As mentioned in my "Pronovias Ariel in the wild" photo dump post, I sent my wedding dress out for cleaning/preservation. It was a pretty costly experience, so I thought it might be good to have a informational/review post out there.
It was a pretty costly experience, so I thought it might be good to have a informational/review post out there.Designer: Pronovias (purchased from Casablanca Bridal & Formals in Honolulu)
Dress name: Ariel, stock photos below from Pronovias website
Typical alterations made to: strap length, waist size and overall length of skirt (all layers) based on my personal measurements. A single hook bustle was added. All else is "stock" to the dress - no additional or removed layers or modifications to skirt or train. No panels added/removed (typically for modesty)
When my dress was ready to be picked up for my wedding, the staff let us know that the owner of Casablanca only trusted one company to clean the (Pronovias) gowns - J. Scheer & Co. We were provided a $100 "gift certificate" from Casablanca.
My wedding event was on May 23, 2021. I wore the dress from about 08:00am to maybe 2:00pm at the latest (actually a bit less because I changed out of it in the middle for a bit), so about 6 hours total. Our ceremony and first look area did have grass, but it was nicely manicured with no mud or dirt. The lunch was indoors and while there was no AC (FML), not too much opportunity for the dress to be mussed up other than sweat tbh. I drank clear drinks and was fairly careful with the small amount of foods that I ate. This is all to say that there weren't any giant stains, rips/tears or unusual treatment of the dress after the wedding.
 |
| (c) Derek Wong Photography |
A couple days later, we initiated contact J. Scheer and primarily corresponded through email. My point of contact's name is Judith. We were instructed to store the dress wrapped in a clean sheet, out of direct light (not on a hanger).
I informed them about the brand/model of my dress and sent some easily answered clarifications about the skirt and train. I was quoted for $795-895 + shipping (AFTER $100 discount from Casablanca) with the variation depending on a conservator's examination of my specific gown once it is received by J. Scheer. This cost would include (copied and pasted straight from the email from J. Scheer POV):
- the cleaning of the dress using only organic solvents (we do not use any kind of harmful chemicals or bleaches). Once we receive the gown, our conservators determine which organic solvents best suit the gown based on the fabric, condition, and any non-woven components used in construction.
- we include one hour of repair work needed (like broken bustle strings, missing buttons, etc). If the gown requires more than the allotted one hour, we will contact you to confirm if you would like the extra work done.
- a 50-year warranty with the service (we do not vacuum seal the archival box so you can inspect the gown anytime you would like)
and the cost would not include cleaning/preservation of a veil which would be an additional $50-95 depending on its length (not a factor for me as my veil was $15 from Amazon and not worth keeping regardless). The quote provided was only valid for 30 days from issuance.
I don't know if I'm super unfamiliar with the wedding gown cleaning/preservation market but the price seemed a bit exorbitant to me and I was caught a bit off guard - especially considering how variable it was and that it did not include any shipping. I balked at this for a while and we did ask what it would cost for cleaning but not preservation and apparently it would only reduce the price by $100, so if we went with this company, it makes sense to just do both.
After hemming and hawing about it and doing the "extra photoshoot" with my MOH, I decided to just move forward with J. Scheer since Casablanca had strongly recommended it.
I was sent the following instructions for shipping the dress to J. Scheer:
If you can please place the gown in a plastic bag or garment bag then fold it to fit a small box. Please be sure you do not use too big of a box so it does not shift during shipment. On a small sheet of paper, please include your name, email, a contact phone number and the contents of the box (gown).
Please use UPS or FED EX only as USPS does not deliver in our physical address. Please call or email me the tracking information so we can track it for you. We will send you an email as soon as we have received the package.Please also note that the turnaround time is approximately 12-16 weeks. We will contact you once your order is complete and will verify the billing and shipping information at that time. We accept Visa, Master Card, AMEX or personal checks.Please note that prior to cleaning your gown, we may remove any bra supports or corsets which have been added to the gown as part of the alterations process. They may contain non-fabric materials which should not be cleaned with the gown, and which also may degrade at a faster rate than your dress fabric and could discolor the gown over time. These will be wrapped and returned with the completed dress.Please also note that exposed foam and plastic bust cups, as well as garment bags will not be returned with the completed order, as they contain contaminants that can not be removed. These items are not suitable for cleaning and will disintegrate over time. Should you wish to have any of these items returned to you please inform us in writing via email before we begin our work and we will package them and ship them to you. You will be responsible for shipping and handling charges associated with fulfilling this request. If you cancel your order you will be responsible for all packing and shipping charges associated with transit to and from J. Scheer and Co.
