January 2012 Brides!

[adevnturelovers]

You ladies are so lucky to find excellent deals on your dresses , wish I couldve been so lucky...Id love to do a TTD session but FI doesn't want to spend a second day doing pics and while our guests are around.(I guess i agree with him, I do want us to enjoy them while they are there) I am hoping maybe we could do another day once all the guests are gone and I would need a dress to trash...this will take some convincing and planning with photographer...I'll let you ladies know what happens.

[Avens]

I bought it off of Kijiji.  It's actually a polyester satin type material I think - from googling washing wedding dress - the silk one looks like its a bit more intense to wash.

 

The hem is sitll pretty dirty on mine, even after I washed it - but I need to hem it, so it'll get cut off anyways.  I'm going to see how much it costs to get it hemmed, and if it's more than like $50 I think I'm going to try and do it myself.  We just found out the FI is getting laid off on the 22nd (after he was commuting to work in Edmonton for 2 years, and we JUST moved here and bought a house.  Seriously?), so until he finds something else, I don't really want to spend a ton of money on things!

 

Below is the silk instructions I found that seemed the most detailed.

 

"Silk wedding dresses are often treated with quite a bit of sizing to give the fabric body. Once you clean the dress by any means, the sizing goes and you may end up with a limper dress than you expected. If you can live with that, you can hand-wash a white pure silk dress in the bathtub in cool water with a mild dye-free liquid soap like Tide Free and very careful hand agitation. Do not use the washing machine or the dryer for any part of this whatsoever - either could ruin the dress.

Try to use Tide Free liquid if you can get it. Powdered detergent, dyes, and even perfumes can leave a residue that can make your silk look dirty. So-called "gentle" detergents like Woolite and Zero are actually not as gentle as Tide Free and are usually more expensive per use.

If your dress isn't pure white, first test an inconspicuous area to see if the dye runs. The inside of the hem near the side seam is a good place. Get a cup of cool water with a teaspoon or so of detergent, wet a clean rag, and blot the silk. If the dye runs, it can't be washed successfully.

Otherwise, add about 1/4 cup of detergent to a full tub of cool water and gently lay the dress in the water, moving around gently to make sure the water gets to every thread. Let it sit in the wash water for a few minutes, then move the dress to the top of the tub and let the water run out. Rinse in cold water three times, filling the tub quite full with every rinse, moving the dress around gently to dislodge any soap, and letting the water run out of the tub; in the final rinse add 1/4 cup white vinegar - this will make the silk shinier, although it will never completely return the shine unwashed silk will have.

Don't wring the fabric at any time. Let the water run out for about half an hour after the final rinse, then when as much water has run out as is possible CAREFULLY lift the dress out and place it on two or three large towels - however many you need to put it on - then roll it up carefully. Press gently to get out as much water as possible, then unroll and replace the towels. You'll probably need 15 towels or so (or dry the towels in between).

Once the dress is no longer soaking wet but just damp, put down three or however many dry towels you need on a surface that won't be damaged by water, preferably in a warm room with ventilation. Place the dress on the towels. If you have a fan, let it run in the room. Replace the towels every three to six hours, carefully turning the dress over every time you replace them. Don't try to rush the drying by using a heater or a blow dryer.

Once the dress is completely dry, it then needs to be pressed. Put your iron on its lowest setting and test the inside of the hem. You may need to go up to 2 or 3, but don't go too high and iron only on the wrong side. Don't add starch since this will only stain the silk."
 

 

Originally Posted by amjohnson 

Great Dress Avens! Did you get this as a sample dress? What type of fabric is it? Silk? I am curious as my sample dress is silk and I decided not to get it dry cleaned

as it would cost more then the dress itself did. It isn't really dirty but it would be nice to freshen it up.
 

 

 

[amjohnson]

Avens, I am sorry to hear about your Fiance being laid off right after you both moved here.

 

I know you live in Leduc but I have a really good tailor who doesn't charge a lot at all. I got my second dress straps altered and a snag fixed for 30$ and she said she would do a bustle for 20$! She works at the Page Cleaners and Tailors right on Jasper Avenue. I brought in my jacket to get dry cleaned , it was missing a button and without asking me she found a matching button and sewed it on!
 

Originally Posted by Avens 

I bought it off of Kijiji.  It's actually a polyester satin type material I think - from googling washing wedding dress - the silk one looks like its a bit more intense to wash.

