Risk in cleaning sample gown before wedding?

There's always a possibility, and many dry cleaners don't want the responsibility of cleaning something that is worth that much when they can't replace it. Unless there is something that makes the gown horrendously dirty, all you really need is for it to be steamed, not cleaned

I bought a sample dress as well from Alfred Angelo. Upon the consultants suggestion i bought one of their "preservation kits" which is normally used for after the wedding. It was sent out, cleaned and items like buttons and zippers were reinforced. When it came back in i could not have been happier. It looked amazing. I dont know if this process is any different than a dry cleaners process but i saw no negative changes. I plan on getting another kit for after the wedding to preserve and store it.

I would do a lot of research before you make a decision. I would talk to a couple other dry cleaners and get their opinions as well. Good luck!

I also got a sample dress, I brought it to the alternations lady first and asked her advice. She said never send the dresses for dry cleaning, especially before the day! She was able to spot wash or steam the odd bit that was necessary. I would show it to your alterations person first and asked them the same. ETA the dress is silk dupioni on top, tulle, then satin layers covered with organza on the skirt.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I will look into steaming and see what the woman doing the alterations thinks. I was also confused because a different alterations company that I had looked into has a statement on their website requiring that sample or pre-owned dresses be professionally cleaned before bringing it in for alterations, which seemed odd...

Anyway, I'm happy to have one less thing to do if cleaning the dress isn't necessary

I also bought a sample dress that was in excellent condition. I found a seamstress that has a contract with a dry cleaner. When the dress came back from the dry cleaner the seamstress was able to finish the work that she wasn't able to complete before, like tacking on my belt and finishing the bustle. Definitely ask your seamstress.

I bought a dress from a consignment store. The dress had a few barely visible spots, mostly around the hem. The store had it cleaned for me after I paid for it, before I picked it up. The store has a relationship with a local dry cleaner, and frequently has dresses cleaned. My dress was perfect after cleaning. I would suggest trying a different dry cleaner, that is more comfortable with cleaning wedding dresses.

What april said.

Can you show a picture of the gown? if there's problem areas and you show a close up of these areas then I could form a better opinion.

*warning- not everyone may want to hear the following opinion*

but to be totally honest, this post made me laugh. Not at you! But at the popular statement about 'delicate nature of wedding gowns', as if all gowns are the same. They are not. I've heard this sort of thing so many times, particularly when someone wants to have mom or grandma's gown altered. The seamstress doesn't want to risk damaging it, so they say that old gowns are to fragile to work on or something. Sometimes this is true, but not all the time. The cleaner probably just didn't think the dresses needed cleaning and didn't want to risk it.

I've done a lot of costuming and I've mended and cleaned up so many costumes and my share of wedding gowns. Again, it depends on the dress, but I cleaned gowns in showers and bath tubs more than once. Wedding gown polyester is still polyester. There are certain steps you want to take to prevent taking shine off or damaging the material, but just because it's a wedding dress doesn't automatically mean it will fall apart if you look at it funny. One of those dresses I worked on even went into the dryer when I had my back turned. Some stage hand didn't realize that was a bad idea. :/ The dress came out fine, a few of the beads got a little loose but that was it. Granted, it was low heat and I caught it before the cycle was totally over, but the dress was fine.

Note: I am not suggesting you take your dress and throw it in the dryer, but not all wedding dresses are super fragile. How you clean them depends on how they were made and what they were made of. But if the dress isn't visibly dirty, and you aren't unhappy with how it looks, then just leave it be. There's always a risk that something could happen to it, no need to take the cleaning risk unless you really feel you have to. Not until after the wedding anyhow.

Grrr, dup posts!

In 1987, I purchased a 1940s gown from a vintage clothing shop that also did rentals. The gown had a couple of spots on it. After I had it tailored to fit me, I took it to a dry cleaner (who did not give me any warning). When I picked it up a couple of days before the wedding, some of the tiny crystals and beads and pearls were missing from the bodice. I was horrified! The dry cleaner said he had warned me they were not liable for damages. I asked if they had checked the laundry bag for any loose beads. He said the beads were small enough to have fallen through the mesh.

I went back to my office practically in tears. My co-worker got on the phone and found a seamstress who did beading. She added a few (I think) and rearranged some others and it was fine.

The fabric held up well, it was just the thread that held on the beads that couldn't take the stress of being cleaned.