What Comes in the Wedding Gown Preservation Kit?

The Wedding Gown Preservation Kit, developed by the Wedding Gown Preservation Company, was designed as an affordable and superior alternative for brides across the country to preserve their wedding gowns.  If you were to visit your local dry cleaners for a similar preservation, you’d pay hundreds more for a sub-par cleaning and preservation.  By investing in superior technology and employing cutting edge techniques, the company has undeniably become the nation’s leading gown preservation company.

Your kit comes with unique rendered services and features that work together to keep your gown as beautiful and pristine as the day you purchased it.  These exclusive features are listed below:

Thorough Gown Cleaning – When you wedding dress arrives at their facility it goes though 6 unique checks as it makes its way through the preservation process.  Cleaning includes an initial check-in, dry cleaning, spot removal, hemming & beading check, pressing and much more.

Preservation Box – Their exclusive preservation box is both durable and beautiful with features such as a UV protected viewing window and a clear coat finish which repels water.  In the window you can also view 3 of your additional preserved items such as shoes, veil or a purse.

Preservation Bust – Within the kit is a preservation bust which helps maintain the shape of your gown as it’s stored in the box.  The bust is integral in maintaining the long term structural integrity of your gown over the long term.

White Gloves – The Company also includes a pair of white gloves that you can use to inspect your gown cleaning and preservation box after it arrives back to your home.

Free Shipping – The price of your wedding gown preservation kit also includes free shipping both to and from your home to the preservation studio.  There’s no hidden fees or up charges, just a quality cleaning and preservation.

100 Year Warranty – That’s right, not just a lifetime guarantee but a 100 year guarantee to celebrate the 100 years the Wedding Gown Preservation Company has been in business.  The 100 year guarantee protects your gown against future yellowing.

There’s never been a better time to clean, preserve and protect your wedding gown for future generations to enjoy.  Regardless of whether your wedding dress has been hanging in your closet for a few years or if you’re preparing to leave for your honeymoon, the Wedding Gown Preservation Company can guarantee you’ll be able to cherish the most precious memory from your big day for the next century.

Blogs Are the New Diaries for Keeping Track of Your Big Day

Have you been thinking about keeping a diary of the events leading up to your big day?  Many brides are jumping on this trend and even giving away copies of their journals as gifts to the bridesmaids who were a part of their wedding.  In the modern day we live in many brides are using sites like wordpress or blogger to keep track of their thoughts and adding videos, photos and other enhancements to make things even more interesting.  Here are 3 tips on starting your own wedding blog.

1. Keep your posts short and manageable

Keeping your posts short will make it easy to use an online program like shutterfly.com to turn your blog into a small book to use as a gift for guests.  Keeping each post to around 300 words or less also will help you keep from rambling on if you have a tendency to do so.

2. Use your cell phone/smart phone to take quick videos to go along with your posts

If you have an iPhone or an Android then you know that your smart phone comes equipped to make excellent videos while you’re out and about.  While you’re out dress shopping with friends or trying different cakes at the local baker, take some fun videos!

3. Pepper your wedding blog with memorable quotes from family/guests

While you’re making preparations for your wedding day there will no doubt be funny and memorable things said by your family and friends.  Write these down as they happen and use the “blockquote” tool in your blog editor to insert these memories into your post.

Most importantly, have fun with it!  The events leading up to your big day should be memories you can hold on to forever.  To learn more about starting your own blog you can find more resources here to get started.

Personal Style is Everything When Choosing Your Wedding Dress

There's plenty of choices when it comes to a wedding dress!

Every woman dreams of her wedding day. However, not all envision this magical day the same way. We each have our own tastes and unique sense of style. This personal flair is what makes us individuals. Your wedding dress should be a reflection of your personality. Below are some tips for choosing a wedding dress that compliments your own personal style.

Accept that it is OK to be yourself

The first step in allowing your personality to reflect in your wedding dress is to accept that it is OK to be yourself. As well, it is OK to be different. You do not have to follow traditional style or even to please the tastes of family and friends. This is your day and it will be your memory for years to come. If your dream has always been of a fairy tale wedding then go for it. However, if you have never been able to imagine yourself in a Cinderella gown, then it probably is not the look for you. If your tastes are more in sink with a Lady Gaga style dress, do not hesitate to be bold. If you are the type to wear the rainbow when all about you are dressed in white, people will expect no less of you on your wedding day. Granted, not everyone could pulls this off. It takes a special soul to shine above all the rest. If this describes you do not suppress the uniqueness that makes you who you are. Let your creativity shine on this special day.

