Did you know that as well as being a great party drink, vodka can also get stains out of your wedding dress? Discover more wedding dress cleaning tips from the experts at Johnson Cleaners.
Practically speaking, a bride spends hours in a delicate white dress on a day when looking her best is a top priority. Stains and snags can happen and if you’re prepared you could ensure that no one ever knows.
Emergency Wedding Dress Cleaning
Johnson Cleaners highly recommend putting together a ‘wedding emergency kit’ which could include all sorts of useful items such as: tissues, safety pins, a mini sewing kit and a small make up sponge – just add your lipstick and mirror and you’re ready to go. One real bride told us she would have paid £100 for a paper clip when the little holding loop on her train came undone.
Give an emergency kit (or two) to an appropriate person you can turn to in case of a wedding dress emergency, one of the bridesmaids is best. All the rest of the magic ingredients will be available at your venue.
Here are Johnson Cleaners top tips on how to manage a range of wedding day dress disasters like a pro:
Dropped hem on a dress
If the hem drops on a wedding dress (or one of the bridesmaids’ dresses) it could ruin the whole look and potentially cause a tripping hazard. The mini sewing kit is a life-saver here! Use a fine tacking stitch and avoid pushing the needle to the outer fabric. This should hold on the big day and afterwards the dress can be taken to a professional seamstress for proper repair
Red wine on the wedding dress
This could potentially be disastrous for the bride and the unlucky guest responsible for the spillage. But don’t worry, with some basic kitchen items this can be brilliantly resolved. Use water, white vinegar plus a touch of washing up liquid and dab with a soft sponge. Be careful to feather the edges so you don’t leave a water mark. Any residue can be masked with talcum powder. Remember to point out the mark and explain what it is to the team at Johnson Cleaners when you drop it off after the event though.
Snags caused by jewellery
With so many congratulatory hugs and kisses coming the bride’s way this can be an unfortunate hazard for delicate fabrics. All it takes is for a bracelet to get caught in the dress and it could get pulled or unravelled, especially the lace. This can be easily fixed by simply using a sewing needle (or the back of an earring) to push the thread from the outer material to the inner, to hide it inside the garment and prevent further snags. Do not be tempted to cut the thread or it will leave a nasty hole. If a hole actually appears, put a few loose stitches around it to stop it from tearing open.
Broken dress strap
Been slightly over enthusiastic on the dance floor and managed to snap the dress strap while throwing some moves? This could ruin the look of the dress and result in some embarrassing accidents. Fixing a dress strap is simple – use a fine tacking stitch, enough to hold the strap in place. If you haven’t followed the previous advice of storing a mini sewing kit in your handbag, try borrowing a brooch from another wedding guest and turn a stylish accessory into a practical solution.
Lipstick on the dress
Has a guest been over zealous with the kisses and got lipstick everywhere? Don’t worry, red lip marks don’t have to be a permanent feature on the dress – simply gently sponge them with neat vodka to help reduce the visibility of the stain.
Just because the stain is no longer visible, it doesn’t mean it has been fully removed. The correct aftercare will ensure that the mark doesn’t come back or permanently damage the dress. Experts such as Johnson Cleaners can advise you how to best deal with any repairs after the wedding.
Johnson Cleaners has a great range of after wedding services, from alterations and repairs so you can re-style and re-vamp your bridesmaid dress to wedding dress cleaning services, simply visit Johnsoncleaners.com for more information.
For our latest wedding dresses please visit Fashion, and after your full wedding dress cleaning, discover the Best Wedding Dress Storage Solutions.
