What To Do With Your Bridal Gown After the Wedding

You've said your "I do's," the photos are taken, toasts were made, and your wedding day has come to an end. There may never be another occasion to wear the most special of special occasion gowns - your wedding dress! What should you do with your bridal gown after the wedding? Venus Bridal has a few helpful ideas.

Have It Professionally Cleaned - ASAP!
You do not want to wait very long after the wedding day to have your dress cleaned. Even if there were no spills, oils from your body are on the gown simply from wearing it all day long. These can cause permanent stains if they are left unattended.

A Venus Bridal wedding dress is made from only the highest quality materials, and these tend to be very delicate. A professional dry cleaner that specializes in wedding dresses will know how to take care of it without doing any damage. Attempting to clean it yourself will most likely have unfavorable results. This is a task best left to the pros. 

Once your wedding dress is clean, you need a plan for what will happen to it next. Do not leave it in the plastic bag from the cleaners. Plastic fumes can cause the material to yellow over time. Also, keeping it on a hanger can be bad for the shape of the dress over time. Folding it and placing it in a chest, away from extreme temperatures and light, will keep it in much better condition.

Preserve the Dress
If you know that the gown will not be worn again for a very long time, you might consider having it professionally preserved. Your dry cleaner may provide this service. Wedding dress preservation involves packaging the gown in an acid-free, archival box that keeps it from deteriorating or staining. Someday, if another family member chooses to wear your wedding dress, it will look like brand new when you remove it from its box. 

Turn It Into A Keepsake
For the bride that knows for a fact that the dress will not be worn again, a little creativity and a talented seamstress can turn it into something brand new. Possibly a cocktail dress for you to wear on your first anniversary, or even some lingerie for the anniversary night. Another sentimental item that your bridal gown could be turned into is a christening gown for your first child, or a bassinet cover or baby blanket. 

If you prefer to keep the dress intact, you can use small pieces of it, taken from an inconspicuous spot, to make keepsakes like a Christmas tree ornament for your first married holiday together, or place a small swatch in a locket along with a photo from the wedding.  

Donate The Gown
Every woman deserves to look and feel beautiful on her wedding day, but sometimes circumstances won't allow for the purchase of even an affordable bridal gown. Donating your dress so that someone else can use it for their special day is a wonderful thing to do.

There are many incredible charities that accept wedding dresses to distribute to those less fortunate. The three listed below are a good place to start, but a search online may give you results in your local area.

• Wish Upon A Wedding - This group not only takes donations of dresses for brides, but also finds wedding vendors to donate other services as well.
• Brides Across America - They specialize in offering free bridal gowns to military brides and first responders.
• Little Angel Gowns - Donating your dress to an organization like this provides the material to make garments for babies that have left their family unexpectedly. This particular group distributes their tiny gowns to hospitals all over the country. 

Venus Bridal strives to make fashionable wedding dresses that reflect the importance and beauty of your very special day. Once you are finished wearing your bridal gown, we hope that the information above will help you to preserve it for future generations or turn it into something equally as meaningful to you. 

The feeling of romance.. the essence of glamour.

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9 Helpful Wedding Dress Shopping Tips

Wedding dress shopping is an exciting time in a woman's life, but the large variety of shapes, styles, and fabrics that you have to choose from can seem overwhelming. There is a multitude of gorgeous bridal gowns available from Venus Bridal, so today we are offering a few wedding dress shopping tips to make the decision a little easier.

Do some research

This is one of the fun parts! It's time to pick up a few wedding magazines or hit the internet and begin daydreaming about your perfect bridal gown. Take note of the styles that you gravitate toward. This will give you a place to begin when you start trying dresses on.

Make an appointment

Start shopping early in your wedding planning process so that you have plenty of time to order the dress and have necessary alterations made. Most bridal salons require an appointment, but even if they do not, having one will guarantee that you are assisted by someone from the store while you are there. If you just "pop in" it's very likely that they may be too busy to give you the attention that you deserve. Once you make an appointment, don't be late. You don't want to feel rushed while you shop. 

