The invitation suite font has been selected among 15 others and the cake is the light lemon-vanilla flavor that you always wanted on your wedding day. The flowers are matched perfectly with the wedding decor, and your "something borrowed" has been passed down from your great grandmother. Even the perfect wedding dress that you have been eyeing for over a year has been claimed altered and fluffed up for the special day ahead. Then something unavoidable happens which throws your wedding plans out of the window and throws you in the waves of uncertainty. Whether it is a personal reason, or a certain virus that we don't like to talk about here, wedding postponements are never fun. Just like moving ahead with wedding plans, altering those wedding plans to a different version takes a whole lot of heart, mind, and patience. While canceling that caterer or re-booking your wedding venue for a different date might be bigger struggles in your book, storing away your wedding dress for the postponed date is still an issue we need to talk about. How to store it? How to ensure it fits into your future wedding season? What if your measurements change between now and then? There is a sea of questions to be answered and we will get to some of them below. Let us go through some of the important things to keep in mind while you are talking away that dream dress into the dress back for a future dream wedding.
Consider your timeline: How long is your wedding postponed for? The duration of postponement is of critical importance while determining the correct way to go about your wedding dress storage. for example, if your wedding is postponed for just 2-3 months you are ok with hanging the dress and there will be no harm done to it. However, if your postponement stretches on for over a year or even six months, hanging the dress in your closet might cause irreversible damage to the dress and you might have to choose alternate options. To extend this duration you can try taking the dress out every now and then and laying it on a flat surface. However, make sure to do this only in a cool dark, and dry environment with no sunlight pouring in.
Consider the fabric: Even before you decide on a way to store your wedding gown, a closer look at the gown's fabrication. If the dress is made of a light and airy material and the cut is that of a breathable sheath style, Hanging the dress should not cause a lot of problems. However, if your dress is a heavy multi-tiered one, with a lot of delicate beading and heavily textured work, hanging for this amount of time is a bad idea to even consider.
Consider flat storage: Flat storage involves a very specific style of folding which ensures that the weight of the wedding dress is distributed evenly throughout, thus providing better stability and fewer stress points. This works better than hanging a dress because hanging puts a huge amount of stress on the shoulder area, which can result in stretched fabric, tears, and permanent damage to the dress if done for long. Flat storage is the safest way to store the dress however, it requires certain materials, needs to be done just right.
Order the right materials: No matter which storage you use, flat or hanging, certain materials are critical for packing your wedding dress in the correct way. If you are planning to hang the dress, the right kind of padded hanger is required which is as wide as the shoulder of the dress. This facilitates proper weight distribution and helps to avoid strain on the fabric. You will also be needing the right kind of garment bag, the kind which is not plastic but is a fine quality undyed, unbleached cotton muslin. It is also important to leave a small opening so air can flow through. On the other hand, if you plan to fold your dress, you'll need a large, white cotton sheet, four large white cotton towels, and four white cotton washcloths. The sheet will serve as the outer shield for a dress; when a gown is stored away which will be returned to you in an acid-free box. The last thing you will need is a pair of white cotton gloves, which are to be used anytime you touch the dress.
Watch the fold: If you are holding on to the dress and storing it flat like that it is important to keep in mind that each of the phones has to be supported in order to prevent it from becoming a crease. It is important to understand that whenever a three-dimensional piece of clothing is folded, there will be stress experienced on the earrings at the specific food points. This combined with gravity will lead to creases in the fabric, something that the bride does not want to see on her dream dress. In fact, the creased fabric is said to be a permanently damaged fabric.
Mind the environment: The environment is crucial while making the call of storing your wedding dress properly. It is essential that the dresses are stored away in the correct environment, something that causes no harm to the dress by any means. This entails that you avoid basements and attics at all cost, along with direct sunlight. It is also necessary to inspect the dress regularly which amounts to weekly inspections for the hanging dresses and monthly ones for the dresses which are folded. This is just to ensure that the dress is fine and nothing has happened to it.
