Let's Get Real: Wedding Dress Preservation/Cleaning?

It's about the sentimentality. Why not donate it if you feel this way? Some women want to keep their dresses, I've also seen them put on display in creative ways (shadow box).

Oh Jlu, I still don't know the answer to that question, 13 months later... If you don't mind, donate it. I still can't bring myself to doing it, but in meantime it's sitting in the middle of my guest room closet, in its original bag.

I never preserved the gown from my first wedding and six years later, it was still in a plastic garment bag and it still looked great. I gave it to my mom to try to sell at a consignment shop or something.

Second gown I will be wearing every year to renn fest.

If you don't want to preserve it, then don't. Keep it in the closet, donate it, sell it, cut it up and make something else out of it that you can wear. Saw an episode of that fashion designer show where they did that. Created something new and wearable out of a woman's old wedding gown. Good Luck hun and let us know what you decide!

I'm sure no daughter of mine if I ever am blessed with one will ever want to wear my dress and in fact I much rather just have her buy her own. Who knows in 20-30 years space suits maybe the new wedding dress.

I could never get rid of mine though so I am going to have my dress made into a baptism dress for my FH children. Double the meaning it will be my wedding dress and I will get to see my children in it.

I only spent $149 on mine. I'm gonna keep it around. I don't even really care if I have a daughter who wants to wear it or not. I just like that it'll be there in case she does, and even if not it'll be a part of our history that she'll be able to touch with her own hands. DH's side of the family has very few heirlooms, and mine doesn't really have any....in fact literally 0 heirlooms on my side. I'd like to leave something physical behind, because I wish I had something. My dad died when I was 2, and I have nothing of his. Absolutely nothing. You never know what will happen.

I am debating this as well. I dont' think I want to preserve it, too much money for a box to put under the bed. I have not even taken mine to the cleaners and it is sooo dirty on the underside. I am considering donating it or trying to sell it, but then I say ahhh it is sentimental so I don't know.

I have been wondering the same thing. I've been married just about 2 months and haven't had my dress preserved. It's just taking up valuable space on my guest room closet. I am planning to have it preserved, but just haven't taken it in yet.

Sometimes I consider donating or selling it, but I guess I still feel attached.

Thanks for the responses. i am so torn on what to do! I hate when i get rid of things then want them later, but i really don't want to preserve it. maybe it'll just stick around in my closet for a while. maybe i'll call around and take to the cleaners...who knows, maybe i won't. i'd LOVE to put it in a shadow box or something (have you seen read housewives of beverly hills' adrienne's wedding dress in shadow box??) but i don't know how weird that would look in my house. I already did that with my dried bouquet, but a 16x20 shadow box is a lot easier to find a place for. lol

i think for now, i'll just keep it in the bag. ahhhh, so torn!

I am having the same dilemma. Three months later, my dress is still hanging in the closet, uncleaned and unpreserved. I told DH the other day I was thinking about selling it, and he told me not to. I am attached, but I don't want to keep it laying around. So torn.

After we got married I posted a survey on FB for my married friends. With one exception who did what Crystal said, literally everyone else's dress is unpreserved in the guest room closet. Go figure :-(

Kept the wedding gown from my first wedding preserved in its box in the back of the closet for 24 years. Ended up finally giving it to charity.

I was planning to either put this dress up for sale after the wedding or donating it to charity again, but I don't know. It may take another 24 years to figure that out ; )

We haven't reached the 1 month mark yet, but mine is still hanging in the original bag in our coat closet. I washed my slip (so a friend could try it with her gown) but I don't have the slightest idea what to do with it. My MOH who was married almost 2 year ago had hers hanging in their guest room until they turned it into a nursary 2 months ago... now its in one of those rubbermaid boxes in her basement... and she told me she forgot to label it. It's so funny how obsessed you can get and then after the wedding be like... "uh, who cares"

Whether you have it dry cleaned or preserved, its gonna cost about the same amount (depending on the weight and material of your dress). I haven't gotten married yet, but I figure I'll just keep my dress in the original garment bag and save a few hundred dollars.

My cousin got hers "preserved" then a few months later opened the box to take some more pictures with it and they'd replaced the real gown (which was a very expensive designer gown) with another dress! I'll probably pull some sewing magic and turn mine into something else, personally, or donate it to a place who can give it to someone in need. I don't really see the point of sticking it in the attic or whatever, much less wasting money to even have it dry cleaned since I'm not planning on wearing it again. Maybe donate it? That way someone who can't afford one can share in the joy of having a beautiful gown.

I am not preserving mine. My prom dress from 10 years ago still looks brand new and it was shoved in a closet without a garment bag. In actual fact, I will probably try to sell the dress since I am super broke.

I'm not getting mine cleaned or preserved. I'm having a trash the dress photoshoot on our 1 year wedding anniversary. I don't know if I want the photoshoot at the beach or a all out neon colored paint war with my husband to be!

View Quoted Comment If you don't mind sharing, where did your cousin send hers? I'm thinking about getting mine preserved, (I like the idea of it being in a box instead of taking up having space in my closet) but I've read a few stories like this, or when they opened it later the cleaners had ruined the dress, so I'm a little afraid to send it off.