Why Gown Preservation Matters
You spent months searching for the perfect wedding gown, making sure every detail was just right. But what happens to your dress after the big day? Without proper preservation, delicate fabrics can yellow, fade, or even deteriorate—turning your dream gown into a distant memory.
A wedding gown is more than just a dress—it’s a symbol of memories and emotions tied to one of the most special days of your life. However, many brides don’t realize that without proper care, delicate fabrics like silk, lace, and satin can easily deteriorate within just a few years. Stains from sweat, makeup, or even champagne might not be visible now, but over time, they can set into the fabric, causing permanent discoloration. That’s why choosing the right preservation method is crucial to keeping your gown pristine for years to come.
Why do you Need a Professional Services
While some brides may consider at-home cleaning, professional wedding gown preservation services offer specialized techniques that go beyond regular dry cleaning. They use museum-grade cleaning solutions to remove deep-set stains, prevent fabric deterioration, and protect delicate embellishments like beading and lace. DIY methods may not completely remove hidden stains, leading to irreversible yellowing over time. With professional preservation, you can trust that your gown will be expertly cleaned, carefully packaged, and stored in a way that keeps it looking flawless for decades.
Introducing 10 Best Wedding Gown Preservation Companies
Now that you understand the importance of wedding gown preservation, the next step is choosing the right service. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to find a trusted company that meets your needs. That’s why we’ve researched and compiled a list of 10 highly reputable wedding gown preservation companies. Whether you’re looking for affordability, premium care, or nationwide service, this guide will help you make an informed decision.
1. Wedding Gown Preservation Co.
- Services Offered: Cleaning, preservation, and Personalization for your Gown Preservation Chest
- Price Range: $250 – $600, depending on the package
- Turnaround Time: 4 to 10 weeks
- Why Choose Them?
- Over 100 years in business, trusted by thousands of brides
- Utilizes specialized cleaning processes to remove both visible and invisible stains
- Provides a 100-year guarantee on gown preservation
- Located in:- Endicott, New York, USA
Best Review of Wedding Gown Preservation Co.
“I was hesitant about shipping my wedding gown to New York to get cleaned and preserved, but this company came highly recommended by the bridal salon I purchased my gown from. I can see why they recommend them. They have great communication. They let me know when they received my gown, they suggested upgrading the insurance due to the cost of my gown, and they sent me tracking to let me know when to expect my gown. It came back to me a lot faster than expected and it looks beautiful. Thanks so much Wedding Gown Preservation Co!”
Worst Review of Wedding Gown Preservation Co.
“I’m incredibly disappointed with my gown preservation. It looks carelessly put together, and as you can see in the photos, several issues make it clear that proper care was not taken. The sewn-in bust padding has come loose and is now outside the dress, one of the off-the-shoulder straps is completely unattached, and my lace sleeves are awkwardly stretched across the front, making them look misplaced rather than preserved. If the sleeves weren’t going to be properly preserved, they should have been neatly tucked behind the dress instead of being unnecessarily stretched, which risks damaging the delicate lace.
I had hoped to one day let my daughter try on this gown, but unfortunately, the integrity of the dress has been compromised. I cannot believe I spent $700 on this service, I would have been better off simply having it dry cleaned. Save yourself the disappointment and money – do not preserve your dress here.”
2. Affordable Preservation Company
- Services Offered: Professional cleaning and preservation with museum-quality storage
- Price Range: Starting at $225
- Turnaround Time: Approximately 4 to 10 weeks
- Why Choose Them?
- Over 3 million brides have trusted us since 1913
- Top customer-rated with numerous 5-star reviews on The Knot and WeddingWire
- Offers safe and insured free shipping to your home or office
- Recognized as America’s #1 company on The Knot and WeddingWire
- Located in:- Long Beach, CA, USA
Best Review of Affordable Preservation Company
“I spent weeks; almost a month looking for an affordable and trustworthy place to get my preservation done.. I heard and read so many horror stories about dresses or veils would be ruined or lost. But it all came back and was right on time as they estimated. And with the cost you can even preserve other items, so I did my dress, veil, my handmade purse, and my husband’s handkerchief and bow tie from the wedding. I love how it came back, how easy the process was and how affordable it was too!”
