How To Reduce Your Dry Cleaning Costs
Cost-cutting practices have been gaining traction over the years. Its no longer reserved for low and middle-income groups. Even renowned companies are continuously looking for ways to reduce their overhead costs to maximize profits. Why not you?
Luckily, there are several ways to reduce your dry cleaning bills, including:
How Do I Spice Up My Ball Gown
Add a belt to the waist of your dress. A belt defines the waist and makes the dress more formal. Tie the tie with a loose knot on the back of the dress and secure it with a small seam to make it look more beautiful. Your frames should be a color that contrasts with your dress, such as white or pink on a black dress.
How To Handle Dry Cleaner Problems
Its not uncommon for laundry services to use procedures that dont follow care label instructions. Other dry cleaner problems include failing to care for a garment, like ripping a shirt during pressing. The business is expected to bear such losses since its their fault.
Youll want to contact the shop whenever you have any problems. A reliable business will accept responsibility and happily accept returns to redo it free of charge.
However, the shop wont give you the initial purchase price of your garment. Instead, theyll compensate you based on the unused portion of the garments life expectancy.
The average life expectancy of a garment is around two years. However, it depends on the type of garment and fabric. For example, a down coat has a life expectancy of 10 years, while a blend or cotton coat is only three years.
You May Like: When To Send Save The Dates And Wedding Invitations
Experience Makes All The Difference
Wedding gowns are fairly complicated marvels of tailoring. They are composed of a combination of sturdy and fragile fabrics. Many dresses also come with beads, sequins, or pearls that make them difficult to clean and press. You will need professional cleaners that have worked with wedding gowns before to keep your dress in pristine condition.
Which One Should I Do
There are a few reasons you might want to just get your wedding dress cleaned. One is if you want to wear your dress again in the near futurefor example, if you’re a bride having two wedding celebrations or you bought a short or less formal dress that can double as a party dress.
You should also have the dress cleaned if you’re considering donating or selling your dress. “Selling gowns is on the rise because of effective websites that help facilitate the sales,” Schwegmann says. If you’re interested in going this route, we personally recommend Nearly Newlywed.
Definitely have preservation done if you want your dress’s beauty to last long term, and you aren’t planning on taking it out of its box anytime soon. Dresses that aren’t preserved can yellow over time. Even if you don’t think you’ll pass along the gown to a loved one, you may want to reuse it a different way. Some brides choose to repurpose their gown into a veil, baby blanket or christening gown.
“Wedding gown preservation is the process of packaging a gown in archival boxes using accepted preservation methods and materials for long term storage,” Schwegmann adds. “You should only preserve clean wedding gowns.” So if you’re going have your gown preserved, you’ll need to have both steps taken.
Recommended Reading: How To Plan A Wedding For Under 5000
Is Wedding Dress Preservation Necessary
Professional wedding dress preservation is necessary if you care about stains, aging, and the long-term condition of your gown. At the very least, its crucial that you get your dress dry-cleaned, wrapped as properly as you can in acid-free paper, and store in a climate-controlled area of your home.
How This Site Works
We think it’s important you understand the strengths and limitations of the site. We’re a journalistic website and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques, but can’t guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can’t accept liability if things go wrong.
- This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it’s right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.
- We don’t as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned , but there is a risk any company can struggle and it’s rarely made public until it’s too late .
- Do note, while we always aim to give you accurate product info at the point of publication, unfortunately price and terms of products and deals can always be changed by the provider afterwards, so double check first.
- We often link to other websites, but we can’t be responsible for their content.
- Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.
MoneySavingExpert.com is part of the MoneySuperMarket Group, but is entirely editorially independent. Its stance of putting consumers first is protected and enshrined in the legally-binding MSE Editorial Code.
Also Check: A Practical Wedding Spreadsheets
What Are Diy Dry Cleaning Kits
DIY cleaning kits are special garment cleaning agents that remove stains, spots and freshen your garments. The kits also come with sheets that can be tossed into the dryer alongside the items youre cleaning.
