I found it on an Archival and Preservation site and it’s called a Textile Storage Kit. It’s normally used for stuff like crocheted blankets or other museum-type pieces. But I think it might be perfect for my dress.

The entire kit is about $65 including shipping – no returns or exchanges.

What do you all think? Should I get it?

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Technorati Tags: storage kit, wedding dress preservation, wedding preservation

Sure I got married two years ago and I put my dress in the cleaners almost a year ago. But whatever. Life happens.

Anyway, being the miser that I am, I didn’t want to pay the extra money to the cleaners to have them put my dress in a preservation box. They simply cleaned it and hung it back up for me in a white bag.

Aside: I’m pretty disappointed that they couldn’t get all the dirt and marks out of the hem area. The rest of the dress looks good, but I was had my hopes up for that part I guess. Oh well.

Anyway.

So my dress is hanging up and I need to find a way to actually preserve it. One day I may sell it, but I’m not really planning on it any time soon. So I need to figure something out for now.

Here’s what I gather from doing a little research.

• The dress should lay flat to avoid undue stress and sagging on the seams from hanging
• The box should be lined with acid free paper and be acid free itself
• The box should be taped to keep out any bugs while the dress is in storage

A lot of the DIY preservation kits I’ve seen online are in my opinion too expensive. My other issue with them is that the creators of the boxes tried to be too fancy and ended up putting gold Victorian features all over it and making it look super gaudy.

It’s like wedding dresses have come up since the 80’s but the preservation boxes haven’t.

So as usual, I’m trying to figure out how to make my own preservation box.

So far, I’m thinking I’ll get a big white box and some acid-free tissue paper from Jo-Ann’s or Michael’s. Some of the pre-made boxes have windows into the box, bu I don’t need to be able to see into the box to make sure the dress is still there. I’m sure it’s not going anywhere. Since the box won’t be going on display in a museum and will likely end up on top of my portable closet in the basement, I think this should be sufficient.

What do you guys think? Have you seen any decent DIY preservation kits or should I just do it my way?

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Technorati Tags: acid free paper, acid free tissue paper, Bridal Gown, Bride, DIY, Preservation, preservation boxes, storage, Wedding Dress

This morning when going through my normal routine of checking my available Groupons and Living Social deals, I was pleased to find that Roma Sposa in Birmngham, MI. has a deal on Groupon today.

The deal applies to their big upcoming sample sale and goes like this:

• For $100, you get $500 toward a sample evening gown
• For $250, you get $1,000 toward a sample bridal gown

Clearly I’m super psyched about this. For all of you keeping to a strict budget like I was, this is the perfect way to get your hands on a gorgeous, good quality gown at a fraction of the price.

And keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be perfect right off the rack, just close enough. You can always take it to a seamstress to get the perfect fit and look just for you.

Get your Groupon

Happy Shopping!

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Technorati Tags: Bridal Gown, roma sposa, sample sale, Wedding Dress

The Whitney is absolutely gorgeous – inside and out. We chose to have our evening ceremony and reception at the Whitney outdoors in the garden. We had around 150 people – so it was perfect. Initial contact with the staff was horrendous and stressful – luckily they ended up replacing the original contact person with Kristine Rader. Kristine was VERY responsive and never missed our scheduled appointments. Everything we asked for happened and the Whitney staff was awesome. With the exception of some cold glares from a manager during the arrival for our rehearsal the day before and some confusion with staff telling our guests the wedding had been moved inside due to rain – everyone was accommodating. All of our guests commented on the friendliness of the staff, the great food and how awesome the bartender was. I was pleased with how quickly the staff converted the ceremony space into reception seating and the extra touches of lanterns in the back area – it made the garden look like something out of an evening fairytale. We had somewhat of a non-traditional wedding – but the Whitney let us do what we wanted and for that we are ETERNALLY grateful. Our wedding was perfect.

Hotel Accommodations/Guest Block: Motor City Casino Hotel Grade: B- (Rooms – A, Service – C-)

Motor City is a gorgeous hotel. Everything is updated and modern. All my guests raved about how nice the rooms were. The premier suite we stayed in was one of the nicest rooms I’ve ever stayed in. It was HUGE and had every thing for the perfect 2 day home away from home. Unfortunately – their service needs A LOT of work. We had a ton of problems while we were there. I had to check in twice the day before the wedding because I requested an early check-in so I arrived at 2 – I was told it would be ready in a half hour but when I arrived at 4:30 (1.5 hours after check-in time) – it STILL wasn’t ready and they lost my initial reservation – so they upgraded us to a premier suite – however – I was 30 minutes late for our rehearsal (and pissy) because of it. We had gift bags taken to all of our guests.. but our guests also received and invitation to another couple’s wedding and brunch tickets for their Sunday brunch. One of my out-of-town guests ended up at the other venue because of it. Needless to say – it caused A LOT of confusion. They were supposed to clean our room while we were at the wedding – they didn’t and when we returned I had to request towels at 3 am because my bridesmaids and I had used most of them getting ready earlier in the day. The day of check out they sent an incorrect bill with extra rooms on it.  So – there were just so many annoying little issues that made the stay pretty exhausting. I filled out a survey at their request and at least 3 managers have contacted me to remind me (as if I can’t recall) that we were upgraded. However, most of the craziness happened AFTER we were upgraded. tsk tsk – Note to managers: never ask guests for feedback and then make excuses for poor service. One bride to another – steer clear!

