Simple Gown Cleaning Tips Every Bride Should Know!

Wednesday, 07 September, 2011 18:24

The wedding gown in the picture to the right is a simple and stunning design. It can be wet cleaned or dry cleaned using a gentle solvent with a low KB value such as GreenEarth or Hydrocarbon.

When deciding the best method to clean your wedding gown, your Prestige Preservation Specialist will take into consideration a variety of factors, including:

1. What type of materials were used to make the gown?

2. What are the current care label recommendations?

3. What type of stains are present on the gown?

4. The age and condition of the gown. What embellishments are used and how are they adhered to the gown?

All of the factors above combined with experience help your gown specialist decide the appropriate prespotting techniques and cleaning methods. Their state of the art facilities house the most up to date equipment for the latest fashions in wedding gown designs, to successfully process over a thousand gowns per week.

So, what can you do to ensure the best results in cleaning your gown?

1. Look for well- made designs by reputable retailers.
Ask the wedding gown representative how they recommend their gowns to be cleaned. If they recommend a method- it means they have done their testing to ensure their gown is serviceable.

2. Look to see how the beads, crystals and other embellishments are adhered to your gown.
Glues often do not last and you run risk of damage during wear. If this happens, will the retailer be able to supply you with replacements if needed?

3. Look your gown over before sending it to the Prestige Preservation Specialist. Write a quick note to identify stains.
Put your name and telephone number if you would like them to call you to discuss any questions you may have. It helps to let them know the type of stain whether it is wine, cake, coffee etc. The type of stain dictates the best method to remove the stain. The more they know the better they can help you. If there is a tough stain you can ask to see the gown before it is preserved to see how it cleaned.

4. Is your gown a family heirloom?
If your gown has been handed down, look for weak seams and have the gown specialist repair and inspect the gown prior to your wedding day. This will help prevent mishaps on your special day. Any loose flowers, beads, crystal etc. can be reinforced to last, keeping your gown looking like it did the first time it was worn. Also, many brides send along an extra picture of themselves and the groom to be included on the inside of the wedding gown chest beside their wedding gown for all to see.

Always remember to keep your preserved gown in a cool, dark place to keep it safe but accessible to show your family and friends.

Did You Know? We Clean And Refinish Leather And Suede Too!

Tuesday, 30 August, 2011 09:42

Our preservationists are some of the best specialists in the business when it comes to cleaning wedding gowns, but did you also know that thousands of dry cleaners count on our preservationists to help them on items that they don’t have the equipment or expertise to clean?

Leather and Suede garments, boots, and hand bags require special care in cleaning and refinishing. Our specialists have years of experience and solid relationships with the major manufacturers of fine leather and suede apparel. Those relationships are based on a common goal to provide outstanding customer service by standing behind their products and services, and by providing garment testing, repairs and refinishing to manufacturers and retailers. These relationships count when it comes to satisfying their customers, whether they are working to find lost buttons or the right color zipper to repair a coat.

When your leather or suede garment goes through the process, it is thoroughly inspected for stains, such as coffee stains or ground in dirt from wear. Once a stain is identified, it is pre-spotted to remove the stain and then cleaned. After the garment is thoroughly cleaned, it is inspected once more to see if the stain and soil has been successfully removed.

If there is soil or staining that remains after the initial cleaning, the garment is again pre-spotted and re-cleaned. There are some stains that may not come out entirely or sometimes stains damage the color of the area of the garment. This is where our specialists really begin to work their magic!

Each garment is conditioned and redyed if necessary. Re-dying is done on site, using special dyes made for leather and suedes. This is where only an expert will know what dyes to mix to get the perfect match for your garment. The experts can redye your garment to cover wear and tear as well as cover color damage due to stains and sun fading. Once the garment has been refinished either by reconditioning and/or redying, it is ready to wear.

Our specialists can also handle repairs and alterations to your leather and suede garments from repairing tears, replacing linings and zippers. All to help you keep your garments looking great and retaining their value.

If you have used one of our Prestige Preservation Specialists to clean and preserve your wedding gown, keep them in mind when it comes to handling your other precious garments and household items.