However, the DIY kits cant be as effective as a professional dry cleaner. Therefore, youll want to visit a laundry service if youre dealing with stubborn stains.
Sadly, your dryer wont do that. That said, consider using a home dry cleaning kit on your sweaters to leave them smelling fresh.
Can A Yellowed Wedding Dress Be Whitened
In addition to not getting out stains very well, bleach can dissolve the adornments on your gown and cause permanent fabric damage. As long as your wedding dress has simply yellowed and doesnt have deep-set brown to black spot staining, you may be able to restore your gown yourself. Silk is a much different story.
You May Like: Mills Fleet Farm Wedding Registry
Don’t Forget Your Shoes And Bouquet
By taking the appropriate steps, you can preserve both your shoes and bouquet alongside your gown. For cloth shoes, use a gentle cloth and sponge and lightly scrub your shoes with a mild detergent. For leather shoes, give them a good polish. If you really did a number on your shoes, you can take them to a dry cleaner. After your shoes are clean, wrap them in white tissue and place them in a box.
Depending on the type of material your shoes are, you may be able to include them with your dress in the preservation box. Talk with your preservationist to see whether this is possible. For bridal bouquets, you can press, hang, coat the flowers in wax, or use epoxy resin to preserve the blooms.
Can You Wear A Wedding Dress After Having It Preserved
Your wedding dress isnt going to instantly evaporate the moment you take it out of its specialized packaging , but it may null the preservation guarantee. Before you unpack your wedding dress, be sure to clarify your preservationists terms to understand what is expected long-term.
Many wedding dress preservation companies choose not to seal their specialized boxes, as it may risk trapping moisture and contaminants in with the fabric. In this case, you can typically open the box and handle the dressalbeit very carefully. If you choose to take out the gown, wash your hands or put on cotton gloves to keep it as unblemished as possible.
If you opt for a preservation company that seals your gown in a box, this typically means you cant unseal it without breaking the guarantee along with it. In this scenario, if your daughter or someone close to you decides to wear or upcycle your dress for her wedding, shell need to repeat the process to preserve and guarantee it again.
Read Also: How To Use A Wedding Hashtag
Money: Skip The Middleman
After all the recent dents in your pocket from the wedding, professionally cleaning and preserving your dress may seem daunting, so you are probably tempted to choose Plan B dry cleaning. However, this could be a naïve mistake because most dry-cleaners charge as much as the experts, if not more. For example, professional preservation companies, like Affordable Preservation, specialize in wedding dresses and offer top quality packages for only $245 for complete cleaning and preservation, including your veil, and insurance against loss or damage. If you decide to go this route be sure to
- ASK: Do you perform the dry-cleaning on-site?
- EXPECT: Usually, dry-cleaners offering wedding dress cleaning arent adept to take on the task of dealing with precious, delicate gowns. They often outsource it to professionals who have the proper equipment and expertise and guess who bears the marked up costs? You. So always make sure the price is right, who is doing the actual cleaning, and whats your recourse if the dress is damaged.
How Do I Find A Wedding Dress Preservation Service
Whether youre looking for a sealed treatment, display box, or archival preservation that you can open, you can find an array of options to meet your budget and expectations for wedding dress preservation. We recommend you start your search at TheKnot.com and WeddingWire.com theyve got plenty of reliable reviews and reputable recommendations, both local and online.
Now that youre an expert in wedding dress preservation, check out our Post-Wedding Checklist for everything else you need to put a bow on your big day! Whether youre keeping the memory of your big day, making an heirloom for future generations, or planning to resell or upcycle down the line, these are the best ways to maintain your wedding gowns color, shape, and fabric for years to come. Best wishes!
