Last week my littlest came across our wedding album for the first time. She was captivated as she carefully turned each page and studied each photograph. She took it to bed with her and flipped through the pages as she grew drowsy. That night I found it placed carefully on her nightstand.
There’s something magical about weddings, but for three-year-old little girls, one thing holds all the magic.
The dress.
“Where is your wedding dress, mommy? Can I see it?”
“No,” I explained. “It’s all wrapped up and put away in the closet to keep it safe.”
But after watching her endlessly pore over that little photo book for several days, I started wondering why in the world I was trying to keep it so protected. So I asked my baby, “Do you want to see mommy’s wedding dress?” Her eyes widened as she shrieked in excitement.
And then I asked, “Would you like to wear mommy’s wedding dress?”
I think she stopped breathing for a second.
And so with that, we made plans to do a photo shoot with her in my bridal gown and veil. I got it down from the high shelf in the closet, opened the bag, and unwrapped the dress. And after eleven years in storage, its condition was just as pristine as my wedding day. No discoloring. No stains.
Still perfect.
Which I think it pretty amazing because eleven years ago I DIY’ed my wedding dress preservation and washed it in my washing machine.
{Sometimes when you’re newly married you don’t have $150+ to preserve your dress. Sometimes you have $10.}
So since this process worked well for me, I thought I’d share it with you. But first there are a few things you should know about me and my dress. One, I wasn’t in love with the dress and it wasn’t uber-expensive. Two, I’m not one to dream that my daughter or daughter-in-law will one day wear my dress.
Three, I’m cheap.
I would not have done this if my gown had been high-end, had intricate beading or sequins, was made out of material such as silk, was an heirloom, or if it was my biggest dream in life that my child someday walk down the aisle in my gown. If that’s you, spring for preservation to better guarantee it will be around for a lifetime.
DISCLOSURE: Amazon links are affiliate links, meaning if you purchase an item through a link in this article I receive a commission.
But if you are ambivalent like me – wanting to try to keep your wedding dress but uninterested in paying for professional preservation – do this. It worked great for me, I hope it works for you, too!
DIY Wedding Dress Preservation
What You’ll Need:
- Spray ‘n Wash
- Woolite
- bleach
- 2 large vacuum bags
- 3 white sheets, flat (I got mine from Goodwill)
What You’ll Do:
- Cut out the crinoline (all that poufy stuff) from inside your wedding dress. Throw it away. Don’t freak out.
- Use Spray-n-Wash on all soiled spots of your dress – think hem, train, neckline, underarms.
- Wash in your washing machine in cold water and Woolite. Stop freaking out.
- Run through 4 additional cold water rinse cycles to ensure all detergent is out of your dress.
- Hang to dry in an unused shower or bathtub for several days until completely dry.
- Wash 3 white sheets in detergent, hot water, and bleach.
- Run through 4 additional hot water rinse cycles to ensure all detergent and bleach are out of the sheets. Dry in dryer.
- When dress is completely dry, lay it flat. Place one of the sheets flat inside it.
- Fold up your dress to a size that will fit in your vacuum bag. Wrap the dress completely in a second white sheet, ensuring none of the wedding dress fabric is exposed.
- Place in vacuum bag.
- Use third sheet to wrap up your veil and place in a separate vacuum bag.
- Remove all the air from the vacuum bags and store away from direct light.
I’ll be honest. I did have a moment of hesitation before opening up that bag and taking out the dress I hadn’t seen in over eleven years. I was worried about ruining it. About messing up the work I’d done to preserve it.
But in the end, I had to ask myself what are you waiting for?
In reality, there’s only a slight chance that your dress will be worn again years down the line. But there’s a 100% chance that your little girl would love the chance to feel like a princess for a half hour while you take some sweet pictures of her.
The memories you can make today are just as valuable as the ones you might make 20 years from now. So if you’re on the fence, go dig that wedding dress out of the closet. I’m so glad we did in our house.
