Choosing the Perfect Wedding Gown

Couture Designer Bridal Gown or Family Wedding Gown: Choosing and Caring for Your Beautiful Gown
by Sally Lorensen Conant, Ph.D.

Your New Bridal Gown.
Chances are your wedding gown will be the most personal choice of all the wedding decisions you make. Are you a romantic or a fashion maven? Are you an undiscovered movie star or have you always been a princess? The bridal gown you choose reflects the essential you, but keep an open mind as you look. You may be surprised to find a bridal gown style you thought was not for you is your best choice.

Also, did you know there are many, many different shades of white and that some shades may not be flattering to you? Try on one or more shades or ask your designer to drape you with swatches of different fabrics. If you are a blonde or a redhead, you may actually look much prettier in an off-white wedding dress..

And beware the unserviceable bridal gown!

For the most part, custom or couture gown designers use materials of the highest quality, but manufacturers -- even some with famous names -- can be very casual about the serviceability of beads, sequins, crystals, or other decorative trims. Glued decorations never hold up as well as those that are sewn although sewing can also be done so carelessly that beads start falling on your way down the aisle.

Your Family Bridal Gown.
For the bride who values tradition and sentiment, a vintage wedding gown may be just right. Whether it belongs to your mother, your grandmother, your favorite aunt or even a close family friend, always make the decision to wear a family vintage wedding gown based on the meaning the bridal gown has for you and whether the style suits you -- not on the way it fits or its condition. A specialist can restore even a yellowed, badly stained vintage wedding gown to the true color, and a talented dressmaker can reshape almost any vintage bridal gown to your size.

You can also update a vintage bridal gown by changing the neckline or the shape of the skirt or even removing sleeves. Some brides add lace or beading, but brides more often choose to wear a vintage gown because they like the simplicity of the cut and the beauty of the fabric. Simply cut, unembellished vintage gowns can look just as elegant as bridal gowns by some of today’s best known designers. And if you wear an heirloom vintage wedding gown, remember to save a special place at the reception, perhaps next to your guest book, for displaying a portrait of the original bride.

Your Perfect Day.
For short term storage before the wedding, be sure to hang your bridal gown by loops inside the gown attached to the side seams. Protect your bridal gown from exposure to air and light by wrapping your bridal gown in a clean sheet or freshly-laundered unbleached muslin. Never keep your bridal gown in a plastic bag for any length of time. Plastic emits fumes than can yellow fabric, and a metal zipper can accelerate the damaging chemical reaction of gases trapped inside the bag. Keep your bridal gown away from extreme heat or humidity; never store your wedding gown in the attic or the basement.

But no matter how careful you are, accidents can happen. Would you believe -- true story -- the cat may decide your wedding gown is the only place for her kittens? More likely, on your wedding day someone’s kiss or a greasy car door or even a glass of red wine will soil your wedding gown. There is a kit on the market containing chemicals and sewing supplies for emergency bridal gown care, but in a pinch baking soda, talcum powder, or even the “white-out” used in offices will do. You can also dab spills with clear water or club soda, which actually does contain an enzyme that makes it slightly more effective than plain water. Caution: even clear water can leave a permanent stain on such water sensitive fabrics as English satin, matte silk satin, or silk organza.

Your Bridal Gown Preservation Choice.
What should you do with your bridal gown after the wedding? (Your mother says you have to get your wedding gown out of the guest room today!) You may be a bride who knew even before you selected your your wedding gown that you wanted to preserve your wedding gown and turn the memory of your special day into a family heirloom wedding gown. If so, you have already done your research and know exactly where you are taking your bridal gown to be cleaned.

If you are like most brides, however, you have not even thought about your wedding gown’s “happily ever after.” Choosing a wedding gown cleaner is not a fun thing -- more like cleaning house after the party -- and very few wedding planners discuss the problem. Note: it is almost never true that you did not spill anything so if you just hang your bridal gown in the closet you will almost certainly find it covered with stains the next time you look at it. And if you decide to sell your wedding gown, the consignment shop will not accept a wedding gown that has not been cleaned.

Your Wedding Gown Preservation Service Questions.
If you want to keep your wedding gown in the family, choose your bridal gown preservation service carefully. As a general rule, avoid a service that promotes “vacuum-packaging” because the plastic in which the bridal gown is sealed can trap moisture and emit fumes that yellow the bridal gown. Desiccants have a very limited capacity to absorb such moisture and must then be replaced. Desiccants added to an unsealed box have little or no value.

Both sealed and unsealed plastic containers can trap moisture, and both -- even chemically inert plastics such as the one trademarked Coroplast -- also set up an electrostatic charge that can permanently set wrinkles in the wedding gown.

On the other hand, acid-free boxes of paper board "breathe" and allow for expansion and contraction of bridal gown fibers subjected to environmental changes in heat and humidity. Museum quality archival boxes are almost always made of completely acid-free paperboard.

