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I am so sorry to hear this happened! I had a similar situation where I bought a dress from a two dress bride, advertised as brand new. When it arrived it was a sweaty, stained mess and my Monique Lhuillier dream was a nasty nightmare! Thankfully after I had consulted a regular dry cleaner (who was actually recommended on the 'Bee) I proceeded to ask a local bridal shop who they use and was referred to Imperial Bridal. The owner is a master of the trade; he only does wedding dresses and assured me he could rescue me from despair. I don't know what your timeline is, but they do mail services. If you are short on time I would research whether there are any wedding gown specific cleaners in your area and consult them on your dress. If you are completely up a creek in terms of time you could start over with a new dress; have your Vera Wang cleaned by Imperial Bridal or another professional bridal cleaner; and sell it to recoup your losses. Btw - i believe you may be the author a engagement blog I have been reading for quite some time. I just wanted to let you know I've enjoyed reading it and really hope this dress drama resolves for you soon.
I'm sorry, I don't have any advice to save your dress. Try Calebsbride's advice. But, you should also report the dry cleaner to the better business bureau. They should not have charged you for two cleanings, even if the seamstress caused the stain.
I agree with Krista about potentially taking action with the dry cleaners; but I also know how sometimes the extra stress isn't worth it. The drama with my dress cost me so much more in terms of emotions and time wasted than actual financial loss. It's hard to do when you've got a mllion things going on in life, but sometimes it's best to just take a deep breath, maybe scream, and then let it go. Happy to see in other postings you are looking at getting a new dress as it might be the best way to go. The Vera Wang might be salvaged and it's worth looking into as you could have it restored and sell it to offset a bit of the cost of your new dress. Maybe you could wear your lovely lace shrug to your rehearsal with a complementary dress.....
Your profile says you are in Minneapolis -- I highly recommend that you go to Karen at Wedding Gown Care Specialists in New Hope. It might be expensive ($200-$250, maybe less if it's a localized stain), but I am pretty darn sure she could help your gown. She did great on mine -- and it had been sitting in a basement for 60 years! If you decide to go and would like to mention my name to her, PM me and I'll tell you.
http://www.weddinggowncarespecialist.com/
(disclaimer: I am a real bride who really did receive really great service at this vendor, and I am not being compensated by them to promote their company or services)
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This is a long-ish story... I'll try to condense.
I purchased a Vera Wang from the Macy's Sample Sale this past April. I brought it to the seamstress my parents have used for over 20 years, she's done several prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses for me and her quality is excellent.
She and I discussed sending my dress for a dry-cleaning session before she finished alterations on my dress (we discussed this from the beginning).
She called a few weeks ago to suggest we send it now, so she can finish the dress and make sure that there weren't any marks or stains that couldn't be cleaned (there were some dirt marks along the train and bottom hem).
I knew I should have picked the dress up myself and taken it to a cleaner who specializes in wedding gowns, but I foolishly let her send my dress to the cleaner that she has a relationship with.
Well, she called once it was back and said that I better see the dress before she continues. There were gray streaks across the bodice.. and a few on the skirt. She said that I had to pay for 2 cleanings, because they decided to try to clean it twice. Um, they didn't check with me on whether they should clean it twice, and I had never seen that stain before.
So... long story short, it came down to either me paying for the 2 cleanings to take the dress home, or leaving it there (after 30 days, I'd lose any rights to the dress), so I paid for the cleaning.
I honestly don't know if the stain came from the seamstress or the dry cleaner.
DId I totally mess up? What do I do now? The dress is noticeably stained, and I can't even decide if it's worth sending to another dry cleaner with the hope that they can fix it. That's another $200 over everything I've already paid for the dress.
I mean, I could try to salvage parts of it and make a coverup or...? I'm just so disappointed. At least it was a sample sale price and not full price.
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