Color

Most people hear the words “wedding dress” and the color white pops into their mind. This is because tradition has held white as a symbol of purity and virginal marriage. Wearing solid white is no longer a wedding must. If your personal style is traditional romantic then white is a good choice for you. However, if your personality is more energetic you do have the option of adding color.

You may choose to liven up your gown with only a hint of color. This look may be created by choosing a solid white gown and adding a colored belt or sash. Another choice is to choose a dress with creviced pleats. The entire gown will be alabaster but for the inside the pleats. This area will offer a subtle shade of color. This look is perfect for the girl who appears to be traditional to all the world, yet has a hidden spontaneity within.

If your personality is openly colorful you may choose the same for your wedding gown. Gowns may be entirely endowed with a shade of color. You may choose blue, violet, yellow, red, or even multiple shades, if this is true to your personal style. Again, white is not the only wedding gown color option.

Style & Fit

When choosing the style and fit of your wedding dress use your personality as a guide. Choose a dress that you will feel comfortable wearing. This means both physical and emotional comfort. The dress should be tailored to fit in all the right places. Keep in mind that you will be wearing this gown for several hours. Not only will this be your attire for the ceremony, but also for a long session of picture taking. As well, it should be in a style that makes you feel beautiful. This means feeling comfortable and within your own style zone.

Remember to choose a dress style that compliments your shape. If you are self conscious about an area of your body you will want to choose a gown that draws attention away from it. For example, if you have a larger stomach or waste, going with a dress that fits tightly at the top will take away from the waste and tummy. Wearing a tight busted gown, your hair up and beautiful jewelry such as earrings and necklace will have all eyes on your top half. Focus on accentuating the areas you feel are your best features.

Most importantly, just be true to your personality. Personal style really is everything when choosing your wedding dress. If you feel comfortable and secure in whom you are, you will shine for all the world!  Keep your unique style and precious memory forever by finding a quality wedding dress cleaning service and preservation company after your wedding.

Why Not to Go Cheap When Protecting Your Bridal Dress

Preserve Your Gown Today

Wedding dress conservation has been a service that has been offered for nearly 300 years, ever since the traditional, formal marriage ceremony turned into a giant affair. In Great Britain, disclosing the royals bridal robes became an enormous event, rivaling that of a sports event in the current day’s age. Much discussion was made when speculating what style the royal would be adorning and after her important day the local seamstress went to work preparing the wedding gown to be saved and displayed for the entire dominion to gaze on.

Although today we live in a much different age you are still able to get treated just like a royal when saving your bridal gown. State-of-the-art technology and advances in fabrics permits professionals to back up their gown preservation service and guarantee the service for over 100 years. Even more critical is advancements that have also taught us what we should not do when conserving your wedding gown such as keeping clear of paper with acidic materials in them and using UV coated materials in the wedding dress preservation kit.

Although you may be almost convinced to take your wedding gown to your local dry cleaner to get cleaned, covered in plastic and stick in your wardrobe, it is extremely recommended you don’t take the cheap route and instead choose to take your wedding dress to a pro. Just as you wouldn’t take your car to a car wash to get your engine repaired you also should not take your wedding gown to a business that doesn’t only take on wedding dress preservation.

Wedding dress conservation experts understand the delicate material, beading and lace that encompass your gown. They have years of expertise in cleaning and conserving just gowns and that knowledge means they can promise your gown will be saved for generations to come. They’ll encase your gown in materials that’ve been proved not to harm the delicate materials and sensitive fabric. This means no acid paper, no encasing that permits damaging sunlight in and a bust form to keep your gown in its original shape while it sits in the preservation box.

While it’s recommended that you do not go inexpensive, you also do not need to invest a lot to preserve your dress. Most quality gown preserving companies will preserve your gown for only $200 which also includes 2-way transport to their preserving factory and shipping insurance on the trip to and from your home. When you compare this cost with the original investment you have put into your bridal gown you can understand why it’s definitely worth conserving your dress with a professional company that guarantees their results.

If you’re ready to have your gown cleaned and preserved then be sure to visit the professionals at mygownpreservation.com where you can order a preservation kit for just $149 which includes tax, shipping and insurance.

