If you’re learning how to frame a wedding dress, it’s better to get it done by a professional. The reason why it’s not a DIY practice at home is that you don’t want to accidentally ruin your dress.
We’ll discuss what to expect when getting a wedding dress professionally framed and the costs when getting one. If you’re also running out of options on what to do with an old wedding dress, feel free to read out suggestions.
A Complete Guide On How To Frame A Wedding Dress
Ask a professional
You will need to find companies specializing in wedding dress preservation near you. Make sure that you’ll do your research to know which has the best reviews from customers.
The advantage of having the wedding dress professionally framed is that it will be protected from damages that can cause the materials to fade or get damaged over time. And depending on the services offered by the framing company, you can conveniently select if you want the dress to be framed in a half-size frame or full-size frame.
The professionals will schedule a consultation with you to know more about the process, and you can tell them how you’d want the wedding dress to be displayed. For example, you may want the dress mounted and laid at a specific angle.
What to expect
After you’ve found a company to frame your wedding dress, they’ll allocate some time to work with you closely to have it framed according to your liking. Then, you’ll bring the wedding dress to the shop, and they’ll perform a mock-up of how it will look when framed.
You’ll choose the frame type, including its size, depth, and the position of the dress inside. Then, you’ll be given a quotation for the service.
Once you’ve given the signal, the company will work on your wedding dress, and it can take up to six weeks to finish. Some companies will even allow the customer several weeks of waiting time after giving the quotation to see if they still want to go through the preservation and framing process.
How Do You Hang A Wedding Dress In A Shadow Box?
What is shadow boxing?
Shadow boxing is essentially a method of preserving the wedding dress. You can’t just frame a wedding dress because it should undergo several practices first to ensure that it won’t get damaged when stored in the frame for a long time.
Professionals know what to do to protect the dress from yellowing or getting ruined by moisture and dust. A framing shop usually does shadow boxing, but you can also buy kits for convenience.
Custom framing store vs mailing kit
Instead of visiting the shop, you can save time and effort by getting a kit. You’ll use it to mail your dress safely to the ship, and then they’ll return it back to you, ready to display.
When shadow boxing, the wedding dress can be displayed in a way where only the bodice is seen, but you can also opt for a full-length display. You can also read about where to get wedding dresses cleaned as the shops that clean dresses typically offer shadow boxing services.
Can A Wedding Dress Be Framed?
A wedding dress can be framed, and it’s even the most popular way to preserve and display this important wedding memorabilia. The advantage of getting your wedding dress framed professionally include protection from dust, moisture, and UV rays that otherwise can easily affect it if you leave it boxed in the attic.
Before framing the wedding dress, it will also be cleaned and treated to prevent discoloration. Then, since you want to display it, you should find the proper glass or molding to give justice to its beauty.
After framing the wedding dress, make sure to store it in an appropriate area. You still want the framed dress in a cool and dry place out of direct sunlight to ensure that it’ll last for years to come.
How Much Does It Cost To Box Up A Wedding Dress?
The costs of boxing up a wedding dress can range from $200 to over $1,000. The prices will vary from the shop you choose and how you want to display the wedding dress after preservation.
Expect that the size and type of dress will also affect the costs of preserving it. Nonetheless, it’s a worthy investment, especially if the dress has sentimental value to you.
Can You Preserve A Wedding Dress Years Later?
It’s still possible to preserve a wedding dress year later, although the best time to get it done is as soon as possible. This will prevent yellowing and make stain removal much more manageable.
It’s worth noting that restoration specialists can clean and preserve the wedding dress to its best shape even after years. Sadly, expect that some stains and discolorations might remain, especially if the dress is old.
Conclusion
And that’s it! We’ve just learned how to frame a wedding dress and found out it’s best to get it professionally done.
You can’t just put the dress in any frame as it needs to be treated and set up correctly. However, this will avoid damage and exposure to UV rays, moisture, and dust that can ruin it.
We hope this helped you decide if shadow boxing is for you; leave us a question if you previously tried this method for wedding dress preservation.