Photography: Carl Jones Photography and Willy Wangsa Photography: Grade: A+++

These guys did a great job. The teaser pics we’ve gotten so far have been awesome. We can’t wait to see the final results. We met with both gentleman and did a walk-through in the space a few weeks before. A lot of our questions were answered and it gave them both a chance to plan. The day-of picture sessions were seamless and we got all the pictures we wanted with a few extras. I know we’ll be pleased with the results.

Cake Topper: CrossWireDesign (Etsy Shop): Grade: A

Fast shipping, excellent communication, great price for quality work.

Cake and Cupcakes: The Cupcake Station - Ferndale, MI: Grade: A

I waited until 2 weeks before the wedding to order the cake and cupcakes. Partially because that’s when it was on my list and partially because I always knew we were going with cupcakes and that’s how long the cupcake station said they needed for the order. They did an EXCELLENT job. We decided to stop in one day and do our own personal tasting. We got one of each of their mini cupcakes and their color brochure and got to work checking off ones we liked and X’ing ones we didn’t like. It only cost us $26. It would have been cheaper on a Tuesday when minis are only $1 each. After we made our decision – I ordered over the phone and requested a custom round cake to go on top. Everyone commented on how pretty and delicious everything was. The price was VERY reasonable for feeding around 175 people.

Photobooth: Shutterbooth: Grade: A-

I highly recommend the photobooth experience. The guests love it, the couple loves it and you end up with really great memories at the end of the night. The photobooth host did a great job and we really enjoyed the scrapbook at the end of the night. In fact – we cracked it open when we got back to the hotel (while we waited for the fresh towels) and laughed at the pictures and messages people took and left. The only reason they get an A- is because communication was odd. Emails are often confusing and repetitive and you can sign up with one person, talk to another on the phone and get yet another person as the host. Communicating with 3 different people can get repetitive and annoying. A few times the phone contact called me about a topic we’d already discussed. That’s not cool when you’re a busy bride. Other than that – it was totally worth the investment – as it also served as our favor. We upgraded and got the bookmarks so people could protect their keepsake. Totally worth it!

Decor: Velvet Touch Events: A

Amber and her staff were exceptional. It was important that we have something beautiful, whimsical and eco-chic that didn’t break our piggy bank. She listened to my vision and created something that was perfect for our occasion and worked within our budget. She was accommodating and came to me for a face-to-face as well as had staff on hand to decorate after the ceremony space was switched over in to the reception space. The finished product was beautiful.

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Technorati Tags: Budget, Wedding

Now. Maybe it’s because we were on a 12k budget. But probably not. I couldn’t bring myself to even consider exchanging gifts with my groom on our wedding day. To us, the only gifts needed on that day, was the wedding we just paid for  and the life we were about to embark on together.

So you tell me. Am I wrong on this one? Is it customary for the bride and groom to exchange wedding day gifts? If so, why?

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Technorati Tags: Bride, Gift, Groom, Present

You pack everything up the night before nice and neat, labeled and organized. Your dress is steamed and bagged and ready to go.

Your wedding comes and goes and it’s time to look through your pictures.

But what is that awful metal and plastic contraption supporting your gorgeous dress?!

It’s the hanger that you grabbed last minute and didn’t even imagine would rear its ugly head. But it did.

Now all of your wedding pictures are super perfect and everything you imagined – except of course for the hanger.

Thankfully, our photographer was thoughtful enough to mention to me beforehand to bring a nice hanger for dress pictures. I happen to have a dress form that I used, but there’s no way I would’ve thought to bring it on my own.

So here’s my nudge to you, my fellow brides. Take a few minutes and spend a few dollars if you have to. Find yourself a hanger that you won’t mind looking at over and over again when you’re taking a trip down wedding memories lane.

A friend of mine recently attended a bridal shower and instead of just mentioning it to the bride, she went all the way and gave her a custom hanger as a gift. Both practical and thoughtful. It’s perfect.

My friend found her personalized hanger at the Etsy Shop, The Painted House and More. There are a bunch of different options. You can have a common word bent in the wire like love or Mrs., but you can also take it a step further and order a custom name, like Mrs. Williams, for instance.

So do yourself a favor and remember the little details like this one. Believe me you’ll be glad you did.

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Technorati Tags: Bridal Gown, Bride, Dress, Hanger, Pictures, Wedding Gown

You all probably know by now that I wore an Ivory dress and red shoes to my wedding.

While I always believe there’s a place for tradition, I think there’s also room for you to stretch yourself in some places and do what you want as the Bride. Ultimately it’s you and your husband’s wedding and you all should do what makes you happiest.

That said, I encourage you all to make color choices that are just what you want, not what everyone this is right and proper. It’s one of those things that doesn’t cost you any extra dollars, but can really make a huge difference.

Maybe you want to wear a black dress.

Or a red dress.

Or maybe you’ve already been married, but you want to wear white.

Or maybe, you want your bridesmaids to wear white right along with you.

These may not be traditional choices, but if they’re what you want, by all means don’t hold back.

Do what makes you happiest. Everyone else will fall in line.

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Technorati Tags: black bridal gown, black wedding dress, red bridal gown, red wedding dress, Tradition, white bridesmaid dress

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Technorati Tags: 5 days, married

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