It's no secret that I love all things textile. While studying art history in college, I was fascinated with the preservation of paintings and textiles, and would spend a lot of time looking at all the vintage clothing in the theater department of my university. Preserving textiles can be complicated to do on your own as you can imagine, and this is why after Caitlin's wedding we wanted to make sure this wedding gown and veil got preserved in THE best possible manner. We wanted to be able to do this as a gift for Caitlin and Cyrous. I remember after our wedding, we never seemed to have the funds to take my dress to the cleaners and so it got put in a garment bag and forgotten. Caitlin's dress is gorgeous and has two layers of silk lining along with Alencon lace, which is sometimes referred to as "the queen of lace." The veil also has this lace, and in itself is an heirloom. The process of choosing a wedding gown, then going through numerous fittings and then to not take care of such a investment, when the big day is over, is a crime in my book! Last week I contacted Marina Morrison where Caitlin bought the gown and veil, to ask where the best place was to have the gown cleaned, preserved and restored. They sent me info to contact J. Scheer & Co. (click on the name if you would like to read more about them.) After spending time on their site, I placed the order to start the process. I received a phone call immediately and spoke with a very nice woman, who walked me through the steps and what they do. I must say though, that shipping the dress and accessories, via UPS, had me a little nervous, and as you can imagine, Caitlin was too!! Today I'm happy to say it arrived safe, and now the process begins. They will test all the fabric to find which organic solution they will use to clean the dress. I'm happy that they will be able to mend the torn tulle as well. The process will take up to three and a half months. They will clean the belt as well, as Caitlin got a little bit of honey on it from the Persian ceremony. I was panicking about that since the satin ribbon was so thick and lustrous and worried how something like that could get cleaned. The really cool thing about how the gown and accessories will be boxed, is that it will not be sealed like most cleaners do. They encourage you to open it and look at your gown once you get it. Included with the box are white gloves to handle the dress, as to not get oils from your hands on it. Even if the dress never gets worn again, it will be a treasure and memory of the most beautiful day, which I cannot believe was now 10 months ago! Speaking of which, you should clean your dress no later than six months it said....oops.....Luckily Caitlin didn't spill anything on her dress and only has light soiling on the hem.
When the dress returns, I'll snap a picture of it. All wedding pictures above were taken by Erin Prado, for JBM photo Incase you are wondering who Caitlin's dress is by, it is Liancarlo and her veil was by Homa Bridal (click on names to go to the sites) Belt was Anne Barge
This is our anniversary gift to them, and I sure hope it arrives close to the actual date!!
Seriously though, if you love textiles, go on the J. Scheer site and read all the fascinating things they do for Bridal, Couture, and historical textiles.
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