Worst Review of Affordable Preservation Company
“The hem of my dress is still so dirty after having cleaning & preservation done that I question if it was even cleaned. I opened the preservation chest so I could make sure my dress was cleaned and I was very disappointed to see all the stains that were still present. I really wonder if it was even cleaned.”
3. Elegance Preserved
- Services Offered: Wedding dress cleaning, preservation, and restoration
- Price Range: Generally between $260-$550 and custom quotes based on gown details
- Turnaround Time: 4-12 weeks
- Why Choose Them?
- Premier West Coast bridal dress preservation team
- Offers free home pickup and delivery services in select California areas
- Specializes in high-end wedding dress services
- Provides store meetups to their brides with specific appointment times
- Located in:- San Francisco, San Carlos, Los Angeles, Carlsbad, CA, USA
Best Review of Elegance Preserved
“I’m so glad I used Elegance preserved to clean my 3D Tulle lace Pronovias Privee dress. Olivia and the team were the best to work with. My dress was quite dirty at the bottom due to it raining during my wedding day so I was nervous about getting it cleaned. I was supposed to get my dress back in January but it came early by a month! The pick up and drop off feature was a game changer and very easy to coordinate. I would highly recommend them! Fast and easy service with good communication.”
Worst Review of Elegance Preserved
“Elegance Preserved has a ridiculous “quoting” process where the gown has to be dropped off and reviewed by their “master garment caretaker” for 3 DAYS before you even know what the cleaning will cost you! They do not quote by phone or by email / photo. I talked to the owner, Sean, multiple times on the phone describing the dress in detail before deciding to drop it off. It’s the most expensive thing I’ve ever purchased for myself, and I did not want to risk leaving the dress with anyone if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Sean was a smooth talker and kept telling me that he thought my quote would be towards the low end of their range (of $260 – $500 for cleaning only). Mind you, my dress is slim, thicker in material, no lace, one stain, and very minor dirt / dust on the bottom hem. After carefully dropping off of my dress with nerves in my stomach, their quote came back at $455 and I wouldn’t be able to pick it up for another 5 days! 7 days without my precious dress all for nothing!
To make matters worse, my dress is a two piece (bodysuit plus skirt), and Elegance Preserved carelessly packaged both pieces together in the same bag to send home with my clueless husband. THESE PIECES SHOULD NOT BE PACKAGED TOGETHER!!! One has a ton of beading and the other is a delicate silk crepe, so no, you shouldn’t have a ton of beading rubbing against silk crepe on an uber ride home. That is NOT how the pieces arrived at Elegance Preserved. This place prides themselves on taking care of designer dresses, but then they package my gown so carelessly. There are very minor wear marks where the two pieces were rubbing together. Makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t believe I entrusted my dress to be here so long and jumped through all of these hoops for nothing.”
4. Happily Ever After Preservation
- Services Offered: Wedding dress cleaning and preservation with memory box for accessories
- Price Range: varies based on services selected, but starting from $270
- Turnaround Time: Varies; contact for specifics
- Why Choose Them?
- Specializes in handling wedding dresses of all styles, from vintage lace to modern designs
- Utilizes safe and trusted methods, including GreenEarth Cleaning
- Offers easy online ordering and nationwide shipping
- Provides expert care for your precious gown
- Located in:- Cold Spring, Kentucky, USA
Best Review of Happily Ever After Preservation
“I sent my wedding dress to Happily Ever After for preservation they did an incredible job! They communicated with me via email throughout the entire process and were quick with their responses whenever I had a question. I was scared to ship my dress but receiving the shipping notifications to track it gave me peace of mind. I had a wonderful experience with them and will recommend them to others to use in the future.”
