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Emma's Wedding Diary: Wedding Gown cleaning & heirlooming

Bought the wedding dress today, showed Mum and she burst into tears! I hope Joe has a better reaction - though she assures me that the dress looks perfect. Being ever practical, she's already been looking into what I need to do with it after the big day.

Being tall, apparently my wedding dress will be easier to sell as the new owner would be able to have it shortened if needs be. There are specialist shops and of course internet auction sites. However, I'm not sure I want to do that. Either way, the first thing Mum says needs to happen is to have the wedding dress cleaned by a dry cleaner that specialises in dealing with evening gowns, and preferably bridal gowns in particular. These bridal gown cleaning companies are used to dealing with the special fabrics involved and many also offer a repair service. It may look pristine now but after a day of church, grass, sitting for meals and dancing, it may well look very battered by the end.

Mum says she'll send the wedding dress off the day after the wedding. The sooner the better, otherwise any perspiration can discolour the gown. She impressed me by telling me to make sure that if I decide to store it, it needs to be wrapped in acid-free paper (plastic is a big no-no), and you can get big boxes designed exactly for this purpose. The specialist bridal gown cleaning companies usually sell all of these bits and pieces too, or know of others that do. I'd better go and see if there are any in my Wedding Organizer Book before she calls, don't want her to think I'm being slack!