Brides often call to ask how soon after the wedding the bridal gown has to be cleaned. Of course, the sooner you have your wedding dress cleaned, the easier it is for the Specialist to remove successfully all the cake and lipstick and floor dirt you picked up the day of the wedding.
BUT are you really ready to give up your wedding dress? You might want to enjoy it some more and just look at it hanging over the closet door or resting on the bed in your mom’s guest room–or even try it on once in a while to remember how much fun it was to wear your bridal gown on your wedding day. Every bride wishes the day had not gone by so fast and that she could wear her wedding gown again.
The truth is, unless your wedding gown is silk and splattered with red wine or splotched with mud, it’s okay to delay the trip to the Specialist for a couple of weeks. It’s not such a good idea to wait as long as a year or more, but some brides just cannot bring themselves to leave their wedding gowns with a stranger. For some brides, it is almost the same kind of “separation anxiety” that mothers experience when the first child goes off to nursery school or kindergarten.
If you are that kind of bride, do some research, get references, and when you make your choice, set a definite date for an appointment to inspect your bridal gown after it is clean. You will feel better if you have a scheduled appointment and know exactly when you are going to see your wedding gown again!