One wedding gown cleaner uses pretty much the same chemicals and solvent as another, but very few bridal gown cleaners actually do their own work and clean wedding gowns on site. Some do not know that shoulder pads, bust pads, and underarm shields should be removed because they are made of materials that can bond to the fabric of your gown and destroy fibers. Others have no idea wedding gowns require special cleaning cycles and special packaging. Some offer no guarantee. You should ask lots of questions before you make a final decision.

Is the work done locally so you can personally inspect your bridal gown after it is cleaned?

What special precautions are taken to protect delicate trims and decorations on your bridal gown?

How does the bridal gown preservation service guard against latent stains on your bridal gown caused by alcohol and other sugar-based stains that do not dissolve during ordinary dry cleaning and if left untreated will eventually caramelize into dark brown spots?

Does the wedding gown preservation service provide an environmentally-safe, acid-free, museum quality archival container that will not discolor or damage the fabric of your bridal gown?

As the wedding gown is folded, are the folds in the wedding gown buffered with tissue?

Is the tissue and/or the bust form used to stuff the bridal gown acid-free? (Colored tissue is never acid-free and can also stain the bridal gown, especially if the box is soaked and the paper gets wet.)

Does the bridal gown preservation service seal the box itself or leave it open? Ask why or why not and whether the preservation or the guarantee -- there is a difference -- depends upon an unbroken seal.

Does the wedding gown preservation service guarantee the wedding dress will not be stained or discolored when the next bride in your family is ready to wear the wedding gown? Today or twenty-five years from today, who will honor the guarantee?

Be sure you are comfortable with the answers to all of your questions. After all, your wedding gown is the perfect wedding dress for you. You want to give your beautiful bridal gown the care that will keep it perfect, an heirloom legacy for the next bride in your family!

About the Author
A former museum professional, Sally Lorensen Conant, Ph.D, is president of Orange Restoration Labs, the largest wedding gown preservation and vintage gown restoration service in New England. Recognized by the Association of Bridal Consultants as a Master Wedding Vendor, Sally frequently lectures on fabric conservation. She also serves as Executive Director of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, a group of wedding gown cleaning specialists represented in more than 500 cities around the world. The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists originated For Your Perfect Day: Emergency Care Plus For Your Special Gown, a kit with supplies for wedding day emergencies and a gift certificate redeemable at nearly 2,000 sites.

Copyright ©1999-2005 Association of Wedding Gown Specialists. All rights reserved.
Published in the United States of America.

"This article can be reprinted provided it is not edited in any manner and proper credit is given. This includes listing Sally Lorensen Conant, Ph.D. as the author and contact information for the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists."

Cleaning Your Wedding Gown: It May Suit You, but Is It Suitable for Use?

Whether you first see the wedding gown that could be the right one for you in a magazine or on the internet, chances are you know even before you make your first visit to a bridal salon just what style and fabric you think your wedding gown should be.

But will the bridal gown that suits you be suitable for use? Before you fall in love with that bridal gown, take a second look. If there are beads, sequins, crystals or other decorative trims, be sure they are securely attached to the wedding gown. Glued decorations never hold up as well as those that are sewn although sewing can be done so carelessly that beads start falling on the way down the aisle.

Now look inside the wedding gown. The bridal gown care label provides a guideline for cleaning. It may not be the only way to clean the wedding dress, it may not even be the best way to clean your wedding dress, but is the method specified by the bridal gown manufacturer. So if beads melt or glue melts or fabric shrinks, the manufacturer is liable for the damage to your bridal gown.

You may find symbols as well written directions on the wedding gown care label. After a transition period that ended in 1999, symbols only may be used. Although European bridal gown care labels carry slightly different graphics, those in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are expected to be identical.

Five basic symbols stand for washing, bleaching, drying, ironing, and dry cleaning. Much like the universally understood pictographs seen in airports and on roadways, a diagonal line through the symbol prohibits use of the process it represents. And there are wedding and other dresses, particularly specialty dresses and dresses for the mother of the bride that carry labels with lines through all five symbols!

Marks added to the basic symbol indicate still more special handling. For example, a picture of a washing machine plus the image of a hand equals “hand wash.” Less easily read are dots and dashes indicating temperatures for drying and ironing or cycle times for dry cleaning. As a rule, the fewer the dots, the lower the suggested temperature, but dashes appear more randomly. Then there are letters that stand for dry cleaning solvents.

Unless you have no interest at all in whether or not your wedding gown can ever be cleaned or worn again, ask the bridal shop to advise you if you cannot read the bridal gown care label. Be wary if no one can answer your questions about the bridal gown's serviceability and think twice before you decide to buy such a bridal gown. Is this really the only bridal gown you will ever find that is just right for you -- or should you look further for a bridal gown that not only suits you but is also suitable for wear.

Copyright ©1999-2005 Association of Wedding Gown Specialists. All rights reserved.
Published in the United States of America.

"This article can be reprinted provided it is not edited in any manner and proper credit is given. This includes listing Sally Lorensen Conant, Ph.D. as the author and contact information for Association of Wedding Gown Specialists."