How to Find a Trustworthy Cleaner to Clean Your Wedding Gown

As you headed off for your honeymoon, you left your wedding gown with a trusted friend or family member, and now that you’ve returned to real life, it’s time to make sure your wedding gown receives the proper care it deserves.  When it comes to cleaning  and preserving your wedding gown, don’t just choose the closest, most convenient cleaner; this is the time to do your due diligence so that your gown is placed in the hands of someone that will make it look like new again.

Header  Top reasons for choosing a Certified Wedding Gown Specialist :

• The Association of Wedding Gown Specialist (AWGS) is a not-for-profit trade association of specialty cleaners founded in 1987.
• AWGS members specialize in caring for wedding gowns, both old and new, and provide a written guarantee honored by all of its members, represented in more than 500 cities around the world.
• Members perform MuseumCare™ ZeroCarbon™ preservations in archival-quality wedding chests and MuseumCare™ ZeroCarbon™ restorations of vintage gowns and textiles.
• You may return your MuseumCare™ gown preservation to any participating Certified Wedding Gown Specialist™, who will inspect and press your bridal gown without charge.
• The Association’s information is listed on the care label of more than 3,500,000 gowns and is recommended by more than 70 designers.

Header: Tips for finding a Certified Wedding Gown Specialist:

• To find a wedding gown specialist, google “(your town) AWGS certified wedding dress cleaner”.
• You can also check the wedding sites like the Knot, Wedding Wire, and The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists. They will likely have a specialist in your area.

If you cannot locate a Certified Wedding Gown Specialist, you can always use our courier service.  Simply follow these instructions:

• Click here and complete the courier request form.  Make sure to use the address where you would like your gown picked up from and returned to. Please note that if you fail to give us a declared value (how much your gown would cost to be replaced), UPS (United Parcel Service) will use $100 as the default.  This is shipping insurance that UPS will be responsible for in case of mishandling. (This rarely ever happens.)
• Within a few days of submitting the form, you will receive our specially designed, prepaid custom shipping container.Follow the directions in the container to properly package your gown.
• Call 1-800-Pick-ups. This will let UPS know your gown is ready for pickup.When the driver comes to your home or office, give the container to the UPS driver. We do the rest.
• After we receive your gown, one of our gown specialists will call you discuss your wedding gown and give you a cost estimate.If you decide not to proceed with the preservation, we will ship your gown back to you at no charge.Our gown cleanings and preservations start at $299.We are not the low-cost operation you may have around the corner.We strive for perfection on each and every preservation.We base our charges on the amount of time needed to do the job right the first time.

If you prefer to use someone local but cannot find a Certified Wedding Gown Specialist, Shores recommends the following investigative work:

• Use a dry cleaner that specializes in wedding gown care and does the work on-site.
• Read the reviews.
• Ask friends and family, bridal shops, or your wedding consultant for preservationist referrals.
• Speak to the bridal salon where you purchased your gown. They won’t recommend just anybody. They probably use a local dry cleaner to clean their stock gowns when they have an issue.
• Interview the cleaner before you allow them to handle your wedding dress.You will get a good idea from interviewing several dry cleaners which ones specialize in gown care and which ones don’t.Here are some good questions to ask.
  • Do you clean the gowns, or do you send them out?
  • Can you guarantee my gown’s safety, or will I have to sign a waiver?
  • How will you clean my dress?
  • Can you do what is needed by the time I need it done?
  • How will you hang my gown after it is completed?

We hope this helps you find the right person or business to care for your wedding gown. For more tips on cleaning your wedding gown, download our wedding gown cleaning guide. If you have questions regarding wedding gown care, please feel free to stop by or call one of our three locations.  We are here to help.