Post # 1
Member
363 posts
Helper bee
Our wedding day has come and gone 🙁 and my lace/tulle gown is sooooo dirty on the bottom. We took a lot of great (hopefully-haven’t seen them yet) shots downtown, on the ground, on train tracks, etc.
I’m not planning on selling my dress, but I’d like to clean the bottom. We were considering doing a ‘day after’ shoot if we don’t feel we have enough photos of jus the two of us. We ended up being really rushed and running into prom groups at our photo locations. So, I’d rather not spend a fortune right now because it will probably get a bit dirty again.
Suggestions? I saw Mrs. Mole soaked the bottom of hers in a tub…anyone else tried this?
Post # 3
Member
1920 posts
Buzzing bee
I just washed my the bottom of my lace dress in the shower. Came out perfectly. Don’t be afraid, wedding dresses are resilient. I wore mine for trash the dress in the ocean and it came out like brand new!
Post # 4
Member
326 posts
Helper bee
My lace dress is disgusting at the bottom – it’s like BLACK! Probably because 3/4 of the way through the reception I could not take my shoes anymore and just took them off, so the dress dragged on the floor. I plan to have mine professionally cleaned and preserved – originally I wasn’t planning on this, but a family friend does this for a living and is going to just do it for me. Wedding gowns are expensive, even if they are resistant, I would be too scared to just wash it myself (mine also has a lot of beading, etc.)
Post # 5
Member
363 posts
Helper bee
@PuntaCanaBride: Did you use Dreft or something? Or just rinse it out?
Post # 6
Member
725 posts
Busy bee
I had a polyester lace (alencon) dress that was FIL-THY. I never planned on paying loads to get it cleaned. After reading posts on here, researching cleaning and a quick chat with my dress maker (she was going to hand wet wash it) I decided to machine wash it.
Here is my experience:
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/the-story-of-a-very-dirty-dress-and-how-she-was-cleaned-in-my-washing-machine
It turned out FANTASTIC. And I can wear it again as we plan on doing an anniversary shoot for some fun! The stubborn stains that did not come out are on the underside of the lining so I am ok with that. I could probably get them out if I worked on the spots again and hand washed them…but it does not matter to me. I had a blast and loved every minute in my dress.
E
Post # 7
Member
2889 posts
Sugar bee
My mom washed my lace and beaded dress in the washing machine and it turned out fine. In fact, I didn’t even know she had done it until she told me since she did it while we were on our honexmoon. I wore it in the ocean and she figured the washing amchine would do no more harm than salt water and it worked perfectly. I think the key is washing on gentle cycle and using a gentle soap then line drying.
Post # 8
Member
39 posts
Newbee
My dress is Maggie Sottero Monalisa Royale, after the wedding it was really dirty on the bottom, my mom turned it inside out, wrapped the bodice with ribbons sort of like a scroll to protect all the beading and dropped in the washing machine, she line dryed it for 2 days. My dress looks as beautiful and as new as the day I wore it, it looks completely new.