Worst Review of Happily Ever After Preservation
“I purchased both dress and accessories boxes. The process itself was easy, but customer service and end results were disappointing. I asked for photos before shipment, which I did not receive. The layout of items was poorly done. For example, none of the beautiful detail in the veil shows through the window box. When I contacted them about my concerns I received no response. I would not recommend this company or service.”
5. The Knot Wedding Dress Preservation
- Services Offered: Professional cleaning and preservation using the Prestige Preservation Program
- Price Range: Custom quotes available upon request, starting from $255
- Turnaround Time: Varies; contact for specifics
- Why Choose Them?
- With decades of experience and industry-leading preservation techniques
- Implements proven methods to safeguard gowns from yellowing, fading, and deterioration
- Provides museum-quality storage in an acid-free chest
- Ensures convenient and secure process with professional handling
- Located in:- Cold Spring, Kentucky, USA
Best Review of The Knot Wedding Dress Preservation
“I wanted to document this process. On 9/28 I went to theknot.com (not sponsored) and ordered the package that includes the dress and one accessory. This was $300. I saw a promo offer to save $50 on packages of $300 or more after I had already placed my order, so I reached out to customer service and they issued me a $50 refund which I had received before the initial charge even hit my bank, lol. Each kit comes with $1,000 insurance and requires a signature when your preserved dress is returned to you. This was super important to me! I received the kit on 10/2, which is what this video is. I plan on dropping it off at FedEx tomorrow afternoon (10/3) and within 6-8 weeks I will have my preserved dress and veil back! I’ll make another video of me unboxing that and revealing the preserved dress. My dress was pretty bad, I couldn’t get it on video very well. We had an outdoor wedding, so there was a lot of dirt, dried mud etc on the bottom of my dress and on the inside bottom of my dress. There was also some dried blood on the back of the dress from when my Brother-in-law had killed a spider for me, lol.”
Worst Review of The Knot Wedding Dress Preservation
“DO NOT USE THEM! They contract with a small business in Kentucky and there’s no quality control. My husband and I got married in July, sent in our suit and dress in August, and it’s now mid November and we still have not received my husband’s suit. We are moving soon and are very concerned that we will never see my husbands suit again and that they stole our money on top of our suit and accessories. They don’t answer their phones and are impossible to get a hold of. They told my husband they lost his pocket square and would order a new one about a month ago, yet we still haven’t received anything back.”
6. J. Scheer & Co.
- Services Offered: Specialized in cleaning and preserving couture and designer wedding gowns
- Price Range: Premium pricing; starting from $695
- Turnaround Time: Varies; contact for specifics
- Why Choose Them?
- Preferred by high-end designers for meticulous care
- Utilizes state-of-the-art techniques for delicate fabrics and intricate designs
- Provides custom preservation solutions tailored to each gown
- Located in:- Rhinebeck, New York, USA
Best Review of J. Scheer & Co.
“I used J. Scheer about 10 years to preserve my wedding gown. I opened the box today and it was like opening the box the first time I received it back.
I live in the Midwest so I had to mail my precious dress to them to have it cleaned and preserved. That was nerve-racking to say the least. But the customer service I received was excellent. When I received my gown back, it was as perfect as the moment I put it on my wedding day! All the grass, dirt, food, etc. we’re gone. Trust me I didn’t trash my dress but I did have a party in it!
I would re-use them again if I had an event dress that I wanted to preserve. And now, going on 11 years, 5 moves, 2 small children, the dress is still in perfect condition.
And my dress is a Vera Wang with lots of beads, embroidery and chapel length train. The box is huge! But I put in under my bed for storage.”
Worst Review of J. Scheer & Co.
“I brought my dress here to be cleaned-the customer service was awful and they are not nice at all. They severely overcharged me for the service done and after picking up the dress I realized why-they are charging customers for their UES fifth avenue NY apartment 1 block from the park….do not take your dress here-find somewhere else”
7. Heritage Garment Preservation
- Services Offered: Wedding dress cleaning, restoration, and preservation
- Price Range: $250 – $500, depending on services
- Turnaround Time: Approximately 4 to 12 weeks
- Why Choose Them?