Remember the accessories: While the dress is stored away as per the recommended way, the other elements of the dress should also be stored with equal caution. Trains, overskirts, and veils should not be stored away in a pile and should abide by the same folding and storage procedure as used on the dress. It is recommended that the veil is rolled against a cupboard tube, with fabric in between to maintain its flow and fall. For heirloom veils with antique lace or beading, it is best to leave things to the professional.
It is OK to give up and call the professionals: It is easy to take on a project and think you can do a good job at it and find that it is not as easy as it looks. If you have found yourself being frustrated with the whole storage process, and are not sure if you can do justice to the job, it is better to hand it over to the ones who know how to do it properly, rather than to do a bad job at it and regret later. You don't have to follow through just because you started it. You can call in professional help whenever you are ready to give up and they will be happy to step in.
Hangtags is the way to go: The wedding dresses come with hanger tags placed right under the armpit area of the dress. it is important to note that the dress should be hung only by the hand tags while storing the gown. This way even if the straps stretch overtime if the dress is particularly heavy, there will be no real damage caused to the dress itself. The correct way to go about it is to pop the hang tags on your hanger and make sure the weight is evenly distributed on both sides.
Do not take the dress out until it is absolutely necessary: Resist the temptation of checking the dress every often because it increases the chances of damage. We understand your dilemma and that you want to keep a closed check on whether the dress is fine, but checking it a bit too much can lead to accidental stains caused by filthy hands or the oils from our hands or makeup residues like foundation on our fingers can leave jarring marks! Let your dress be and only check on it when absolutely required, which is once a week or once a month depending on the way the dress has been stored.
Prep for the big day: If your dress has been in storage for a couple of months now and it is finally time for you to walk down the aisle in that pretty dress there are some things you can do to protect the dress to look its best on the wedding day. You can either have the dress professionally steamed before your big day or you can do it yourself through an at-home steamer To get rid of any on towards wrinkles that may have been caused in the process of it being stored in the storage.
Odour Control: Just like the temperature and moisture in the air, odors can also affect your dress! Whether it is odor from prolonged wearing or cooking smells, they have a way of clinging to the fabric and permeating the fibers of your dress. So make sure your dress is stored far away from the kitchen. Another big odor-causing element is cigarette smoke, which can not only have a lasting odor within your dress, but the smoke itself can cause damage to fibers and speed up aging or cause discoloration. So keep it in mind to store your dress in a smoke-free area.
Think Inside The Box: Another extra step that you can take to ensure that your dress is perfectly preserved is investing in a prevention box. By purchasing a preservation box to store your dress until your special day, you can finally not worry about any potential harm that can be caused to your dress. The dress can be first wrapped up in acid-free tissue and then placed in an unsealed museum-quality preservation box. There are several sellers to choose from, so choose wisely.
Rinse and Rewear: If you decided on a smaller wedding initially and planning for a larger celebration in the future, you are not alone. Many brides are choosing to venture on this road as they host an intimate ceremony for close your friends and family first and take the time to plan for a larger celebration in the future. While some brides are okay with getting two separate wedding dresses for two of these occasions, many brides are choosing to wear the dress and preserve the same dress for future celebration. If you are intending on doing the latter it is advised that you bring the dress in to the cleaners so that any stains, build-ups or such can be dealt with. At first, it might look like it is perfectly clean and if it has been worn for a quick court wedding it can still have hidden soiling or dust which needs to be handled. Once the dress is cleaned thoroughly you can again re-wear it without feeling any residual dirt on it, enabling the bride to feel fresh and lively for her bigger celebration.
Despite our best efforts and ideal situations, the truth is that plans change. Sometimes for our unavoidable reasons, and sometimes due to reasons beyond our control. Even though it is a difficult journey to maneuver, taking the postponement to your stride can help you keep a positive attitude about your wedding day. It is always helpful to remind yourself that the dates don't matter, the venue doesn't matter, and hard enough as it is to say, not even the dress. What matters is that you take the hand of your significant other and promise of a forever despite all the little inconveniences and all the little things that could and will go wrong. Having said that, it doesn't hurt to keep the dress you say "I do" in perfect condition. We hope you figured out at least something useful about keeping that dream dress safely stored for the upcoming wedding day, and we hope it brings you just as much joy as you are dreaming of.
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