Tell me about your beautiful gown.
My gown is a Maggie Sottero. I went to multiple places in town and out of state and could not find the dress. I knew I wanted something with lots of texture and big but could not find it! A co-worker told me about The White Room and we found the dress on the designer website. The White Room had the dress and I ran out to Lebanon to try it on. It was a tie between this dress and one that was very similar but a different shade of cream. Ultimately this dress was the one, I was able to customize the back from a corset closure to a zipper. It was also so soft and luscious that I felt I could keep it on forever.
A lot of brides take their dress home and hang it in the closet after their wedding. What made you decide to take preserve your gown?
I knew that I immediately wanted it to go to cleaner (I had a bridesmaid pick it up from the venue and it to the cleaner the next day! lol). It was my dream dress and I wanted it to be preserved at some level. I did not want any spots to be left, and not be able to be taken care of because I waited until after my honeymoon to clean it. I felt that if you spend a fair amount on something it should be taken care of. No mater what that amount is. In the end it was only a couple hundred dollars between getting the dress cleaned or preserved. I felt spending that extra money for a lifetime guarantee of preservation was worth it.
Nicole's gown boxed and ready for preservation
Nicole's official preservation box
How did you find Oakwood Cleaners and which services did they provide?
I found Oakwood through a friend that used them for her dress. Oakwood cleaned and then preserved my dress. It took about 4 months but was totally worth it.
What do you plan to do with your gown?
Are you preserving it to become an heirloom? I am keeping my dress safe and tucked away for the future. I would love to have a place to display it. My dream would be a giant shadow box. …. but most likely I will have it in case my future daughters or daughter in laws would like to wear it. Maybe I will use it if we ever re new our vows…. the perfect thing is, it is back to being a brand new dress and my options are limitless 🙂
What advice do you have for other brides regarding custom gown creation, cleaning, preservation?
I want future brides to know that if there are a few things they may want to tweak about a dress to make it “the one” ask! Sometimes they can be modified before they are sent to you, other times the seamstress on hand can make the changes for you. Also think about what you see for the future of your dress…. this can help you prepare for what you want to do to your dress. I feel my dress is a classic look and hopefully that is what someone I know in the future will want and they can use it as their own. Whatever you do, do something to it. treat it with care and love, you wore it during such a special time.
Wedding day photos: George Street Photography
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