For more information about the other services they provide, visit their websites or call the Prestige Preservation Specialist in your area.

Why Sealing The Wedding Box Can Save Your Gown!

Tuesday, 16 August, 2011 18:08

Keeping your wedding gown in great condition is important for those who want to pass down their gowns. Or, if you are considering selling your gown after your wedding, our packaging will ensure it keeps its value.

We believe sealing is the way to properly protect your gown while also preserving its condition. Our Museum Style ™ storage boxes feature state of the art moisture and oxygen control technology.

Traditional wedding gown storage boxes do not protect your gown. Our storage box has a sealed window top so that your gown is visible for you to inspect, admire and show your friends and family. If your gown is very soiled or stained and you would like to see it before we preserve it, you can do so by request at any of our of Prestige Preservation Specialists locations.

Each Preserved gown comes with our Lifetime Guarantee Warranty Card that guarantees your gown will not suffer damage due to oxidation, discoloration, or aging. Each warranty card itemizes the list of items preserved in your gown box on the back of the card to allow you to ensure that everything is in the preservation chest.

Although the box is not 100% waterproof, we know firsthand that it has saved countless gowns from excessive water damage during floods. Sealing the box ensures that critters, bugs and dust stay away from your gown, thereby preventing damage to your gown over time. Sealing it also prevents little ones from using your precious gown for dress-up. (Trust me: If it is open, they will find it!)

Sealing is key because it allows us to ensure the integrity of the preservation process so that we can offer a lifetime guarantee. We believe that sealing is the only way to keep your gown looking just as it did on your wedding day and we take care of it during the cleaning process as if it was our own.

For more information on sealing or other services, visit our website at www.prestigepreservation.com.

Prestige Preservation Mexico: A Success Story That Is Still Being Written

Monday, 01 August, 2011 14:55

Michelle and Martin O’Connor moved to the Guadalajara, Mexico area in the fall of 2004, just in time to miss another Minnesota winter. They settled there for the weather and the quality of life it offered their sons, Matty and Eamon. They soon took to the area and the people.

Guadalajara is known as the “City of Eternal Spring” and, as a result, is the wedding capital of Mexico, a country of over 100 million people. Having become friends with one of Prestige Preservation’s founders, Pat Moffat, owner of Ram Leather St. Louis, it didn’t take long for Martin and Michelle to realize that Guadalajara needed Prestige Preservation too.

Martin quickly partnered with Luis Ousset, whose family owns Mexico’s largest dry cleaning supply company, Lorsa. Together, Michelle, Martin, and Luis launched Prestige Preservation Mexico in 2010. They decided the best way to bring Prestige Preservation to Mexico was to create an affiliate program for Mexican dry cleaners. Showing the dry cleaners the benefits of having Prestige Preservation clean and preserve mainly wedding dresses, with no initial costs to the dry cleaner, the message was received well. Their processing plant is located in Lorsa’s state of the art facility. Prestige Preservation Mexico has the latest in cleaning technology at their disposal to help ensure the quality Prestige Preservation demands from all of its licensees.

Currently Prestige Preservation Mexico is in over 18 dry cleaners throughout the Guadalajara area. They partnered with TintoLimpio, one of Guadalajara’s largest dry cleaning chains, to make this happen. They are expanding to three other states over 2011 to be in more than 36 dry cleaners nationwide.

Michelle, Martin, and Luis had this to say: “We couldn’t be happier. The support we have received from Prestige Preservation in the U.S. is the key to our success. From the training, to the materials, Prestige Preservation had never failed to deliver!”

The Memory Box: Helping You (and Me) Preserve More Than Just Wedding Gowns!

Tuesday, 26 July, 2011 11:33

Post written by Karen Maxwell, General Manager at Prestige Preservation

My son is 14 years old, starts at Rockhurst High School this August, and is growing up much too fast. No longer does he want hugs. He is a young man of few words and, in so many ways, is very different from the little boy I remember.

He is a hockey player, Lacrosse midfielder, a friend to many, and a great son that we are so very proud of. Recently, I was emptying out his old dresser as I was thinking of painting it and taking it to our lake house.

