For the Bride on her Wedding Day
Avoid eating, drinking or smoking near your gown before your wedding reception. Keep the cover on your dress until you are ready to put it on. If accidents do occur, it will be protected.
Do not use pens or felt-tip markers near your gown. Use pencils instead.
Ask those helping you with your gown to make sure they wash their hands free of hand cream and that they are not wearing any rings, bracelets or necklaces. Hand cream could stain your gown and jewellery will snag on fibres.
High heels should also be banished until the very last minute. We see numerous rips on gowns caused by sharp heels.
Avoid spraying on perfume and hairspray while in your gown - silk is very prone to staining by these two products. If you must, drape a cotton sheet (not towel if you have beading - this may cause snagging) over the gown while you are spraying.
Specify to the driver of your Wedding Car that any leather seats are cleaned with clear polish only. I have seen these seats cleaned with a coloured wax that subsequently rubs off onto the Wedding Gown.
If you are wearing diamante shoes, place a discreet strip of clear sellotape over the diamantes if possible as they often snag on dress hems. Beware that bouquets may also snag on light chiffons, especially if they include sharp netting.
Avoid spilling any alcohol or water on your dress, especially any cream-based liquer as this encourages mould growth and can cause permanent staining. Do not use salt on red wine stains as this fixes the stain. Dab with a clean white cotton towel dampened with water and leave to dry naturally. While a “baby wipe” will work on the day, it is very difficult to get a stain out properly after using wipes on it.
Fake tan & perspiration stain dresses – especially natural fibres such as silk and cotton. Some synthetic fibre dresses will not be stained. Beware of this if you wish to sell your dress.
If your dress is very creased hang it in a steamy bathroom for a few minutes. Do not hang from a metal hook or bar as water may condense on cold metal and drip onto your dress. Better again, ask your hotel to have a steam press available.
If you stain your gown with blood, lightly dab your saliva on it - the enzyme amylase in your saliva will break down the blood - do not rub.
Ask your dress maker to add a wrist-loop to the bottom of your gown so that you can hold it up easily when dancing.
After the celebrations, the gown often falls into a "black hole" - the newlyweds have left on their honeymoon and no-one may wish to take on the responsibility of getting it cleaned.
It must be remembered that the longer stains are left untreated the harder they are to clean. Try to allocate this responsibility before you depart on your honeymoon. |
