There are several ways to save money on your wedding gown preservation.
What you must be careful of is whether the savings are worth it.
Let's look at the possibilities: First you can clean the gown yourself and put it into some kind of storage container.
Check out the care tag in your wedding gown.
It will say "dry-clean" only.
That should be enough for you to think twice about trying this yourself.
There are usually delicate beads and or embroidery on wedding gowns.
These must be handled with care.
You can easily damage these, dislodge them or loosen the embroidery threads.
If your dress is 100% polyester with no beading or embellishments you could try turning it inside out and washing it in a mild detergent on the gentle cycle of a front loading washing machine.
Top loading machines twist the dresses and can stretch the fabric.
If you have successfully cleaned your own dress, removed all the stains etc.
and you want to permantly store it, here's what you need to do.
Never store your gown in any kind of plastic bag or box.
The chemicals in the plastic can react with the fabric and cause discoloration and deterioration.
Do not hang your dress in the closet.
First it takes up too much room and second it will stretch the fabric at the sleeves, or at the handing loops on a strapless dress.
If you want to box your dress you should find an acid free box.
Regular cardboard can also give off chemicals that will react with the fabric of the dress.
Do not seal the box so it is air tight.
This can seal in moisture which can cause mold and mildew.
Ok, how else could you save money on your wedding gown preservation? Try the local dry-cleaners.
You take the chance that it will be "cleaned" along with the colored dresses, suits etc.
that the dry-cleaner is cleaning that day.
Will they take the special care to examine and remove the stains in the gown? How will it be given back to you? A regular cardboard box, a plastic bag, hanging or how? Local dry-cleaners don't have the experience (take a look at who their hired help is and you know who will be working on your dress) to really do gown preservation properly.
Then next, what about an internet discounter? That depends - some internet companies offer excellent value / discount pricing - some don't.
How do you tell which discount internet companies you can trust? First check out their website and make sure they explain in detain the entire process.
You want to know what they are going to do with your gown from the moment it arrives until you receive it back again.
If they don't tell you the process, or are missing some steps or are vague about their spot cleaning, or their inspections then be careful.
It's easy to take a dress in, quickly "clean" it, box it up and send it back to you.
You probably won't open the box to check their work, and the stains they missed won't show up for a year or two.
Choose a company that been in business a while.
Choose a company that belongs to the Better Business Bureau and or a company that has other online security.
Call the company, their should be contact information and not just some email box, you want to be able to talk to a real person.
With those things in mind check out the pricing.
You should be able to find a wedding gown preservation company that will do your gown preservation for around the $130 - $150 area.
What you must be careful of is whether the savings are worth it.
Let's look at the possibilities: First you can clean the gown yourself and put it into some kind of storage container.
Check out the care tag in your wedding gown.
It will say "dry-clean" only.
That should be enough for you to think twice about trying this yourself.
There are usually delicate beads and or embroidery on wedding gowns.
These must be handled with care.
You can easily damage these, dislodge them or loosen the embroidery threads.
If your dress is 100% polyester with no beading or embellishments you could try turning it inside out and washing it in a mild detergent on the gentle cycle of a front loading washing machine.
Top loading machines twist the dresses and can stretch the fabric.
If you have successfully cleaned your own dress, removed all the stains etc.
and you want to permantly store it, here's what you need to do.
Never store your gown in any kind of plastic bag or box.
The chemicals in the plastic can react with the fabric and cause discoloration and deterioration.
Do not hang your dress in the closet.
First it takes up too much room and second it will stretch the fabric at the sleeves, or at the handing loops on a strapless dress.
If you want to box your dress you should find an acid free box.
Regular cardboard can also give off chemicals that will react with the fabric of the dress.
Do not seal the box so it is air tight.
This can seal in moisture which can cause mold and mildew.
Ok, how else could you save money on your wedding gown preservation? Try the local dry-cleaners.
You take the chance that it will be "cleaned" along with the colored dresses, suits etc.
that the dry-cleaner is cleaning that day.
Will they take the special care to examine and remove the stains in the gown? How will it be given back to you? A regular cardboard box, a plastic bag, hanging or how? Local dry-cleaners don't have the experience (take a look at who their hired help is and you know who will be working on your dress) to really do gown preservation properly.
Then next, what about an internet discounter? That depends - some internet companies offer excellent value / discount pricing - some don't.
How do you tell which discount internet companies you can trust? First check out their website and make sure they explain in detain the entire process.
You want to know what they are going to do with your gown from the moment it arrives until you receive it back again.
If they don't tell you the process, or are missing some steps or are vague about their spot cleaning, or their inspections then be careful.
It's easy to take a dress in, quickly "clean" it, box it up and send it back to you.
You probably won't open the box to check their work, and the stains they missed won't show up for a year or two.
Choose a company that been in business a while.
Choose a company that belongs to the Better Business Bureau and or a company that has other online security.
Call the company, their should be contact information and not just some email box, you want to be able to talk to a real person.
With those things in mind check out the pricing.
You should be able to find a wedding gown preservation company that will do your gown preservation for around the $130 - $150 area.