 

The hem is sitll pretty dirty on mine, even after I washed it - but I need to hem it, so it'll get cut off anyways.  I'm going to see how much it costs to get it hemmed, and if it's more than like $50 I think I'm going to try and do it myself.  We just found out the FI is getting laid off on the 22nd (after he was commuting to work in Edmonton for 2 years, and we JUST moved here and bought a house.  Seriously?), so until he finds something else, I don't really want to spend a ton of money on things!

 

Below is the silk instructions I found that seemed the most detailed.

 

"Silk wedding dresses are often treated with quite a bit of sizing to give the fabric body. Once you clean the dress by any means, the sizing goes and you may end up with a limper dress than you expected. If you can live with that, you can hand-wash a white pure silk dress in the bathtub in cool water with a mild dye-free liquid soap like Tide Free and very careful hand agitation. Do not use the washing machine or the dryer for any part of this whatsoever - either could ruin the dress.

Try to use Tide Free liquid if you can get it. Powdered detergent, dyes, and even perfumes can leave a residue that can make your silk look dirty. So-called "gentle" detergents like Woolite and Zero are actually not as gentle as Tide Free and are usually more expensive per use.

If your dress isn't pure white, first test an inconspicuous area to see if the dye runs. The inside of the hem near the side seam is a good place. Get a cup of cool water with a teaspoon or so of detergent, wet a clean rag, and blot the silk. If the dye runs, it can't be washed successfully.

Otherwise, add about 1/4 cup of detergent to a full tub of cool water and gently lay the dress in the water, moving around gently to make sure the water gets to every thread. Let it sit in the wash water for a few minutes, then move the dress to the top of the tub and let the water run out. Rinse in cold water three times, filling the tub quite full with every rinse, moving the dress around gently to dislodge any soap, and letting the water run out of the tub; in the final rinse add 1/4 cup white vinegar - this will make the silk shinier, although it will never completely return the shine unwashed silk will have.

Don't wring the fabric at any time. Let the water run out for about half an hour after the final rinse, then when as much water has run out as is possible CAREFULLY lift the dress out and place it on two or three large towels - however many you need to put it on - then roll it up carefully. Press gently to get out as much water as possible, then unroll and replace the towels. You'll probably need 15 towels or so (or dry the towels in between).

Once the dress is no longer soaking wet but just damp, put down three or however many dry towels you need on a surface that won't be damaged by water, preferably in a warm room with ventilation. Place the dress on the towels. If you have a fan, let it run in the room. Replace the towels every three to six hours, carefully turning the dress over every time you replace them. Don't try to rush the drying by using a heater or a blow dryer.

Once the dress is completely dry, it then needs to be pressed. Put your iron on its lowest setting and test the inside of the hem. You may need to go up to 2 or 3, but don't go too high and iron only on the wrong side. Don't add starch since this will only stain the silk."
 

 

 

 

[JayKay]

Thanks girls for all your advice.

 

Turns out that my FI told his mother that he needs to call them and tell them not to come.  So I guess he did and they supposedly are no longer coming.  I finally decided that I can't really control whether or not they come and all I care about is my family and his family is there any any extra is a bonus, so if they come they come, if not even better!! haha

 

 

[perry1217]

Oh my gosh ladiessssssssss!!! 30 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Had my hair and makeup trial and my final fitting today!  Omg, I cannot wait!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mllek1986]

You look GORGEOUS! This makes me very excited for my final fitting! My hair consultation is tomorrow eeeek

Originally Posted by perry1217 

Oh my gosh ladiessssssssss!!! 30 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Had my hair and makeup trial and my final fitting today!  Omg, I cannot wait!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[perry1217]

That is so exciting!!!!  Good luck with it!  I was lucky, my hair dresser just knew what to do!  She will be doing my AHR and I took lots of pics to bring down to Mexico for the resort stylist. The makeup was the only weird part because I usually don't wear anything but mascara.  I definitely did a double take!

[Avens]

Gorgeous! You look awesome!

Originally Posted by perry1217 

Oh my gosh ladiessssssssss!!! 30 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Had my hair and makeup trial and my final fitting today!  Omg, I cannot wait!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Avens]

I got my flowers in - yay!  I ordered from Bloom Bridals.  They are exactly what I wanted.  Judy was great and re-arranged things a bunch of times (including one complete redo!).  I'm very happy with them.

 

 

[J and G 2012]

These look great Avens!

I order from Judy as well, I didn't really know what I wanted you i'm excited but nervous to see what she come up with!

What size are your boquets?

 

Originally Posted by Avens 

I got my flowers in - yay!  I ordered from Bloom Bridals.  They are exactly what I wanted.  Judy was great and re-arranged things a bunch of times (including one complete redo!).  I'm very happy with them.