Obviously the mailing address was included as well but I'll leave it out for the purposes of this review, except to say that the shipping is to NY.
Preparing to pack up the dress -
I used the clear plastic bag that I picked up the dress in and managed to fit it into an old Amazon box which measured around 17" x 14" x 5" and weighed about 5lbs, 1oz. I calculated shipping costs with both UPS and FedEx using their online services based on that information, mailing from HI to NY and the lowest cost was around $70 for ground shipping from UPS and would take 10-14 days. (Other shipping options were $100-200.) If you live on the mainland, I'm sure that you have a few better options for cheaper. I printed out a label online and dropped it off at UPS office that same day.
I provided J. Scheer with the tracking number and just had to wait!
I was contacted on June 29 that J. Scheer had received the dress and was told that I would informed when the evaluation of the dress had been completed.
On July 26, J. Scheer informed me that the evaluation was complete and the services would cost $795. The expected completion date would be 12-16 weeks from that day (targeting mid-October at the earliest).
On October 12, I received an email notification that my dress was ready and to call J. Scheer to complete the transaction. I was off island at the time, so it took me two days to call during their business hours. On October 14, I talked to the consultant to was assigned to my order, received the final cost of the cleaning and preservation service + shipping via UPS ground to Hawaii and paid over phone via credit card. I'm not sure why when I, a random individual shipped to NY from HI via UPS ground, the cost was around $70-80, but when an established business shipped with UPS ground, the shipping was 2x more, but I guess I can't argue too much about that.
I had requested an invoice and received the following (my name was also on it but I censored that portion):
Tbh, for paying $795, I was hoping that there would be a little more detail about what was involved with the "cleaning and preservation" (that supposedly resulted in some "hardly noticeable" shadows?), but I guess that's all they really release.
On October 18, I received the shipment information from J. Scheer and UPS with the estimated arrival date being 1 week from shipment.
On October 25 (1 week from shipment), the dress was delivered to my front door. FRAGILE and LAY FLAT were written on the shipping box. Inside, at pretty much an exact fit, is a white box with a lid. Inside, the dress was wrapped with a blue ribbon and a pair of cloth gloves.
There's more packing paper to help the bodice and straps of the dress hold their shape and then the skirt of the dress is tucked underneath. There wasn't any instructions with it in the box and when I emailed to ask about it, I was prompted pointed to an attachment that I had missed when I was provided the shipping information.
Here are some excerpts about care for the dress after cleaning and preservation:
Store the conservation box flat, with the lid side facing up. When you move the box, carry it so that it is as level as possible. We have packed your dress so that it will not shift under normal circumstances, but flat storage will ensure this remains true.Protect your dress from extremes of temperature and humidity, as these factors will encourage rapid deterioration. All fibers degrade under high temperatures, and many may discolor permanently.High humidity encourages mold and mildew, even on clean fabrics. Therefore, it is not wise to store your dress in an attic or a cellar. Choose a storage place within your living quarters, but choose a place without much traffic. Inspect the box occasionally (once every 18 months is fine).
With J. Scheer's preservation process, you are able to remove the dress from the box and look at it (instead of it just being stuck in there) and there are also very specific instructions for how to do that as well. At this point, I think I'm a little reluctant to move it around too much, but I don't anticipate having any issues when I do.
Overall, including shipping, I spent over $1000 to get my wedding dress preserved and cleaned with J. Scheer and this was with a $100 "voucher". It does seem like the shipping price can be greatly reduced if you live on the mainland and don't have to pay so much for UPS or FEDEX, but the bulk of the cost was still the main services.
Would I do it again? Probably not. But I also don't plan to have another wedding dress. For the price I paid, I did expect a bit different means of communication and transparency about the costs (the sparing details on the invoice did surprise me). Plus...it takes a really long time and I had to follow up about even just the evaluation. My dress does seem like it's in good shape for now but it's essentially spent just as much time with me after wearing it as it has with J. Scheer wtf. That being said, I really don't know much about gown cleaning and preservation so I don't know the different levels and what makes one service more expensive than another. If your dress is not in terrible shape and you really don't plan on taking it out to continue to look at it, I would probably consider trying a local place with good reviews.
This finally completes my set of wedding-related blog posts! Quick links if you missed anything (but also added a page under the header as well):
