Preparing Your Wedding Gown for the Big Day

Your wedding day is right around the corner, and you want to make sure that everything looks picture perfect. There are some easy steps that can be taken to make sure that everything you wear for your wedding is in tip-top shape. This is what you need to know about preparing your wedding gown, veil, and jewelry for the big day.

It is a given that your wedding gown will need to be pressed before you wear it on your wedding day. Just the process of getting in and out it for fittings will have put some wrinkles into it that you can definitely live without. If you have had to travel with your dress, it may well need some serious steaming to get it back into shape for your wedding.

When you are working with a bridal salon near your wedding location, you should plan on having the dress freshly pressed the week of your wedding. It will come to you on a bust form over a hanger, with tissue stuffed into the sleeves to help hold its form. The shop will zip it into a garment bag or cover it with extra long plastic bags to protect your gown while you are transporting it. Give some thought to wear you can hang it up when you get home. If the gown has a train, you will want to open the bag to let the train unfurl. Hang the gown from the highest possible place (plant hooks on the ceiling are great for this), and spread a clean white sheet on the floor under the train. Be sure to protect your gown from wandering pets and fiances!

Brides who will be traveling with their gowns will need to make advance arrangements to have them pressed or steamed when they arrive at their wedding destination. You can inquire at a bridal shop, a formalwear store, a seamstress, or a dry cleaner. Be sure to get instructions on the best pressing techniques from the shop where you purchased your gown or had it altered, because every fabric is different. Some materials will steam beautifully, others will need to be flat pressed. An often overlooked detail is to have the crinoline inside your gown steamed as well.

Don't forget about your accessories; you will want them to be in top form for your wedding, too. Your veil will need to be steamed, and if it has a ribbon or lace border, that should be gently flat pressed. Ironing a veil is a very delicate operation, because it is easy to melt the tulle with too much heat or tear it with the tip of the iron. It is best to have this done by a professional, but if you must iron your own veil, be sure to use a low heat, and to over the veil with a press cloth for protection. A piece of sheer silk organza is ideal because you can see through it to make sure that you do not accidentally press a new wrinkle into the veil.

The rest of your wedding accessories might need a little sprucing up as well. Silver wedding jewelry should be polished according to the designer's instructions. Pearl bridal jewelry can be gently wiped with a soft dry cloth, and diamonds should be cleaned so they shine like the sun. They are not exactly accessories, but pay some attention to your bridesmaids as well. Most of them will likely have to travel to your wedding location, which can result in horribly rumpled bridesmaid dresses (I was once in a wedding with a girl who had kept her chiffon bridesmaid dress folded in a shoe box for months before the wedding!). Be certain that you have steamers and irons with press cloths on hand for them to use, or make arrangements for their dresses to be iron by a dry cleaner or the hotel staff. After all, you will want everyone in your wedding to look their most beautiful on your special day.