Choosing the perfect wedding dress

So, Ladies, what’s the one event in our lives that will cause us to, laugh and cry, to scream and stress, and ultimately change our lives forever?

Weddings, weddings, weddings!  For some of us it’s a 24 hour fiesta cram packed with all the trimmings of a traditional wedding.  For others it’s a weekend event that will entertain your guests and yourself with out any limitation.  And for the rest it’s just a simple Justice of the Peace ceremony.  Regardless of how small or extravagant our wedding day is, all of us want to look like we’ve just stepped out of a fairytale.  Let’s face it, we go on crazy diets, get facials, go tanning…  But the most important and beautiful part of this whole process is our Wedding Gown.  For some, it’s more difficult than picking the groom!  Here are a few tips on how to make this process a little less stressful.

Don’t go into any bridal store with out doing your research!
First, before any shopping decide on a venue.  What’s your style?  Is it a traditional wedding or a beach wedding?  Is it a summer wedding or a winter wedding?

Second, check your wallet.  For those of us that don’t have the luxury of falling in love with any wedding gown no matter what the price tag says, this is an important step.  Be smart about it!  Think about your venue.  Consider all the accessories you will need, from tiaras to shoes to even those alterations.

Third, check your body type.  Let’s face it ladies, even though that one wedding gown in vogue magazine looks phenomenal on that model doesn’t mean it’ll look good on us.  Each one of us has a different and unique body.  And we all know that during that day we want to look glamorous, but we also want to be comfortable.  Go in knowing you’d prefer a halter top with an empire waist, or a strapless a-line.

Fourth, be honest with yourself.  By all means don’t hold back trying on fifty wedding gowns if you can handle it.  For some, three or four is the limit before our brains and our hearts go into complete overload.  If you know that the wedding gown you have in your arms is too expensive for your budget, than have someone find you a wedding gown that is similar in style but with less of a price tag.  It is possible!

Fifth, bring a loved one with you.  Whether it be mom and dad, or a sister or best friend, having a second opinion is crucial.

Last, if you are conflicted between wedding gowns, take the time to think it over.  Go out to lunch and discuss it with your loved ones.  Bring someone else with you to a fitting and get their opinion.  This is a big decision!  It’s one of the most important moments in your life.  You should be going into buying a wedding gown with smile.

After your big day be sure to have your gown cleaned and preserved to prevent your precious wedding gown from yellowing and having stains set-in.  The Wedding Gown Preservation Company offers full service wedding gown preservation for just 149.00.

Wedding Gown Preservation Pre-Stain Tips

The top of your wedding cake is boxed up, all the guests have gone home and you and your new husband are off to Cancun.  But what about your precious wedding gown?  If you don’t have time to order your wedding gown preservation kit before you leave, there a few things you can do before you pack up your flip flops and your bikini top.

Treating common stains

We offer full gown cleaning during our gown preservation process, however, you’ll make our lives much easier if you perform some basic pre-stain treatment on your dress before you let your wedding gown sit too long.  Here are common stains that occur during a wedding and how to pre-treat them.

• Chocolate.  We all love it but we don’t love it on our satin wedding dresses. This can be a bit tricky.  As with most of our tips start by soaking the area in cold water.  This lifts the proteins in the chocolate and serves to loosen up the stain.  Use a dishwasher detergent (never use bar soap) to lightly scrub the area.  We find a soft bristle tooth brush works well, just make sure not to scrub the area too much and damage the gown’s fiber.  We’ve also heard that cascade dishwasher soap works really well.  Remember, you’re just pre-treating, not eliminating the stain. That’s our job.
• Candle Wax.  Hopefully the majority of the wax landed on your dress and not your skin.  The first thing you can do is put your dress next to those frozen peas that have been sitting in your freezer since 1996.  We’re serious!  Remove the dress in a few hours and use a spoon to chip away as much of the now brittle wax from the dress.  Don’t use a knife as you risk the chance of pulling fibers.  After you’re done grab your ironing board and clean towel that you don’t mind throwing away after.  Place the thin towel on your dress and let your iron sit on top of the towel for 20-30 seconds.  This should pull the wax away from the dress and absorb into the cotton of the towel.
• Soda, coffee or tea.  The most important thing to remember with these is not to soap as this will permanently set the stains into your dress.  Instead use white vinegar (2/3 water and 1/3 white vinegar) in a spray bottle.  Spray, let it sit for a minute and rub with a cloth or soft tooth brush.

