Reader Email
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Reader Email: After The Wedding
October 26th, 2007 @ 3:00 pm by Reader Email
Dear Weddingbee,
I wanted to write in and share my experience with my wedding gown after the wedding. I hope after hearing my story, more brides can be prepared and not have to go thru the problems I am dealing with now, which are irreversible.
Please make sure you do your research beforehand and make a decision as to what you will be doing with your dress after the wedding. Will you be drycleaning it or taking it somewhere for gown preservation? Did you already pick out a place to take it to and is it reputable?
It didn’t even cross my mind until the day after the wedding and I saw how dirty the hem of my dress was. My bustle had come undone sometime during the evening and the long train was dragged around the dancefloor and basically acted like a mop! With a day before leaving for our honeymoon, I didn’t do my research and asked for a dry cleaning recommendation from the store where I bought the dress. The place they referred me to seemed decent enough and I trusted the dress shop.
I completely forgot about my dress until we returned from our honeymoon and received a call from the dry cleaners requesting more time to work on my dress. I received another call a week later informing me that my dress had been worked on to the best of their ability without compromising or damaging the fabric, and that it was done and ready for me to pick it up.
The dress is a $3500 silk Rivini dress that I adore. I took really good care of it during the wedding knowing that there was a possibility that I might have to wear it overseas at a reception for my side of the family. Besides the hem being dirty there were no stains, spills, food, or anything on the rest of the dress.
When I first saw my dress at the dry cleaners, I almost started crying! It looked like it had aged 10yrs!! The overall color had changed to a dirty grey, the shine and luster of the fabric was completely gone. It hung like an old, dingy, loose piece of fabric. The beading and sewn on trims were also coming loose and falling off. Along the hem they had spot treated certain areas to the point where it was threadbare and pilling.
I was horrified; I really didn’t know what to do. They dress had come back to me in worse condition than when I had given it to them. I can understand if they weren’t able to get all the dirt out from the hem, but the whole dress is ruined. I wore it for a total of 6 hours and it looked brand new aside from the hem. Basically they overcleaned my dress to the point where the solvents used in drycleaning have eaten away at the stitching, beading, and overall fabric.
They are refusing to pay for anything and are only willing to waive the drycleaning fee. It’s been very hard and frustrating to try to convey to the drycleaners that that’s my wedding dress and no matter what they do, nothing can ever replace it. I asked them to give me $1500 and my gown and be done with it. They said if they give me $1500, they would keep my dress.
I just want to let people know that these things can happen, and since it’s a wedding gown, replacing it is impossible. Make sure you do your research beforehand so you’re not rushed to make a quick decision last minute like me. Also decide if you’re getting your bouquet preserved because there is a very short window for that too. These are just things that no one had told me, and having never been married before, I would’ve never thought of.
Sorry if this has been very long but it definitely helps to write it out. I hope people are more informed than I was and good luck to all the newlyweds. And also thanks for the awesome site which I religiously read through my wedding planning process and still do after.
Best,
Jill
16 Responses to “Reader Email: After The Wedding”
oh my gosh, that’s horrible! that makes me so sad. you know, $3500 is no small matter. you should think about getting a lawyer…at least consult with one to see if you have any options…
Wow, so sorry to hear this! after reading this story, maybe I won’t even take my dress to the cleaners at ALL!! My hem isn’t all that dirty… =(
I am so sorry about your dress. I would take them to small claims court. I do not know where you live, but usually you can represent yourself. You can call your local court and ask them if they have small claims court forms. Best of luck and again, I’m so sorry. That’s just terrible.
I’m so sorry you had to go through this! My heart broke reading your post. Thank you for sharing your experience with us though– hopefully it will help other brides avoid a similar outcome.
I strongly encourage you to consult with an attorney about your situation.
I am so sorry to hear about your dress. And even going through all that, you took the time to write this warning for other brides to ensure that other people would gain from your experience. THANK YOU! I hope that you can get your money back! That’s horrible that the cleaners would do such a thing!!! 
I feel that I have to comment on this because my parents own a dry-cleaners.
First off, it is HORRIBLE what happened to your dress and my heart really goes out to you. And I wanted to add to this post that if anyone wants to go to a dry-cleaner with her dress, they should keep these things in mind….
A responsible dry-cleaner would not accept a dress if they felt that the process would ruin it in any way. My parents will not accept dresses of certain fabrics or certain types of beading. Even after a dress is accepted, they will spot-test first. As for stains, if after the usual treatments do not work, they will call the customer and let them know that they cannot remove the stain. A responsible cleaner will NOT keep working on the stain until the fabric is threadbare and pilling, as you say.
If you do decide to go to small claims court, please keep this in mind and feel free to use this information against them. When they called, it should have been to let you know that they could not finish the work, not to let you know that they need more time.