Limit Your Helpers

You may have tons of family and friends that want to go wedding dress shopping with you, but a large entourage is never a good idea. Too many opinions can make the experience confusing and frustrating. Take along only a few people that know your personal style and have your best interests at heart. Don't bring children to your appointment if it can be avoided, and if they must come along, have someone there to entertain them so you can focus on the task at hand.

Power Up

Dress shopping can be a long, exhausting day, so don't go on an empty stomach. Eat something light before your appointment so that you have plenty of energy for the search. 

Don't be shy

The bridal consultants at the store are there to help, and they have plenty of experience finding dresses for clients. Ask them every question that pops into your head. Use their knowledge to find exactly what you are looking for, but don't be afraid to tell them if you don't like a suggestion that they make. 

Take along your "must-haves"

If you have something that you will be wearing on the wedding day, like a family heirloom or an amazing pair of shoes, bring that with you. You will want to see how it looks with the different gowns that you will be trying on.

Wear proper undergarments

Make sure that have a supportive, strapless bra to try dresses on with. It may not be the one you will wear on the wedding day, but it will give you a better idea of how the dress will look and fit. Your underwear should be white or nude. The consultant will most likely be in the dressing room with you for assistance, so if you're shy, wear underwear that covers everything.

Try on lots of different styles

Dresses look much different on a body than they do on the hanger, or even on the models in the magazines. Depending on your body type, it may fit you much differently than the picture you saw. Test a variety of styles until you find your favorite, then begin trying on only gowns in that style until you find "the one."

Enjoy the experience

More important than anything else, take the time to sit back and take in the entire experience. This is a very special time in your life, and it should be a fun and happy memory when you look back. 

If you will be purchasing your wedding gown online, make sure that you check Venus Bridal's "Where To Buy" page of our website to find out if that business is authorized to sell our dresses. If they are not listed, then you may be looking at a fake!

The perfect wedding dress may show itself right away, or it may take a bit of searching. Don't worry if you don't find it immediately. Venus Bridal has an amazing wedding dress designed just for you. When you finally try it on, you'll know. 

The feeling of romance.. the essence of glamour.

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A Rainbow of Color Choices for Your Wedding

There are a few different methods for choosing the colors that you will be using for your wedding. One thing that should factor into that decision is the color that you want your bridesmaids to wear. Venus Bridal has a very large selection when it comes to available colors for our beautiful bridesmaid gowns.

The trend in the past was to always put bridesmaids in the exact same dress. That look can still be beautiful today, but there are many brides that choose to put their bridal party in different looks with a coordinating theme. This could be a variety of styles all in the same color, matching gowns in a variety of complimentary colors, or a mix of varying shades of one main color.  

Mixing Styles

Not everyone looks good in every dress, so allowing your bridesmaids to wear different styles is a good way to make sure they all look their best and feel comfortable. You will want to make sure there is one unifying element, like color, to tie all of the looks together. 

Keep in mind that different fabrics, even when dyed with the same, may vary slightly in color. Compare swatches closely before ordering bridesmaid dresses, or insist that all of the gowns be made from the same fabric. That way you know they will all match when the orders arrive. 

Mixing Colors

Another option is to pick one style for all of the bridesmaids to wear, but put each on them in a different color, or varying shades of one color. The important thing is that they all compliment each other. Consult a color wheel to refresh your art class memories about which ones work the best together. You can also use the season or the wedding venue to pull color inspiration.

The Rainbow of Venus

You will see the wide variety of color choices for your bridesmaid dresses on our Venus Bridal website color chart. There are far too many to list here in the blog, but you will see names and samples on that page. Please realize, though, that depending on the way you are viewing our site, colors may vary slightly due to different screen resolutions. 

Use the website as a guideline to help you with your main choices, but visit one of our authorized Venus Bridal retailers to see fabric swatches in person for the most accurate color matching. The colors that you choose for you wedding can help to tell a story and set the mood. Once you figure out the way you want the overall event to look, Venus Bridal is here to make sure your wedding day fashions fit into that picture perfectly. 

The feeling of romance.. the essence of glamour.

Visit our website: www.VenusBridal.com

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