A surprise wedding gown cleaning

Maria had a brilliant idea: why not take photos of herself in her mother’s dress as a surprise for her mom? It would not be too hard; after all, the two of them are the same size. There was only one problem: the vintage dress that was once white had evenly yellowed throughout the entire gown. There were even oxidized stains in the front on several parts of the gown. The seams had become discolored and the tulle had also become yellow.

Still, the dress was gorgeous. With a lace bodice and synthetic crepe skirt, the dress dazzled with the hand-stitched lace appliques on the hemline and edge of the train. Hand-covered buttons with metal-backs lined the cuffs and back of the dress. The wedding gown also came with a bow on the back.

Our wedding gown cleaning process

Luckily, we were able to give this gown the tender love and care Maria needed to surprise her mom. We first removed the buttons and separated the tulle from the headpiece. We hand-cleaned the dress and veil using the wet process. Because the order was for only a cleaning and not a preservation, we used minimal chemical treatments on the stains. Finally we hand pressed the gown and tulle.

Maria was able to wear this gown as a beautiful surprise for her mom!

We were able to clean the yellow stains.

We were able to clean the yellow stains.

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