We’re sharing everything there is to know about what to do after your wedding is over with your wedding dress. If you’re a Pacific Northwest bride who has questions about how to care for your precious wedding dress after the big day, we are here for you! Believe it or not, planning for what to do with your bridal dress happens before your wedding day, and it’s something that brides need to know about so there are no surprises and no stress. We are all about the joy of wedding dresses here in Olympia, WA!
We might be a little biased here in the Pacific Northwest, but we think wedding dress shopping is one of the more joyful parts of wedding planning. Being surrounded by gorgeous bridal gowns here in our bridal shop in Olympia, WA is sure to enhance anyone’s mood and the joy of a bride finding her dream wedding dress to walk down the aisle in is contagious!
If you are a bride in the PNW, Seattle, WA or Portland, OR areas, who has started shopping for their wedding dress or just scrolling online for bridal fashion inspiration, you might have already started getting a sense of your bridal style or what type of bridal dress you want to wear on your wedding day. Be sure to get our tips for why it is OK to say yes to the dress on your first trip, and advice on who to bring with you to your bridal appointment to try on dresses.
After The Big Day
Shopping for your wedding dress might seem like the easiest, and most joyful, part, but what happens to your wedding dress after the wedding day?
Many brides have put a lot of thought, effort, and research into the style of wedding dress they want to wear, such as long-sleeved wedding dresses, and even what bridal store they want to shop for their dream wedding dress. Be sure to get our advice on how to make the most out of your bridal shopping appointment.
But what to do with your wedding dress after the wedding day is not always front of mind when brides are planning their wedding. After all, there’s a lot going on in the wedding planning process between budgets, contracts, and RSVPs. Sometimes your post-wedding dress plan gets forgotten – we understand!
We are sharing our expert tips on wedding gown cleaning and preservation so you can be prepared with a plan for your wedding dress post-wedding day and have a wonderful keepsake memory that brings your family joy for generations to come!
Wedding Dress Cleaning
No matter what your plan is for your wedding dress after the wedding day, we always recommend having your bridal dress professionally cleaned. Be sure you entrust your wedding dress to professionals who have experience cleaning bridal gowns, not just any old dry cleaner service. We can’t stress this point enough.
We have had many brides come into our shop upset and wondering about their options after allowing someone who wasn’t familiar with wedding dresses to clean their bridal dress. We don’t want it to happen to you. Just like with the alternations on the wedding dress, it is important that you leave the cleaning to the pros too!
Wedding dresses are special attire and need to be treated differently than your “dry clean only” everyday clothing. Many bridal dresses have intricate detailing like lace or beading embellishments that need to be treated with care. And wedding dresses can be heavy, with many layers of fabric so you want to be sure your dress cleaners are treating your gown with care.
Yes, Your Dress Will Get Dirty
We know it is a hard thing to imagine, but there is one thing that we always like to prepare our Pacific Northwest brides about when it comes to your wedding dress: It will get dirty on your wedding day! Many of our brides have this image in their mind that their wedding dress should always stay perfect and we don’t want you to not enjoy your wedding day because you’re trying to keep your dress from getting dirty. It happens to all brides everywhere! It’s a good thing, it means that you wore and got great joy out of your wedding dress!
One thing that not all brides know before their wedding day is that their dress is going to get dirty, messy, or have stains. Even if your wedding day is all indoors, you are wearing your wedding dress all day long and it’s going to get dirty.
You will be moving throughout the day and your dress will be on the ground especially if it has a train, probably sweating on the dance floor, so you will want to get your gown cleaned after the wedding day.
If you are having an outdoor wedding ceremony or plan on taking wedding day portrait photos outdoors, your wedding dress can get dirty from walking around in the grass or even just on pavement or sidewalks. It is nothing to fret over, a professional cleaner will be able to remove any stains, but it’s helpful to keep in mind before the wedding day that your dress will get dirty, especially on the bottom of the dress.
A dirty wedding dress is a sign of a joyful wedding day! And a professional service, such as the wedding dress cleaning and preservation that we offer our Pacific Northwest brides after your wedding will give you the peace of mind to fully enjoy your day!
Wedding Dress Preservation
At the very least, all brides should plan to have their wedding dress cleaned after their wedding day. The next level up after wedding dress cleaning is to have your dress preserved. Getting your wedding dress preserved will ensure your gown stays in pristine condition for years to come.
Wedding dress cleaning and preservation does come at an extra expense separate from your wedding dress purchase, but in our opinion, it is money well spent to have your bridal dress and precious memories safe and sound. With proper cleaning and preservation, your wedding dress can bring joy to your family for generations!
Let’s talk about preservation for a minute, because many brides wonder about the difference between cleaning and preservation and what is the difference between the two services. Because they are technically two different services to keep in mind.
The wedding dress cleaning does just that. It is a process that removes any stains or dirt from the dress that might have happened on the big day. Oftentimes, the wedding dress cleaning process, if you’re using a professional and not just an everyday dry cleaner, will include small repairs along with the cleaning service, such as fixing loose pearls.
After a professional cleaning, gown preservation is the next step that will keep your wedding dress pristine in an archival-quality storage box, that you can easily store in a closet or under a bed. Often the wedding dress storage boxes come with a viewing window so you can peek in on your beautiful dress at any time. Having your wedding dress preserved as a keepsake memory means your dress will be in great condition if you want to eventually pass your dress down to your daughter, to a niece, or anyone to wear in the future.
Even if you think you want to resell your wedding dress in the future, we would recommend a preservation service as it will keep the dress in its best condition and eliminate any fabric discoloration.
Many wedding dress cleaning and preservation services will also allow brides to include personal items or bridal accessories with their wedding dress, such as their bridal veil and bridal headpiece, so you can preserve your entire wedding day look at once. Done and done!
Weddings With Joy Gown Preservation
Here at Weddings With Joy, we offer in-house wedding dress cleaning and preservation services to all brides in the Pacific Northwest area. Whether you purchased your wedding dress at our bridal boutique in Olympia, WA, at another wedding dress store, or online, we would be happy to help you keep your joyful wedding day memories alive. The more joy for everyone, the better!
We make it easy to preserve all of your wedding day fashion with a hassle-free process so you can continue living in your post-wedding bliss! It’s not just about preserving your wedding dress, it’s about creating a keepsake memory so you can always cherish your wedding day memories. And maybe pass your wedding dress and bridal accessories down through loved ones in your family – bringing joy to generations!
If you’re interested in our super simple and easy wedding dress cleaning and preservation services or you have any questions, please let us know or come visit us in Olympia, WA. We’d love to work with you to bring joy after your wedding with a wedding dress that is properly cleaned and saved for you to enjoy for a long time after your wedding day is over.
About Weddings With Joy
If you’re a bride in the Pacific Northwest or planning a wedding in the South Sound, Seattle, and Portland, OR areas, come visit our amazing bridal boutique in Olympia, WA full of beautiful wedding dresses. At Weddings With Joy, we offer a truly one-of-a-kind experience for our joyful brides through our personalized attention and bridal styling support as they find their perfect wedding day look. Weddings With Joy features stunning wedding dresses in all shapes, sizes, and styles as well as the best tuxedo rentals and suits in Washington state. Request your bridal shopping appointment in the South Sound to find your dream wedding dress! We can’t wait to help you become a joyful bride!