Again, I’m so sorry this happened to you and I wish you all the best in coming to a resolution.
Wow…that is just horrible! I’m sooo sorry.
I really, really hate to be the dissenting voice here. I know you are heartbroken, especially because you were planning to wear the dress again. But from a purely financial standpoint:
You paid $3500 for the dress. You wore it. It was dirty.
Guess what? The new value is no longer $3500. When you brought it to the dry cleaner, it was worth less than half that.
So basically, they are saying they will give you $1500 to buy the dress off you. That’s probably more than what you would get if you tried to sell your dress on ebay. I know you weren’t planning to do that, and that you were looking forward to enjoying your dress, etc. But what’s done is done. Take the $1500 and move on.
A couple thousand dollars isn’t worth dragging yourself and a small business owner through small claims court. It is 100% the dry cleaners’ fault, but there’s nothing for anyone to gain by pushing this. They’ve learned their lesson. They’ll never accept a bridal gown again, I bet.
Pei-
This isn’t only a “financial” situation. They ruined the dress and should have to pay to have it returned to the way it was. I would contact rivini and ask how much it would cost to restore (as much as possible) and ask for that much. Like a car- or look for the same dress - used condition and ask for money to buy that dress.
I think contacting Rivini or a Rivini retailer and asking about the price of a gently used replacement is a great idea. But essentially, that’s what the dry cleaner is offering: $1500 for her to do whatever she needs to to get a replacement.
What she is asking is for them to give her $1500 as well as the dress back. Since the dress probably still has some value on the secondhand market, that’s closer to asking for the full $3500 back. Which I can fully understand the dry cleaners being unwilling to do. You didn’t bring in something valued at $3500, but you want them to give you $3500.
Yes, in a perfect world they would realize that they ruined a LOT more than just $3500. There’s incovenience, emotional attachment, the time and money spent searching for a replacement, and the worry about what she will wear at her overseas replacement. Those are incalculable. But not from a business person’s point of view. Which is sad, but a truth she needs to deal with.
Think of it this way: we are all emotional brides who want to side with the writer. But small claims court is going to be dispassionate and look 99% at the financial situation.
I’m going through a very similiar situation except I don’t even get my wedding dress back! The cleaners outsources wedding dresses to a wedding dress cleaner that went out of business! This was 6 months ago and I have submitted them to the BBB and have filed suit against them (small claims).
I think you should do what you feel is best in your situation. It’s really hard not to get emotional about it, though.
thanks for all the kind comments and advice. we have reached an agreement for them to give us $1500 and for me to keep the dress. there was no way i was letting them keep the dress i exchanged my vows with my husband in! i did alot of digging around and research as to how much they would have to pay if they were in the wrong and there is such a thing as the International Fair Claims Guide for Consumer Textile Products. It’s a guide that tells you what your article of clothing is worth based on the unused life expectancy and its condition at the time it was ruined or lost. with the dress it would be full repayment. there is also a International Fabricare Textile Analysis Laboratory that can determine what was used on the dress and if thats how it was damaged. im sure we could’ve got back everything that dress cost, but in the end i just wanted to move on, plus i was so tired of fighting on the phone at length everyday. what was important to me was to have positive memories of my wedding. i didnt want to associate any more bad memories with my dress and the post wedding experience. im satisfied with the situation and am happy that i got some sort of compensation and get to keep my dress.
i still would recommend dry cleaning your gowns ladies sometimes stains that we can or can’t see that are left untreated can turn yellow and would be impossible to get out later. i did come across a company located in NY called J. Scheer & Co that seems to be THE source for all things drycleaning and gown preservation. apparently its the company that the smithsonian uses. they are EXPENSIVE! im sure i wouldve never agreed to pay that much but in hindsight maybe…for the peace of mind.
Jill - I used J Scheer and it was pricey, but it was worth it for the piece of mind. I’m glad you were able to come to a resolution with the cleaners, and I’m sure you helped a lot of brides out there with your story, so thanks for sharing! 
Mrs. Apple - I’m so sorry to hear about your gown. I really hope it all works out!!
Wow Jill! Way to think outside the box. Congrats on the outcome without getting litigious, and about updating us on your findings.
I’m coming into the forum a little late, but I just wanted to thank you for having the mind to share this story with all of us brides-to-be in the midst of your emotional distress. I felt so saddened at your words because I can just imagine how terrible it could have been to spot the memories of a beautiful wedding with the troubles of trying to get that special gown cleaned. I’m so glad that everything managed to work itself out in the end, thanks to your patience and resourcefulness. Thanks again for thinking of the rest of us as you posted your experience!
That is horrible!! I’m so sorry to hear that.
Thank you for sharing - it may help future brides avoid this terrible situation.
