The moment is finally here. Your wedding dress is altered, pressed, packed, and officially coming home with you! 🤍
Picking up your gown from i do… i do… is one of those moments when your wedding suddenly feels very real. After months of planning, shopping, fittings, and alterations, your dress is officially ready for the aisle.
But once you leave our studio with your gown, what should you actually do with it?
Here are our best tips for keeping your wedding dress looking beautiful from the moment you pick it up until the moment you put it on.
Your Gown Will Be Pressed and Wedding Day Ready
Before your final pickup, our alterations team will professionally press your wedding gown and accessories so everything is looking beautiful and ready for your wedding day.
That being said, even a perfectly pressed gown can develop a few minor creases while being transported, stored, or moved into your bridal suite. This is completely normal!
Before the wedding, if you do not own a portable steamer yourself, ask your day of coordinator or wedding venue if they have a steamer available for any little touch ups that may be needed.
If your gown has delicate fabrics, lace, appliqués, or embellishments, always be careful with heat and steam. When in doubt, less is more.
Picking Up Your Wedding Dress a Few Days Early? Store It Correctly!
If you are bringing your gown home a few days before the wedding, resist the urge to keep moving it around or taking it in and out of the garment bag.
Find a clean, quiet room where you can safely store it.
Choose a room that is:
• Away from pets. We love them, but this is not the time for your dog or cat to become interested in your wedding dress!
• Away from food, drinks, makeup, candles, or anything else that could potentially stain the gown.
• Away from direct sunlight or excessive heat.
• And, of course, away from your fiancé if you are keeping the dress a surprise!
Hang your gown from a secure location using the gown's hanger straps rather than putting all of the weight on the dress itself.
Give Your Train Some Room
Wedding dresses can be heavy, especially if you have a long train, layers of tulle, lace, or a fuller skirt.
If your gown has a train, we recommend placing the train gently over the back of a clean chair while it is being stored. This helps prevent the train from sitting in a pile on the floor and developing unnecessary wrinkles.
Make sure the chair is completely clean before placing any part of your gown over it.
And once again, this should be in a pet free room. One excited paw print is one too many. 😂
Don't Forget Your Crochet Hook!
At i do… i do…, we gift our brides a crochet hook at pickup to help with those tiny wedding dress buttons.
If your gown has a row of covered buttons, your crochet hook will make getting dressed MUCH easier, especially when there are dozens of them!
But don't panic if you misplace it.
It is an ordinary crochet hook, so it can easily be replaced. In a wedding morning emergency, you can also use a bobby pin to help pull the elastic loops over the buttons. Depending on the gown and buttons, your fingernails may work just fine too.
Our suggestion? Give the crochet hook to whoever will be helping you get dressed on the wedding morning so they know exactly where it is.
Decide Who Is Helping You Get Dressed
Before the wedding day, choose one or two people who will actually help you into your gown.
This is especially important if your dress has:
• Lots of buttons
• A corset back
• Detachable sleeves or straps
• An overskirt
• A bow or other detachable accessory
• A complicated bustle
Having too many people involved can sometimes make getting dressed more stressful. Pick someone patient, give them the crochet hook, and make sure they were paying attention when we showed you how everything works!
If someone attended your final fitting and learned your bustle, even better.
Keep Your Wedding Day Accessories Together
Your wedding week is NOT the time to be asking, "Wait… where did I put my veil?"
Keep your wedding dress accessories together and somewhere safe. This may include your veil, detachable sleeves, straps, overskirt, bow, jewelry, shoes, shapewear, crochet hook, and anything else you will need while getting dressed.
You may even want to create one designated "bridal getting ready" bag so everything travels to the venue together.
Transporting Your Wedding Dress to the Venue
When transporting your gown, give it as much room as possible. Avoid placing luggage, boxes, purses, or other wedding supplies on top of it.
If someone else is transporting your gown, make sure they understand that there is some very precious cargo in that garment bag!
Once you arrive at your venue or bridal suite, get the gown out of the car and into a safe location rather than leaving it inside the vehicle.
One Last Tip: Don't Overthink Every Tiny Wrinkle
Your gown has been professionally pressed before leaving i do… i do…, but wedding dresses are fabric, and fabric moves!
A few small creases from transportation are completely normal. Ask your venue or coordinator about having a steamer available, give the gown some space once you arrive, and avoid repeatedly handling it.
Then enjoy the moment.
After months of appointments, alterations, and anticipation, your wedding dress is finally ready to do exactly what it was chosen for:
Walk down the aisle with you.
Wedding Dress Pickup Checklist
Before wedding day, make sure you have:
✓ Your wedding gown
✓ Veil and accessories
✓ Wedding shoes
✓ Undergarments or shapewear
✓ Crochet hook for buttons
✓ Someone who knows how to bustle your gown
✓ A steamer available at the venue if needed
✓ A clean, pet free place to store your gown
✓ A plan for safely transporting the dress
And most importantly… don't forget the dress!