do choose to do so? I guess in my mind, as I have witnessed from my mother, the dress sits in a box in the back of the closet, after a year or two it is never looked at again, and then when a daughter does come along and is ready to get married, she wants her own dress. Is everyone planning on wall-mounting the dress and using it as a piece of art? I can’t begin to fathom spending $500+ so I can stick a sealed box that I can’t open in the back of a closet. Instead, I plan on donating my dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer… does this make me a terribly unsentimental person?!
Nope-that’s normal for high-end preservation. It’s literally museum quality- it will last a long time. I planned on using my grandmother’s rose point veil but it was no good- I could only salvage parts of it. So I’m taking no chances with the gown. In regards to keeping it; the chances of my “future daughter” using it are slim but I would like it to be there for her if she chooses to wear it. Not just my daughter but anyone else in my family if they wanted to:) I know I would have loved to have used my grandmother’s veil.
I didn’t want to spend the money to clean and preserve my dress, but my mom had it done after the wedding just in case I wanted to keep it.
I had a plain (no beading) maggie sottero gown and it was roughly $130 to clean and box in archival material. Had I purchased a designer gown made of delicate french lace (my dream gown that was over $4000), I would’ve spent any amount of money to preserve and keep in the off chance later generations wanted to wear it. Or just because the quality of the gown would be worth preserving. As is, my gown was $800 and some synthetic, so I didn’t think it was worth the money.
It depends on your gown-beading has to be replaced by hand-and it also sounds like they’ll have to do a lot of stain removing. Heavily beaded gowns shouldn’t be cleaned in a washing machine-too hard on the beading. Maybe by hand. I think it sounds a bit high, but it also sounds like your dress took a beating.
I’m of the opinion that it’s silly to spend that kind of money. Take a few pictures of your dress, and have you daughter use those to have her own made if she really insists upon wearing the same thing as you (which is rather unlikely.)
Can you not just pay to have it cleaned and skip all the other stuff for now? Stains will set in, so those need to be taken care of, but does it matter if the beads aren’t perfect or the zipper’s broken? Those things can be taken care of when, and if, they ever need to be.
Save the money.
I didn’t go through the preservation thing, but in Washington State my friend got it done for only like 300 dollars!
I did day after pictures and am hoping to get to do more, or find another excuse to wear my dress. 
I just love it too much!
SHEESH - thats almost as much as my whole dress cost! It’s designer and all too but that seems SO high…maybe normal for some…
that’s about how much i paid to have my gown cleaned and preserved (anne barge gown). there are two high end places in nyc, and they both charge around that amount.
Well, that’s a lot, but if it’s important.
If my mom had actually bought a wedding dress, and then had it preserved, I would look at it… maybe want to play dress up as a little girl… but when it came time for the big day, I’d want to dress up in something of my own choosing. It’s hard to see now that the dress styles of today will look weird and out-of-date in 20-30 years, but you KNOW it will happen. It’s happened so far, fashoins changing radically within that amount of time, so why would it be different starting now?
But I’m assuming you have your own reasons for wanting to keep it. And that’s fine, of course.
My mom had her dress cleaned and preserved for me — as a play dress! I had the best time as a little girl running around in her wedding dress, my grandmother’s too. I hope I can give my future daughter the same memories that my mom gifted me. 
I think everyone obviously has their own ideas for the future of their gowns–whether they be for playing, for future wear, or for boxing up never to be seen again.
I just know it was a treat as a little girl to see my mom’s dress hanging in the closet (until my dad THREW IT AWAY!) so I just got mine cleaned and will put it in it’s special bag and hang it up. I figure if I want to pay for the preservation in the future, I still can (and maybe when I’m more willing to foot the bill!).
David’s Bridal does the same thing as wedclean.net as Kendra states for $135. And this is the quote I got for the CT/NY/NJ area so I do think the ranges that you got are quite high.
oh yeah - I forgot to mention - this company is in NYC too, and it includes shipping to and from wherever I’m at… starts with J and ends with “Scheer”
has anyone used them before?
I know I’ve gotten quoted much less from a reputable dry cleaner that specializes in bridal gowns, but then again, mine, though it was silk (Jasmine Couture), is not as high-end as yours was. I’ve read the Bridal Bargains book section where it says you can wash your own with good results, but that pertains only to synthetic gowns and I’m positive yours is not.
Maybe you can check around other reputable cleaning companies, but if you can’t find a cheaper, comparable service, and you can afford it comfortably, I would just go for it. Sure, there are some brides that wouldn’t dream of spending that much money to preserve a dress (including myself, probably) but honestly, that’s only ’cause we can’t afford to, and/or we have dresses that CAN be stuck in the washing machine or sent to the local drycleaner’s. Hahahaha! But seriously, I think your beautiful gown was a big investment and is worth spending money on to restore/clean/protect. (BTW, I think it is the most gorgeous dress here on Weddingbee! You looked like a princess!)
You’re so good though. I must admit that I haven’t even cleaned mine yet!! :-O I should get on that…
I’m afraid to try to wash it myself!! I think i’m going to go for it - esp after hearing mrs bee spent around that much preserving hers too, so at least I know it’s the “norm” sort of
awww thank you mrs plumeria! you are too sweet!
I think it’s worth the money to preserve it too. Your gown was absolutely beautiful and an investment, to be sure. Treat it like an heirloom and get it preserved. I’m sure you won’t regret it.
i’ve read in your previous post that you bought another gown that had a blue sash for the cake cutting ceremony. did you wear that also? pls post pictures. you have really good taste.
i got mine done at j scheer and they did a fantastic job. the dress is nice and safe at my parents’ house!
HI!
I used Scheer for my Reen Acra gown, too! (I also live in Dallas)
I have a $100 gift certificate, too–if they will use that in addition to your $100 web deal, I will give it to you!
You can tell them that I referred you, and that I gave you the coupon. Just e-mail me.
I am SO happy I used them, it comes in this perfect box, and they give you white gloves, so if you want to look at it, you can. I did not want my dress sealed, because I want to show my kids someday—
It cost me about $800 total with tax, I think. And my gown is very similar to yours.
Hopefully my daughter will want to wear it to at least her ceremony, or something.
I am dry-cleaning my gown (with TONS of beading) for $110 at Eric Cleaners in Elmhurst, NY. So i think yours is PRETTY, PRETTY high.
I’m sure you can find a cheaper service. Had mine done @ my parents’ small hometown where it was MUCH cheaper than my city.
mary - that would be awesome please do let me know more about this certificate!!
Mrs. Plum, feel free to e-mail me!
Mrs. Plum, Dallas
Age and Occupation in 06: 22, Accountant by day/Floral and Event Designer by night and weekends
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Security Admin
Engagement Date: December 31, 2004
Wedding Date: June 29, 2007
Venue: Marie Gabrielle Restaurant and Gardens
About Me: I have been engaged for about two years now - yes, a long engagement, because my fiance and I wanted to wait until I graduated college, which I did this past summer! He proposed after dating just two months - crazy, I know, but 2 years later, here we are, still crazy in love :-). We are having not one, but TWO weddings and TWO receptions in one weekend - American-style and Vietnamese-style - in Dallas, Texas, where I was born and raised!
I had mine (Maggie Sottero with a lot of beading) cleaned at http://www.marybridaltuxedo.com/ for a fraction of your cost quote. They cleaned and preserved the dress… the job looks fantastic. I don’t think the work is guaranteed for 50 years but it’ll last until whoever wishes to wear it next. Overall the experience was wonderful.