- Specializes in restoring vintage and heirloom gowns
- Clean wedding gowns by hand with water or dry-clean with Greenearth solvents
- Offers personalized care with detailed assessments
- Provides a preservation chest with acid-free materials
- Located in:- Texas, USA
Best Review of Heritage Garment Preservation
“Highly recommend them!
Every bride is nervous about preserving their dress… mine was no exception, exquisite silk and antique french lace. My designer in LA actually found them (I live in San Fransisco) after researching places for me up here and said they were definitely the ones to use. No regrets, they did a perfect job, found and cleaned the spilled champagne and fixed a rip in the lace that was undetectable to my eye!
Excellent service, nice people.”
Worst Review of Heritage Garment Preservation
“Heritage completely damaged my wife’s wedding dress and their customer service was terrible, they were not helpful and very unprofessional.”
8. Janet Davis Cleaners
- Services Offered: Wedding gown cleaning and preservation
- Price Range: They may cost more than other dry cleaners
- Turnaround Time: May vary between 1-3 months
- Why Choose Them?
- Family-owned business with decades of experience
- Certification from the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists
- Provides a thorough inspection process
- Offers a Lifetime International Guarantee on preservation
- Located in:- Berkley, Michigan, USA
Best Review of Janet Davis Cleaners
“We had the best experience at Janet Davis Cleaners! After my wedding, we took my dress to get professionally cleaned and preserved. The whole process was easy and smooth. You can tell they care about their customers and know how to professionally handle wedding dresses. Once they were done cleaning my dress, I got to come see it and approve it before it got preserved. I was so impressed with how they got all the stains out of my pure white dress! It looks brand new! Now I have it nicely preserved so it will stay beautiful forever. We also took my husband’s tux to get cleaned too. We will be back for future dry cleaning needs! We were so impressed! Thank you Janet Davis Cleaners!”
Worst Review of Janet Davis Cleaners
“I am writing to express my extreme disappointment and frustration regarding the un-rendered service of cleaning and preservation of my wedding dresses I was expecting to receive from Janet Davis Cleaners by January 10, 2025. Despite confirming the service and making necessary arrangements, your team failed to deliver the promised service.
I had relied on your company to provide cleaning and preservation, and the lack of follow-through has caused me significant inconvenience and distress. As a customer, I expect a certain level of professionalism and reliability, which your company failed to meet.
I submitted my order with Janet Davis Cleaners on October 4, 2024. On that day my dress underwent initial inspection by two different staff members and I was assured my requested services of wedding dress cleaning and preservation could be rendered successfully. At that time I was informed that the embellishments on my wedding dresses would need to be removed for safe cleaning and then reapplied. Although this process gave me significant pause, I was assured that the process is one that Janet Davis Cleaners does regularly and were confident in the success rate.
I understand that my service fell in line behind other previous orders. However, the extended period of time (76 days) that my order went unaddressed regarding a second inspection from seamstresses regarding their ability to remove and reapply the embellishments is unreasonable. The service of cleaning wedding dresses is time sensitive which I’m sure Janet Davis Cleaners is well aware of. When I submitted my order it was already 4 months post my wedding. Now because of this significant delay my dresses have remained uncleaned for an additional 2 months.
I am deeply chagrined at the demeanor of the representative that called me on Thursday December 19th to inform me of the status of my order. There was no apology regarding the failed service and I had to ask if a refund would be processed.
As there was no urgency to take action to rectify this situation nor provide other viable options I am completely dissatisfied with the attempted service.
I hope that you will take my complaint seriously and take necessary steps to prevent such disappointments going forward.”
9. Orange Restoration Labs
- Services Offered: Wedding dress cleaning, restoration, and preservation
- Price Range: Custom quotes based on gown condition
- Turnaround Time: Varies; contact for specifics
- Why Choose Them?
