Many brides store their wedding attire, but in most cases AFTER the wedding. However, this year and last, due to the limitations and challenges of COVID,  Garde Robe has been approached by many brides-to-be that had to postpone their special day asking us to protect their wedding gown until their rescheduled nuptials. Beyond that, they want to protect their precious wedding gown and keep it in pristine condition for years to come after their wedding too.

Garde Robe specializes in delicate textile storage and preservation so brides can rest assured that their precious wedding gown and rehearsal dinner pieces remain in pristine condition should they wish them to be worn by another family member and/or passed down to future generations.

To ensure your wedding gown remains in pristine condition, we recommend you follow these simple steps:

1. Couture-level Cleaning – First send your wedding dress to a luxury dry cleaner to have the gown professionally cleaned, sterilized and placed in an archival-grade preservation box. To minimize creases we recommend that they stuff the sleeves and bodice, and place tissue in between folds and creases of the dress and that they use acid-free, white tissue.
2. Let the Dress Breathe: You can opt to cover your archical wedding gown box with un-dyed muslin or place in an outer archival shell box, but do not seal your archival box in a vacuum sealed bag or a taped cardboard box. You will want protection with some degree of air flow and a release of off-gasing and potential humidity build-up within the gown box.
3. Use Gloves: When handling your gown, we recommend using nitrile gloves to avoid potential oils from your hand discoloring the dress. At the very least, we recommend washing your hands right before handling your gown!
4. Choose a Proper Storage Location – Your wedding dress’ worst “enemies” are frequent changes in temperature and humidity, sunlight, moisture and material damaging insects such as a clothes moths, silverfish, etc. Garde Robe’s wardrobe storage facilities provide an ideal storage environment for delicate textiles. If storing at home, avoid attics, basements, closets with an exterior facing wall or near a shower – store the box in a clean, dry, temperature and humidity-controlled environment.

Learn how to properly care for your wedding shoes here.

For more information on how to properly care for family heirlooms and special occasion gowns, please click here.