To my surprise, I came across the first book that he read completely on his own: “When Bunny Grows Up” by Patsy Scarry (I remember the sense of accomplishment we both felt and how he could not wait to read it to his Dad!), the book I gave him “Love You Forever” written by Robert Munsch which still makes me teary, and his favorite book to have me read to him before bed “The Runaway Bunny” by Margaret Wise Brown.

I remember I would just finish the last page and he would say “again mommy, please!” I also came across his bear sweater that he wore to his first day at Thornhill Nursery School (a school I hold dear to my heart for the great experiences it gave my son and myself for the three years I volunteered there), his Mouseketeer ears from a trip to Walt Disney World Florida that he swears he doesn’t remember, his GAP ball hat, and his University of Michigan sweater he wore to more than one football game over the years.

So why am I sharing all of these memories with you? Because here I am, the General Manager of Prestige Preservation and the Customer Service Director for GreenEarthCleaning, and even I have precious memories to preserve for the future that I haven’t taken care of!

However, I will procrastinate no longer! All of the items are being cleaned in GreenEarth and very soon I will be preserving them in our Prestige Preservation Memory Box for my son (ok, and for me too!).

I know I will come across more things to put away and I will fill another Prestige Preservation Memory Box…or two…or three…or four. I know that he will appreciate this little time capsule I have created and preserved to keep in good condition so he may hand down some of his precious memories to his children. I think I will save all of them for his wedding day (shhhhhh!!)

I challenge each of you to take a look around your home and see what memories you would like to preserve. It is a good way to pare down our possessions and keep what is important in good condition to hand down someday. But most of all it allows us to take a trip down memory lane and relive some of those precious moments that slip away far too fast. For more information, contact a Prestige Specialist today!

What is old is new again!

Monday, 07 March, 2011 18:32

For those of you who are sentimental and/or eco-conscious you may consider wearing your mother’s gown. Well if you are like me, you may need to do a little remodeling or a few alterations to make it your own. Prestige Preservation Specialist can help you with that. They are not only skilled in gown cleaning and preservation, they have an alteration department that can handle almost any request. They can also supply you with a mailing box to send your gown back to be cleaned and preserved for you when you get back from your honeymoon. Then you can do the same for your daughter. Can’t get easier than that! A win for your pocket and the environment while pleasing mom too!

Video – Wedding Gown Preservation Process

Monday, 12 July, 2010 14:24

Personalized Wine Labels for Your Wedding

Tuesday, 18 May, 2010 22:06

You can create personalized wine labels for your wedding day wines. These make great gifts for your wedding party or guests. The labels can be personalized like the example to the left or you can create your own label adding your personal touch. Try a childhood picture of the two of you, or a picture of the wedding venue, church or a picture that has meaning to the both of you. The options are endless. Let your creativity and inner designer run wild! While you are at it order a few for yourself! Need wines for your label creations visit http://winesource.com/.

Prestige Preservation Webinar

Wednesday, 21 April, 2010 16:16

Prestige Preservation Licensees enjoyed a webinar yesterday presented by Jason Terry of the Blue Gurus. Jason covered various topics within the world of Social Media. Both Dick Brody of Prestige in Seattle and Bruce Gershon of Arrow Fabricare in Kansas City walked away from the discussion and updated their Linkedin profiles. Jason got everyone comfortable with Linkedin and the many other tools. We all can say we all learned a thing or two. Thanks Jason for getting us started! We look forward to working with you.

Prestige Management Group Meeting in KC!

Wednesday, 17 February, 2010 16:34

Marriott Country Club Plaza, Kansas City

The Prestige Management Group will be meeting in Kansas City on February 18-20, 2010 at the Country Club Marriott. We will be getting together to discuss best practices for licensee operations. This ranges from P&L to customer service! Tim Maxwell, President of Green Earth Cleaning, will be presenting on technical aspects of gown cleaning.

The conference will include a tour of Tide Dry Cleaners located at 13420 Roe Ave., Leawood, Kansas 66209.

The group will be taking a tour of Arrow Fabricare, a fellow gown specialist in the KC area. They are located at 3838 Troost Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64109.

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