Imagine this: You’ve picked out the perfect wedding dress. It fits you perfectly and its sequins and beads make you feel like Beyoncé or Carrie Underwood at the Grammys. You’ve put it under Fort Knox-like protection to get it to your destination wedding. The day of your wedding you slip into your flawless gown, spin around to see yourself and there it is…a lipstick stain right below your ivory stain bow that has ripped away a little from your dress.
Don’t panic! Amongst the top ten wedding day disasters, a stain or rip on your wedding dress has to rank top five but before you throw the idea of a bold red lip on your wedding day completely out the window or ban all sharp objects from your room in favor of your precious white dress, you may want to put together a wedding dress emergency kit. While we’re sure you’ll be the most careful you’ve ever been in your life on your wedding day, it never hurts to be prepared!
*White Cotton Towels– These are perfect for absorbing liquids and any excess moisture. When approaching a stain NEVER rub, always blot and dab at a stain. Dab to absorb as much of it as you can before removing the actual stain. With stains like red wine and coffee, dab as much of it as you can with the towel then soak the towel in warm water and dab at it gently from the outside of the stain toward the middle. When trying to remove blood, use cold water and your cotton towel to gently dab at the stain until it’s gone.
*Baby Powder– Baby powder is perfect for oily or greasy stains. Dust greasy stains with baby powder to absorb oil, and then gently brush away. Wet a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol and dab from the outer edges of the stain to the middle. The best part about baby powder is you can use it to cover up anything that remains from this or any kind of stain.
*White Bar of Soap – The soap works best for jammed zippers. Rub a white bar of soap along the teeth of your zipper to lubricate it without staining your dress.
*Denatured Rubbing Alcohol- For greasy stains, as well as ink, use a cotton swap dipped in rubbing alcohol to dab at the stain from the outside into the middle. After using denatured rubbing alcohol, blot with a white cotton towel.
*Stain Removal Wipes- When using stain removal wipes of your favorite brand, pay attention to the label that tell you which fabrics the wipe works best with and which fabrics it won’t work with. Always test an underside of your dress that won’t show with your wipes to see if it will stain the dress more. Stain removal wipes usually work best on lipstick and other makeup stains. Remember to dab even when using stain removal wipes.
*Cotton Swabs- Cotton swabs work best with whatever stain remover you prefer to use. They apply small amounts of the remover without over saturating and help you remember to blot, not wipe.
*Double Sided Tape- Got a nasty rip in your dress with no needle or thread in sight? Use double sided tape on the underside of the tear to hold it together with virtually no visible seam.
*Needle and White/Off white Thread- It may seem like an obvious emergency kit item but you won’t be surprised how often it’s forgotten. Tears, rips and nicks can always be repaired with a quick stich up. Remember to sew any tears from the underside of the dress and always match your thread to your dress.
Remember if you find out your dress is stained or ripped a day or so before your walk down the aisle, consult a professional dry cleaner on what to do to save your dress before you handle it yourself.