How to Store Your Wedding Dress – Part 2

I last wrote about how to store your wedding dress before your wedding, and today I’ve got some helpful (and important!) tips for storing it AFTER your wedding day. 

After The Wedding

You may not have thought much about what to do with your dress after the day itself, which is totally understandable. But your wedding dress represents so much; your marriage, your one day as the star of the show, your future life and family. One day you might want to get it out and show your children or grandchildren, and have it as a family heirloom. Whatever you decide to do with it, you want it to look as perfect as they day it was first worn (even if you have plans to alter it or sell it – more on that later!).  

•  The Empty Box Company is the only company that specialises in protecting & preserving wedding dresses and other special items. Our boxes have been designed with input from the Victoria & Albert museum to ensure that the pH levels are perfect for keeping delicate fabrics as prisitine as they day they were made. And we have been trusted to look after millions of wedding dresses over the almost 40 years we have existed!

• All our boxes are handmade and incredibly beautiful – exactly what you want for such a special item such as your wedding dress. And they are environmentally friendly, as is our company as a whole with many eco-initiatives across the business.

• It is safe to say your special dress will be in the best possible hands in one of our Wedding Dress Boxes.

Here are our detailed Top 12 Storage Tips

1. Have your dress cleaned by a specialist Dry Cleaner. Even if you cannot see stains now, they do show up in time.
2. Avoid keeping your dress in the wardrobe too long, as it may become crumpled, and pulled on the hanger.
3. Remove your dress from a plastic dress cover (a cotton duvet cover is better temporarily); plastic dress covers disintegrate in time and leaving harmful particles behind.
4. Place your dress in a specialist pH neutral, sturdy, highly protective Wedding Dress Box, ideally one made by The Empty Box Company, as we are specialists & expert at storing dresses, with 38 years’ experience.
5. Don’t store in a normal box as the acid in the board will cause yellowing within months;
6. Choose a box & design you love! The box and dress will be with you for many years!
7. Pack the dress carefully with acid free tissue, placing it between the layers. The Empty Box Wedding Dress Boxes come with many sheets of acid free tissue, packing instructions, and storage advice.
8. Separate your dress from other items e.g. shoes, tiara, as these are all made of different materials that could affect your dress.
9. Don’t keep your dress in the attic, even in a box, as there will be humidity changes, damp & insects.
10. Keep the Wedding Dress Box in a dry spare room, away from light, heat and damp.
11. Enjoy your dress! Take it out from time to time, as this helps any creases not become too permanent, and remember that special day!
12. After one of the most special days of your life, you have just your photos, your dress (and a gorgeous husband, of course!) but looking after them properly keeps those memories safe!

Top Twelve Tips for Storing your Dress after the Wedding Day was written by Giselle Hulme, director of The Empty Box Company hand-making wedding dress boxes for 38 years. www.emptybox.co.uk 01822 870207 If you have any specific queries, please do email Giselle giselle@emptybox.co.uk

What About Selling…

Thinking of selling your dress? I’ve got another post coming that covers exactly this. Keep an eye out!