Museum Method (hanging) will keep your gown in the best overall condition and requires less maintenance than boxed preservation. Therefore we always recommend Museum Method Preservation over boxed preservation all things being equal. If closet space is a problem, boxed preservation is also very good and all of our boxes fit under standard beds.

The gown is not damaged from hanging for several reasons:

a. Much of the weight of a bridal gown is in the train. We roll the train up in acid-free tissue and then the rolled train sits at the bottom of the bag, so that the shoulders of the gown do not bare the weight.

b. We also hang the gown on a shoulder size hanger, and because the bodice is stuffed with tissue, the gown is supported all around. It is similiar to the gown being worn by a person: the body supports the gown, instead of a thin hanger.

c. Lastly, when we do have a particularly heavy gown, we sew twill tape straps inside the lining of the gown at the top of the skirt as reinforcement to help bare the weight of the gown. Very few gowns are so heavy that they require this support.

Cotton twill tape is sewn into the lining of strapless gowns, making cotton straps to support the gown. We also sew these straps into dresses with spaghetti straps or any dress with little or no shoulder strength. Cotton twill tape straps are also used in other areas for exceptionally heavy dresses. These cotton straps can be easily removed with a seam ripper if the dress is to be worn again.

Our acid free 100% cotton cover protects the dress from dust and light, and allows the dress to breathe protecting it from mildew. Acid free tissue helps to keep acid migration from damaging the dress. The acid free environment helps keep the dress from yellowing. The shoulder size padded cotton hanger helps to keep the gowns shape. Because the gown is not folded, it is protected from permanent creasing damage.

Does your method keep the dress looking white? Or is yellowing just inevitable as it gets older?

Some fabrics do yellow a little as they get older. Silk and nylon, in particular, have a tendency to do so. However, the greatest cause of yellowing bridal gowns is leaving the dress in the plastic bag that the dress came with or a drycleaner's bag. Plastic gives off fumes that actually cause yellowing.

The veil is hung down the back of the wedding gown with cotton twill tape. This keeps it in the best condition possible. Purses are also suspended this way. The headpiece may be wrapped in acid-free tissue and suspended, or placed in the bottom of the bag depending on the size and shape of the headpiece.

Yes, after your gown has been preserved, it can be worn again, but it will need to be recleaned and preserved afterwards. You can save money by saving the preservation materials, have the dress cleaned locally (or do it yourself if it is polyester) and then re-preserve it with the saved preservation materials.

In order to protect the gown best, we do not bustle gowns when preserved. We roll the train up in acid-free tissue. The train then sits at the bottom of the bag, which helps reduce any strain on the gown from the weight of the train.

Why is it important to inspect your dress periodically?

Many dresses which look clean after the wedding have stains appear on them after a few months or years. These may have been caused by spills which dry clear but turn brown over time. Dry-cleaning solvents won't remove all substances and unless they are pre-treated they can oxidize and turn brown. By inspecting your dress from time to time, you may catch some of these stains forming and have them removed before they become too difficult.

Wet cleaning is simply cleaning with water and you may be able to safely hand wash your gown yourself. Wet cleaning has several advantages.

1. It is the best cleaner for sugar spills and most food stains.
2. If the dress has been well rinsed, wet-cleaning leaves no chemicals on the dress, which will help keep the dress in the best possible condition.
3. Water washing removes the fabric sizing (a starch like substance added to fabric during manufacturing.) Removing the sizing helps protect the gown, because sizing is enticing to mice and insects.

Some preservation companies promote a special sugar treatment to remove sugar substances. Sugar treatment is simply identifying and removing sugar substances from the garment with water before dry-cleaning. Dry-cleaning solvents do not remove sugar substances. Oftentimes these substances may be overlooked because they dry clear on the garment and are not noticed. But if not removed, they will darken over time.

Whenever possible, we hand clean wedding gowns using a wet process treatment. This process removes all sugar substances.

For garments that we dry-clean we use a special infrared light to identify unseen sugar substances on the wedding gown and pretreat the area before the gown is dry-cleaned. So all sugar substances are removed from the wedding gowns that we clean and preserved.

Please allow 6 - 12 weeks for cleaning and preservation. However, if you would like your gown rushed, we may be able to accomodate you. Please call to ask about rush service. Occasionally, we may go over 12 weeks, particularly during our busiest season. We may need additional time for gown restorations.

Museum Method wedding gown preservation is available at a number of dry-cleaners across the United States. You can check to see if one is available in your local area at the following website: www.museummethod.com

If you know of an excellent dry-cleaner in your area that you would like to offer this service, please let us know and we will contact them about offering Museum Method wedding gown preservation to their customers.

After you receive an estimate for our services, you can order preservation and we will send you shipping instructions and a pre-paid shipping label. You then drop your boxed gown off to any facility that accepts FedEx packages such as FedEx Office (formerly Kinkos) or hand it to a FedEx driver.

After we receive your gown at our California facility we will confirm the estimate and send an invoice to you for payment. You pay nothing until you have a firm price for our services. We then clean and preserve your gown, and ship it back to you signature delivery.

We regularly receive and ship all over the country without any problem. FedEx does a great job in safely transporting your treasured packages. We also offer shipping insurance for peace of mind in shipping.

The bagged gown is folded over once, to fit inside our very large shipping box (36 X 24 X 12). You hang the bag as soon as it arrives, so that the time it is folded is minimal.