Cleaning of dresses post-wedding - updated with before/after *flash*

Mine is unwashed shoved in a spare suitcase ?. Mr Mooshy keeps asking what I'm going to do with it. Err, I was just going to leave it there...

I didn't pay any extra for my presentation box the first time round. I would recommend it, though.

LOL, mine managed to get a 2 foot wide by 1 foot high black patch all over the surface of the train bit. Not the underside. The top surface. Bizarre.....

So, more than the average bit of dirt around the bottom. I therefore thought it'd be worth cleaning to see if that'll come out, even if it does end up in a wardrobe or the attic for years to come....

?

do you mind if i ask how much you are paying? is the £50 for the box? xx

I can see this being one of those things I always mean to do but never quite get round to doing it if you get me lol

Yes, these online places charge from £80 upwards for the dress (dependent on dress value), and £50 just for the box.

Hence I'm wondering what is the big deal about the box.

We all will have received our dresses in a dress bag. Can the dress not just live in that for as long as we are too sentimental to depart with it? £50 for a box seems ridiculous to me!!!

I'm looking for an OM with insider information. Or a dress expert LOL....

So, here's the outcome....

I used http://www.weddingdresscleaners.net (Atlantic Bridal Cleaners) to get my dress cleaned. I'd say it's taken 3 weeks to come back to me this morning 24th June. Originally when I booked it, it said the return date would be 30th June.

Here's the prices cut and paste from their website:

- dress value up to £650

- dress value between £650 - £2500

And I got myself the presentation box after this discussion. I emailed my dress maker and she wasn't sure about long term storage of dresses in dress bags, so I thought I'd go with the only formal advice I could find on the internet which was 'get a box with acid free tissue paper'.

Here it is on arrival:

Now for the verdict.

As I said before, bizarrely, my dress managed to get a 2 foot wide by 1 foot high black patch all over the surface of the train bit. Not the underside. The top surface.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

So, really pleased with the massive mess removal. I'd say the mark removal from the thicker dress material underneath (silk polyester I think maybe???) has been magnificent.

The edging of the thin overlay material, that matt netty stuff (silk organza????) is still grubby in places along the tiny 3-4mm hemming at the bottom. I think if I was going to re-wear this dress, or try to sell it I'd have to get it trimmed off and re-hemmed, which would lose about 1cm in length off it. That's actually fine, as the overlay was always about 2cm longer that the dress anyway, within the original design, so that the layers separate in photos (as advised by dress maker). So here's a photo of the grubby edge:

I'm weirdly disappointed with that grubby overlay edge, but if I smack myself in the head and get it into perspective, all of that horrible black came off from the train, and if it hadn't done, the dress would have been a complete mess and probably not worth storing at all. So I need to get my happy face on and do a little celebration dance that my dress has been fixed! ?

I had mine cleaned by Terrington Burchett. The prices were similar and they were excellent from start to finish. The even fixed a button that had come off. Excellent communication and timings for pick up and delivery.

Definitely go for the box as the bags they come in are made from a breathable material and will let dust in in the long term. You should also wrap it in white tissue before putting it in the box, dont use other colours of tissue as the colour will leak

Oh Claire - I didn't see this before and was really keen to see how you got on. I LOVE the box and the cleaning is amazing. Will deffo bear it in mind for mine next year. xx

I've bought a wedding dress box for my dress, I've got to store it until next summer so it hung in a bag in the spare room isn't ideal!

I got got mine from emptybox.co.uk and would recommend them the boxes are expensive but are ph neutral, mine was £52 but for me it's worth it to ensure it's protected and easier to store.

I was literally just googling this topic and feeling despair at horror stories! Thanks Hitched ladies. I feel much more confident about sending the dress off to be cleaned now (and less guilty that it is still hanging around in the spare bedroom).