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Expert August 2021

Cleaning wedding dress!

Sara, on April 22, 2020 at 11:52 AM Posted in Wedding Attire 0 5

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Hello all! I am still hoping for my Sept. 5th wedding and I realized I may encounter a problem. We are getting all of our pictures done before the ceremony so we can actually socialize with our guests during cocktail hour. The issue is we are planning on going to the local state park and getting our pictures done in the woods. But my ball gown has a long train and I don't know how to prevent it from getting dirty before the ceremony. Is there an easy, fast way to clean the hem of my dress after pictures and before ceremony? I will hopefully have about an hour in between. And I will be picking up my dress between photos. But I'm still worried about it getting dirty! My dress is tulle, and I will post a picture of the back. Cleaning wedding dress! 1

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Latest activity by Haleigh, on May 8, 2020 at 12:52 PM

Master May 2020
Kari · on April 22, 2020 at 12:29 PM
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Where is your ceremony? Indoors or outdoors?
If conditions are dry and you pick up the dress between photos and place the train on the ground (vs walking with the train dragging) you'll be able to minimize a lot of the dirt, and the dirt that does end up on the dress will be on the underside where no one will notice it anyway. As long as conditions are dry, you'll be able to brush off most of the dirt, and if your ceremony is also outside, you'll get some dirt/debris on your dress just walking down the aisle anyway, so I doubt anyone will notice. I don't think there will be any way to keep your dress pristine, but if conditions are favorable and you are careful, I think you'll be able to avoid getting your dress excessively dirty to the point where people are noticing.
If conditions are wet and there is mud on the ground (as opposed to dry dirt) that is going to stick to your dress a lot more and be difficult to remove. I wonder if you could ScotchGard your dress (the way people do with couches), but I'd be wary on such a delicate material. Regardless of what protection/cleaning plan you come up with, I'd test any products on a swatch of the material before applying it to any part of your actual dress. If you've had your dress hemmed at the tailor, ask if you can keep the scraps for this purpose.
You can also bring a rug/cloth with you to place under your dress for photos to minimize dirt from transferring to the dress. I've seen a lot of elopement photos where couples are standing on a rug at their ceremony site on the beach, a mountain, or in the woods. A decorative rug can add a touch of elegance, or you can use something that's just small enough to not be visible but still protect the underside of your dress as long as you pose carefully.
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VIP October 2020
Ingrid · on April 22, 2020 at 11:57 PM
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I think you can bustle it, which will prevent the train from dragging.
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Master October 2021
Mrs.a · on April 24, 2020 at 8:27 AM
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Getting it dirty is going to be inevitable. Now how dirty can be controlled. Obviously avoid any damp or muddy places. If there is a paved or gravel walkway stick to that. I would talk with your photographer prior so they know to look for locations or spots that will be safe for your dress.
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WeddingWire Administrator October 2016
Lynnie · on April 24, 2020 at 9:46 AM
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I like Kari and Ingrid’s ideas!!
Bustling your dress for pictures would definitely help minimize the damage, so would pre-scouting the woods photo location and laying out a blanket or white sheet to stay on top of. Otherwise I’d just recommend being very careful and getting help from your bridesmaids! 🤞
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Dedicated May 2021
Haleigh · on May 8, 2020 at 12:52 PM
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Definitely recruit some help from your bridesmaids to help carry your train between photos! That should minimize the dirt.
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