Most women would agree – their wedding gown is the most important dress they’ll ever wear.  And, while all brides hope to preserve their marriage, quite a number desire to preserve the dress as well.  Why?

2009 Bride is Beautiful the 3rd Time Around in 1947 Wedding Dress

•  To wear at a ceremony to renew wedding vows
• As an heirloom for a daughter or granddaughter to wear someday.

In fact, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an heirloom as

1. A piece of property that is part of an inheritance

2. Something of special value handed down from one generation to another.

In the case of wedding gowns, though, there’s something every wedding dress owner needs to know: There’s a big difference between merely “heirlooming” a dress and preserving it for the future.

The truth is, as practiced by most dry cleaners, heirlooming a wedding gown consists of dry cleaning it and then sealing it in a box.  But cleaning and boxing a wedding gown is hardly enough to prevent fabric discoloration or the oxidization of invisible sugar stains on the dress.

That’s why, in preserving wedding gowns, Classic Cleaners uses the only process endorsed and recommended by the Association of Bridal Consultants – MuseumCare™ Preservation. Classic Cleaners partner and wedding gown specialist Leon Neal explains what is included in MuseumCare™:

• Thorough cleaning
•  Removal of sugars, salts, and acids (conventional dry cleaning methods cannot accomplish this)
• Conditioning the gown for long-term 
• Sealing in an acid-free environment
• Providing a lifetime guarantee against sugar stains and yellowing.  This guarantee is backed by more than 100 Wedding Gown Specialists worldwide.

 ”Love is lovelier the second time around,” Frank Sinatra used to croon.  Proper professional preservation can ensure that, the second – or third - time around, each wedding dress will be worn in its full loveliness!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

“Today’s independent woman doesn’t want to go along with the crowd; she wants to stand on her own merit,” says Lovetoknow.com.

Jill F. said her vows in silver gray

While white wedding dresses remain the most popular choice for many brides, colored wedding dresses are growing in popularity for modern, trendy brides. Lovetoknow reminds critics that white wedding gowns weren’t the norm until 1840, when Queen Victoria chose a white dress for her wedding.

At Classic Cleaners, we know.  In just the past season, of the many beautiful wedding gowns brought in for post-wedding cleaning, one was red, the other a silver gray.

Jill F. confided that she’d never even considered white.  Seeking a non-traditional dress, she’d chosen the one with the most appealing style and fit – it happened to come in gray.

Lovetoknow names five reasons brides are beginning to branch out in their wedding color choices:

• Desire to be different
• Greater selection of styles
• Cheaper prices for party dresses as compared to bridal gowns
• Cultural considerations (where a certain color is traditional or symbolic)
• Ability to reuse the gown for other occasions

 Every profession has its special challenges, and dry cleaning is no exception. 

• The delicate fabric on evening gowns needs special treatment.
• The color red presents its own set of special challenges.
• Beading and trim need to be handled with special expertise.

Dry cleaning wedding dresses is a specialty at Classic Cleaners.  There’s an extra measure of satisfaction, though, when Classic Cleaners technicians can do their work in “Technicolor”!
 

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

modern bride and groom

With Classic Cleaners owners being such history buffs, I find it fun to go back and learn the origin of various traditions we keep alive today.  And, since Classic Cleaners professionals specialize in wedding gown cleaning and preservation, I’m going to devote today’s blog post to weddings old and new.

Think it strange to be thinking of weddings in November?  Think again.
In recent years, wedding statistics show, June has come in second, or even third, in popularity, behind July and August!

I’ve read several different theories about why June used to be the month of choice for weddings:

Brides married in June were likely to give birth to a first child in spring, which was thought to bring good luck.

During medieval times annual baths (yes, annual!) were usually in May, so that June brides still smelled relatively fresh.  (If not, the bridal bouquet was designed to divert attention from any unpleasant odor.)

I hasten to add that Melissa Shell, writing about medieval history in About.Com, refutes this persistent legend

Vintage wedding

about yearly cleansing, explaining that, while full baths may have been annual affairs, most people washed themselves on a regular basis.

Although modern couples may have more contemporary – and more practical – reasons for choosing to be married in a particular month, much sentimental value attaches to weddings and particularly to wedding gowns. For this reason, Classic Cleaners is a member of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, cleaning and preparing gowns for immediate use, or offering expert MuseumCare preservation as endorsed by the Association of Bridal Consultants.

Every year an average of 3 million weddings are performed in the United States. And, in every month of every one of those years, Classic Cleaners answers “We Do!” to the question, “Can you help take care of my beautiful bridal gown?”

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Dry cleaning in Indianapolis is big business for Classic Cleaners, don’t get me wrong.
But, sometimes, after watching all the celebrities show off their beautiful designer clothes on TV, I can’t help wondering…who cleans those couture evening gowns after a big White House or Red Carpet event? (Tell me they don’t throw the gowns away after one wearing!)

To my relief, I read in Savvy Sugar that (apart from official dinners) every United States President and spouse are responsible for all of their everyday expenses such as food, drink, and dry-cleaning bills! Does someone keep track?  Apparently, the White House functions like a luxury hotel.  At the end of each month, the president receives a bill for food and incidental expenses.

When it comes to TV and movie stars, at least one, Ellen Pompeo of Gray’s Anatomy, was spotted dropping off a bag of clothes at a Hollywood Hills dry cleaners. And, if you should happen to visit a Hollywood dry cleaners yourself, don’t be surprised if food expert Rachael Ray is the one taking in your order.  The CBS show I Get That a Lot puts celebrities in “normal person jobs” to confuse customers, and Ray served at least one stint as a dry cleaners clerk. The show’s executive producer Ed Horwitz remarked that, since a large portion of the Rachael Ray show audience use their local drycleaners, it would be fun to put her into that environment.

 While Classic Cleaners has no plans to open a store in Hollywood, when it comes to the cleaning and restoring of delicate evening gowns, our professionals are up to the challenge.

• Hand cleaning: Each gown is treated individually, while protecting beads, embroidery, lacy, and sequins.
• Anti-sugar stain treatment: Often stains from sugar, salt, and acids dry clear, These stains cannot be initially be seen, and do not disappear with normal dry cleaning.  Over time, though, the stains can turn an ugly brownish-yellow.  At Classic Cleaners, your gown will be given a complete anti-acid conditioning.
  
  Gloved handling and Inspection: Each gown is lovingly protected from skin oils and from contact with other garments.

Not all our customers are headed for Hollywood Hills or the White House, but with Classic Cleaners, you can be ready just in case that engraved invitation is delivered tomorrow!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team