The story we shared in our blog about Classic Cleaners Eagle Creek bride who spotted a rainbow on her way to the church inspired one of our clients from the other end of Indianapolis to tell us about a piece of folklore that caused her to change her own wedding plan.

In modern times, we’re finding, people pay less attention to folklore. When it comes to weddings, though, traditions and even superstitions continue to play a part in the planning. Of course, no one really knows for sure whether certain things bring good luck or bad, but, as the website weddings.lovetoknow.com  explains, brides don’t want to take a chance!

One loyal Classic Cleaners customer in McCordsville recalled originally planning to have each of her bridesmaids dress in a different jewel-tone shade, with the groomsmen in bowties to match, and the same colors replicated in her bouquet and in the table decorations. That most original and colorful concept was scrapped when an aunt shared with her that it would bring bad luck if the bridesmaids weren’t all in the same color dresses. Not actually “buying” that story, our customer nonetheless had all her attendants wear the same color.

Early bridesmaids actually wore dresses similar to the bride’s in order to confuse evil spirits who might want to harm the bride or cause mischief. In fact, we learned, that’s why the groomsmen were there as well!

Another wedding custom related to color choices has some tradition behind it as well – the boutonniere. In medieval times, when a lady fancied a particular knight, she’d give him a token – a scarf, flower, or ribbon – to carry into battle.  The knight was said to be “wearing her colors”.

As you can tell, at Classic Cleaners, we’re really into weddings.   As a member of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, we can offer MuseumCare™ preservation of wedding gowns, an advanced process endorsed by the Association of Bridal Consultants. At Classic Cleaners, we may not be superstitious, but we love to keep wedding traditions alive!

Do you have a favorite wedding-related superstition or tradition?  Please share it with us.  We want all our readers to have good luck!

 by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

“Once upon a time, women who bought their wedding dresses secondhand to cut costs may have kept it a secret; today they have bragging rights,”  says Bethany Kandel in New York Times’ Field Notes. Kandel cautions the now “in” frugal brides to budget for alternations and dry cleaning bills.

At Classic Cleaners, our wedding gown care professionals know all about the specialized dry cleaning, alternation, and pressing techniques needed for both brand new and “lightly loved” bridal attire.

While a surprising number of brides are buying used wedding gear online, as SmartMoney reporter Joan Magee notes, at Classic Cleaners we’re noticing more and more brides choosing to restore beautiful heirloom wedding gowns, first worn by Mom or Grandma, for their own wedding.

The Australian film released just last year, Second Hand Wedding, was dubbed a “first-class success by reviewers. Apparently, from the time Barbra Streisand lamented her status as “Secondhand Rose“, frugality has made quite a comeback. 

Of course, at Classic Cleaners, our job is making sure all our brides- and all their wedding gowns – make their absolute best appearance (whatever time around)! 

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Sometimes it seems Classic Cleaners specializes in stories.  With wedding gown cleaning and preservation a specialty of ours, we feel as if we’ve been part of the “wedding party” for many brides, both before and after their big event.

Quite often, as members of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, Classic Cleaners professionals have helped preserve bridal gowns for daughters and even granddaughters to wear.  Rarely, though, have we come across a story with as many chapters as the one about the dress owned by “Magee” (Margaret) Land.

Magee at Mardi Gras, 1977

Chapter I:

It all started in February, 1977 at the New Orleans Mardi Gras debutante ball, when The Dress was worn for the first time by Magee, then a college junior, as one of the princesses at the Ball.  Mardi Gras princesses, according to tradition, were escorted by masked gentlemen; Magee’s escort was her uncle.  Her date: Casey Land from Danville, Indiana.

Magee and Casey Land's wedding 1979

Chapter II:

Two years later, on January 6, 1979, The Dress made its second appearance.  Remade with an overlay by Juliette

Coutures of New Orleans, this time Magee wore it as her wedding gown, beautiful bride of Michael Casey Land.

Chapter III:

Fast forward to New Year’s eve, 2010. The Lands now have two beautiful daughters, Tara and Meagan, and son Hunter. Meagan is being married in The Dress, altered by

Joyce Hittesdorf of Something Wonderful and restored to pristine white by Leon Neal of Classic Cleaners.

Magee's daughter's wedding New Year's Eve 2010

Chapters IV, V, and ?:

Future plans for The Dress include daughter Tara and Hunter’s girlfriend Anna.  From there, who knows?

The ongoing story of The Dress has been made possible through MuseumCare™ preservation, the advanced process used by Classic Cleaners, and the only one endorsed by the Association of Bridal Consultants.

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

“The Terrible Twos are a phenomenon most parents could quite happily live without,” says suite101.com, referring to toddlers who say “No!” to everything and make throwing temper tantrums a habit, beginning around their twentieth month of life.

At Classic Cleaners, we only occasionally experience the results of Terrible Twos toddlers’ behavior in the form of some of horribly stained and ripped clothing coming in with Fluff and Fold family laundry orders (one can only imagine the tantrums!).

As members of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, what we are trained to look for are the “Terrible Threes”.  Just as the “terrible two” toddlers stretch parents’ patience and wreak havoc on toddler wardrobes, when it comes to the terrible threes – sugars, salts, and acids – these wreak havoc on wedding gowns, doing the kind of damage with which conventional dry cleaning simply cannot cope.

Wedding dresses with lace appliqué, beading, and trim are most vulnerable to theTerrible Threes, which accumulate near the borders of the trim or beading.  Left untreated – or treated using only traditional dry cleaning methods – the at first invisible sugars, salts, and acids turn into ugly brownish-yellow areas on the dress.

The MuseumCare™ system of wedding gown preservation used at Classic Cleaners was shown to be the cleanest and safest in a blind test of four nationally-known wedding gown preservation processes. In fact, Classic Cleaners is the only dry cleaners in its area endorsed by the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists.

Whew!  With the beautiful wedding gown having been given the proper care and then preserved in an archival-quality box, the Terrible Threes will be safely out of the way.  As they begin their family, the bride and groom can spend their next few years preparing for the Terrible Twos!

By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team