- Specializes in restoring gowns damaged by time or improper storage
- Utilizes proprietary techniques for delicate fabrics
- Offers hand-cleaning methods to ensure gentle care
- Recommended by top bridal boutiques and designers
- Located in:- Norwalk, Connecticut, USA
Best Review of Orange Restoration Labs
“I bought a sample sale dress for my wedding which needed a clean prior to the big day. Ernst did a wonderful job on my gown for my special day. He offered a personal consultation and did a detailed inspection of my dress. He did such a great job with the cleaning that I then came back to him for both my wedding dress and veil cleanings and preservations. Ernst was exceptional, very kind and thorough and made for a great overall experience. I trust him and his team and highly recommend them to handle your wedding gown needs!”
Worst Review of Orange Restoration Labs
“BEWARE: If I could give this vendor less than one star, I would. I sent my dress to be cleaned and preserved after my wedding. When I went to check on it after my first anniversary still in the sealed box, it is now RUINED. There whole dress is severely yellowed and there are brown stains which were never there before. When the vendor was contacted they said she wanted a chance to fix it since “every once in a while this happens.” WHAT? If i even knew there was a chance they would ruin my $4,000 wedding gown, I never would have let them touch it. She also said she would send for the package to be picked up the next day and never did.”
10. David’s Bridal Gown Preservation Kit
- Services Offered: Eco-friendly cleaning, anti-yellowing treatment, hand steaming, acid-free tissue wrapping, and preservation in a viewing box with optional accessory inclusion
- Price Range: $149.95–$209.95 depending on package and add-ons
- Turnaround Time: Approximately 2–6 weeks after gown arrival
- Why Choose Them?
- Convenient prepaid shipping and return process
- 100-year anti-yellowing guarantee
- Affordable, trusted option with nationwide availability
- Personalization and accessory preservation available for a tailored experience
- Located in: Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA
Best Review of David’s Bridal Gown Preservation Kit
“Best service out there !!!!!! This company has done several gerations of dresses for my family from myself to my daughter and just sent my Granddaughters dress. Highly recommend Using this Cleaning and Preservation service. You are having a professional quality service that last for years. My dress looks as beautiful as the day I wore it! Thank you Davids Bridal”
Worst Review of David’s Bridal Gown Preservation Kit
“I’d avoid David’s Bridal due to their poor cash position and staffing issues in addition to 100s of poor reviews.
The boutique package you were quoted is a great price. I wouldn’t try to save money on preservation. If you want to preserve your dress and other accessories, spend the money and enjoy them for decades to come. Dry cleaning a traditional dress (train + formal fabric) in my area starts at $250-300 + tax. Most places include the preservation box and acid-free wrapping. Googling dress preservation + your location will likely dig up some vendor who do this service out of their homes. In my area, it’s the same price as the boutique.
Depending on fabric and styling, I’ve known brides and families to try to wash their own dresses at home. This has mixed results unless you are familiar with formal fabric care. Since you desire to preserve your dress, I’d hire a professional.”
Conclusion For The New Brides
Your wedding gown is more than just fabric and thread—it’s a cherished keepsake of one of the most memorable days of your life. Without proper preservation, delicate materials can deteriorate over time, leading to yellowing, staining, and irreversible damage. Fortunately, with the help of professional preservation services, you can ensure your gown remains in pristine condition for years to come.
With so many trusted companies offering expert care, choosing the right preservation service depends on your needs, budget, and gown’s specific requirements. Whether you opt for a service with a lifetime guarantee, eco-friendly cleaning solutions, or museum-quality storage, investing in preservation is a decision you won’t regret.
Now that you have all the details, the next step is yours. Your wedding dress isn’t just fabric—it’s a piece of your love story. Don’t let time take its toll. Choose a trusted preservation service today and ensure your gown remains a beautiful reminder of your special day for generations to come.