Recommended Reading: Which Ring Goes On First Engagement Or Wedding
Where To Get Your Wedding Dress Cleaned
If your dress has more stubborn stains, or if cleaning your own wedding dress feels too daunting, then there are always professional services that can help. In this case, contacting dry cleaners to ask if they specialise in wedding dress cleaning is always a good option. You may even find that your wedding planner can give some advice on where to get your wedding dress cleaned or ask around at any wedding fayres you might attend before the big day.
Wedding Dress Preservation Cost What You Should Pay In 2021
These days, a bride has plenty of options in deciding what she wants to do with her wedding dress after her amazing day is over. Some brides opt to trash their wedding gown in a silly photo shoot , some opt to donate or have it repurposed into a special cause. Other brides, however, choose to have it professionally cleaned and preserved so they can pass it down to the next generation as a reminder of their special day, a passed down family heirloom that can be one day worn again.
It’s for this reason that your decision to preserve your wedding dress isn’t to be taken lightly. Were sure it comes as no surprise that a wedding gown is comprised of the most delicate and sensitive fibers youll find an any textile. If a wedding gown was treated like any old jacket or cocktail dress and taken down to the local dry cleaner, the results could be disastrous. Youll want to choose a service that has the technology, experience, and continued training to remove yellowing and staining from all types of delicate fabrics to ensure your wedding gown will last a lifetime. Otherwise, what would be the point, right?
What We Cover:
The Cost of Wedding Gown Cleaning Vs. Preservation
The Cost of Preserving Your Wedding Dress in 2021
What About the Cost of Different Wedding Gown Preservation Packages?
Understanding What Warranties Youll Get For the Cost of Preserving Your Dress
What Should Insurance Cost when Preserving a Wedding Dress?
Recommended Reading: How To Pawn A Wedding Ring
How Much To Dry Clean A Wedding Dress
If you want to have your wedding gown boxed,be ready to pay extra
Clearly, wedding dress dry cleaning prices arent very cheap. Different dry cleaning companies have different prices. In general, the prices start at $100. Its taken for the basic cleaning of a simple wedding dress. The more intricate your dress and the dirtier it is, the higher the price. But, in general, the basic cleaning doesnt cost more than $200.
The lace dresses usually cost more as well as the ones with numerous embellishments like crystals or beads. The dry cleaning companies may ask up to $500 for cleaning such a gown. There are many other ways of making you pay more. For instance, some companies include some types of stains to the price of basic cleaning, but complicated stains are usually paid additionally. Its about $15-50 extra.
The additional costs may also include the service of getting your gown boxed instead of bagged. Its a fact that the dress is preserved better in the box. However, be ready to pay from $50 to $125 for that. If you dont want t pay for a box, you can do that yourself.
How Much Does It Cost To Get Your Wedding Dress Dry Cleaned
Many brides choose to re-sell their used wedding gowns after the “Big Day”. But making sure your dress is clean and ready to go to a new bride is essential to the selling process. When choosing how to clean your wedding gown, dry cleaning is the safest and most affordable way to prepare your dress to be sold. But how much will it cost to dry clean your wedding dress?
How long did you spend selecting your perfect wedding dress? The answer always varies, but it takes most brides a couple of months to find the one, and when you did, it was probably one of the best days of your life. Your wedding dress is not just a dress for a day, most likely you’ve been dreaming of this day and your gown since you were a little girl. No, it’s not just a dress for a day, it’s a symbol for all of those to come. Remember you’re going to look back at those photographs for the rest of your life. That’s why the choice and selection of the perfect gown was so important.
So the big question now is what to do with it. You may hope that a younger sister or perhaps even a daughter will someday wear your gown or you may want to hold onto it for sentimental reasons. In some cases, selling the dress to be a part of another bride’s dream day makes the most sense. Whatever your decision, your wedding gown is a treasured keepsake that, if properly cleaned and preserved, can last for years to come. Ideally, you should have your gown cleaned and maintained within a few weeks of your wedding.
Don’t Miss: How To Plan A Wedding Under 5000