Order your wedding gown preservation kit before you leave and when you come back send the wedding dress to us and we’ll take care of the rest.

More than just Gown Preservation

Most people in the drycleaning industry work hard each day trying to make ends meet and bills paid in these trying times. It is not often that they are able to take the time and effort away from work to help others.

Although there are many cleaners who help out their communities with Coats for Kids, prom dresses for needy students, two percent for the local schools and other notable causes, most are just caught up in the daily grind of work, work, work.

Michael Schapiro, the owner of Wedding Gown Preservation Company in Endicott, NY, is one who takes the time and special effort to help make a difference in the community.

In July, Schapiro was involved in the largest single sporting event fundraiser in the country — the Pan Mass Challenge, a two-day, 200-mile bike ride from Sturbridge MA, to Provincetown, MA, to benefit cancer research.  Schapiro and the others involved raised $34 million for the Jimmy Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research and the Dana Farber Institute, a special center for pediatric cancer, in Boston.

There were 5,400 bike riders and each one is obligated to get sizable donations to help children and their families overcome this frightening disease. Schapiro’s family has been touched by cancer and he was anxious to help raise money for cancer research.

The experience was emotional, heartwarming, and gratifying, Schapiro said.

“My grandparents started a little tailor shop in Endicott, NY, in 1913. It was the impetus for my parents and brothers to enter the business. This weekend was all about giving back to the community and helping families who are less fortunate than mine,” Schapiro said.

“I can tell you hundreds of stories from the people I met on the ride who have been affected by the disease. Some riders have lost spouses and some have lost children or parents. Some riders have miraculously overcome their disease thanks to the Dana Farber Institute and Jimmy Fund, and thanks to the money raised each year.

“It was so inspirational and so uplifting to ride alongside friends and strangers and hear their stories and their heartfelt thanks to all the riders. I have never seen such an outpouring of love, help, and just caring for our fellow human beings. It was so good for the heart, and soul, and helped me realize what one person can help accomplish.”

After the first night of cycling, most riders slept in a huge tent. Schapiro was lucky enough to spend the night at friend and fellow drycleaners Paul and Roberta Bagley’s house in Onset, MA, just at the midpoint of the ride.

Schapiro has spent many years in the drycleaning industry. In 1981, along with his two brothers, he opened a tuxedo rental store. Since they already had the drycleaning equipment, they were urged to expand their formal wear store to include drycleaning. From that they have expanded to an Apparel Master franchise, CRDN fire restoration business, HealthWear, as well as Wedding Gown Preservation Co.  In 2005 they sold it all except for Wedding Gown Preservation Co., which Schapiro kept. Since then he has purchased Allied Heirlooming of Mississippi and Heirloom Memories of Florida. His wife, Sue, joins him in running the business.

Wedding Gown Preservation Company Acquires Allied Heirlooms

Wedding Gown Preservation Co. is pleased to announce the acquisition of Allied Heirlooms of Picayune, Mississippi. The acquisition of Allied further confirms Wedding Gown Preservation Co. as the largest wedding gown preservation company in the industry. Allied’s operations have been moved to a new state of the art production facility located in Endicott, New York. Allied customers will continue with the current pricing structure. Wedding Gown Preservation Co. currently services the continental US, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam and Puerto Rico.

The new acquisition will increase employment at the Endicott, NY facility from 50 current employees to 70 full time employees.

Wedding Gown Preservation Co. is privately owned by Michael and Sue Schapiro. Wedding Gown Preservation Co. has specialized in the preservation and restoration of wedding gowns since 1913. What began as a preservation service in 1913 by Michael Schapiro’s grandparents Joseph and Sara Schapiro
has become a 3rd generation operation.

Wedding Gown Preservation designed a wedding gown preservation kit program that it retails to bridal shops, Dry Cleaners and Formal Shops. The Wedding Gown Preservation Company’s kit program allows authorized dealers to sell the preservation as a retail item. Wedding Gown Preservation Co. provides each of its dealers with marketing materials and a display rack to showcase the preservation kit. Once the bride purchases the kit, the bride sends her gown directly to the Wedding Gown Preservation Co. for preservation.

Michael Schapiro and the Wedding Gown Preservation Co. sales team believe the best time to sell the preservation kit is when the bride is purchasing her gown. The gown is shipped back to the bride within 2 to 6 weeks.