Customer Comments at Iowa Bridal Preservation

I'm so happy to be writing a review about Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation ... My husband and I just had a vintage-themed wedding two weeks ago, and I can say truthfully, Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation, in southeastern IA, really came through for us. Not only are they among a quite limited number of clothes cleaners that specialize in antique garment cleaning and restoration (and one of the the ONLY ones in Iowa!) - they were SO accommodating, friendly, willing to go out of their way to help us (from the owner himself, Ed, staying a couple extra hours past closing time to wait for us to drive there from where we lived ~ 2 hours away), and committed to giving my vintage dress a true personal attention and care. They truly went out of their way to help us. Even though I gave them just under a month to clean my dress (typically, for this kind of cleaning, it's good to give the cleaner a lot more time), Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation didn't complain or chide me, but instead embraced the task and the owner himself took it upon himself to personally handle the analysis and cleaning of my dress. For those of you ladies or gents now in the same position I was in... with a vintage garment but not sure where to confidently turn in the Upper Midwest for expert vintage cleaning... I'll elaborate my story a little more. It's a little long, but hopefully it will let you know there's a fantastic resource out there in Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation where you'll get treated with genuine kindness and personal attention. It's nice to know there really are some businesses out there that still really care about the individual customer... I had purchased a true antique dress - a lovely 19-teens-era late Edwardian style raw silk dress - on eBay way back in July. This dress was truly one-of-a-kind: a beige raw silk dress with an apron-style front-piece covered in elaborate wildflower and wild grass hand embroidery that wrapped around in faux straps around in V-shape on the back; antique tatted lace bands around the elbows, and full sleeves adorned at the wrists with a cuff of the same delicately detailed embroidery.. The eBay seller I worked with was great, and felt fairly sure the dress was in solid shape... but you sometimes just can't tell with those old dresses. So needless to say, I was more than a little anxious about the thought of subjecting my dress to even a professional antique garment cleaning (let alone a conventional dry cleaning!). While the dress was in excellent overall condition, it definitely had some deep-set wrinkles and creases, some set-in dirt along the bottom hem, a single somewhat noticeable spot right in the chest area - along with some other wee spots and "foxing" spots - and probably plenty of storage dust. While the dress fit and I could have worn as-is for my wedding, I really preferred to clean her and feel she was refreshed and perked up for her next public appearance at my special day. I kind of waited to the last minute, however, in part because there are just so *few* cleaners out there who really know how to handle antique and vintage garments - which often require special care and special treatments - and in part because my mother (who lives in western PA) had wanted to try to be involved. I lost a LOT of time looking around for vintage cleaners... and believe me, I looked and *looked* I was despairing, actually, of even being able to find an antique garment cleaning expert anywhere remotely close. There are some around the coasts, and in places like California ... but I live in central Iowa, and it's a veritable desert as far as antique cleaning experts. I had found a couple in the Twin Cities area, but that was at least 3 hours' drive (which I was willing to drive - but with all the driving we were already doing between IA and mid-MO to plan our wedding, I really didn't want to have to drive in the opposite direction with everything else on our plates)... Then I found a place in western PA and decided to try there first, so my mother could be involved. Sadly, though the place in PA claimed on its website to have experience working with antique garments, it definitely didn't. Don't be fooled when a cleaning site says it is a "Couture Cleaner"... just marketing hype if it can't live up to what it claims. The lady I spoke to on the phone had assured me my dress would get hand-washed... when I got there in person, I learned they were going to put it through some standard mass-cleaning process. They seemed terrified to even touch a dress as old as mine... like they were more worried about the liability of damaging my dress than really trying to help us as individuals, or look at the unique circumstances of my dress. Needless to say, I did NOT entrust my dress to them. After I came back to Iowa, I almost gave up on the idea of getting my dress cleaned, since we were so behind on other wedding planning stuff and didn't have time to go to Minneapolis. But... perfectionist that I am... I decided to try a little more Web research, and trying yet more different search terms. Somehow, I stumbled onto Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation - I think I found the website of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists and did a state search. Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation was closest to us... and then when I visited their website and learned they have expertise in antique garment cleaning, I called immediately. My wedding date was Oct. 29, 2011... and I probably called at the end of September... I explained my situation, and how I'd had such difficulty finding a specialized cleaner for my nearly 100-year-old dress. They were so warm and friendly right from the get-go. We scheduled a time to come down on a Friday after work, while my husband and I were en route to Missouri (where we got married) for wedding related business - and Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation was right on the way. We had hoped to get out of work earlier than we did, so we could get to Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation before closing time... but we got held up. We were worried they might have closed and we might have missed them... When I called to let them know we were running late, they didn't seem to mind at all. Becky, one of the employees, said she'd be sure she or someone else was there - even though it would mean they'd be heading home later on a Friday night. Ed himself greeted us, and spent at least 20 minutes doing a preliminary examination of the dress right there with us... talking to us about some of the concerns with old dresses, about the history of my dress and where I'd gotten it, about the process. He was warm and personable, and inspired confidence from the get-go. Not only that, he was the most genuinely friendly, customer-focused business person I've encountered in a long, long time... He told me he'd do a test of my dress fabric's strength before anything else - taking a very small sample from an inside piece of extra fabric - and would use it to decide how to proceed. He also worked with an expert colleague in Boston after testing the fabric to decide on the best treatment for my dress... He was timely and responsive in his email communications after the fact, and made a point of emailing me just to give me updates how the dress was progressing. This really put my mind at ease that the dress was going to be okay, and that I'd have it in time for my wedding. In addition, Ed had a knowledgeable seamstress he works with look at the dress and make some additional repairs to strengthen some of the seams. When the dress was finally completed and we went down to pick her up, Ed personally escorted us about 10 miles down the road that Saturday to the seamstress' home just to make sure that after the cleaning, there was nothing else that should be adjusted - and if so, to get it done. If all his hard work and attentiveness to date hadn't already proved his personal dedication and customer focused-attitude, the fact that he took this time because he personally wanted to ensure everything was perfect with the dress he'd had in his care certainly demonstrated that. And let me just add that on top of Ed's thorough and scientific process in evaluating my dress, hand-washing it himself, consulting other experts to make sure he was using the best methods - he even did some touch-up work on my dress himself, re-threading some loose threads in the embroidery back in place, and giving me a special little gift of an English sixpence, as the tradition goes, for luck during my wedding and after. I can't say enough how grateful we are to Ed and Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation for everything they did for us and for my dress... The cleaning made the embroidery on my dress shine; the spot on the front was successfully removed; and all the hard-set wrinkles were expertly and completely smoothed out. My dress was lovely, and I felt even more special wearing her - and I can now feel confident that my special dress has been given a new lease on life and will last for many more years.

Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation, though normally not pressing on Saturday was willing to bring in staff to press my gown that had just a day earlier arrived from the gown retailer which we purchased over the internet. Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation pressed and delivered my dress to my home the morning of my wedding. They were reasonably priced and the delivery was prompt and professional. I would recommend them if you are worried about your dress being wrinkled before the big day. They also included a "Wedding Emergency Kit" which we used once when we had some spills on the dress. What great service and knowledgeable and friendly staff. Thank you for your patience and great work.

If you have a wedding dress, especially a designer one and need alterations done, then bring it here! Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation staff are the best and most professional. Their seamstress has the know-how and talent to alter wedding gowns and make the fixes fit beautifully. Most gowns are generic in size and need some fixing to make them look proper; they did it beautifully and professionally. Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation later gave me great price on the cleaning and preservation of my gown, we hope they are around when my daughters are ready to get married.

As usual I waited last minute to buy a dress for an important event. However, the dress needed to be taken in and shorten. I had 3 days. A friend told me about Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation which was, at that time, 75 miles away. We could not find any one suitable around where we lived so we made the trip. Their seamstress was waiting when we arrived and with in 2 days my gown was done and it fit super well. After our wedding we used their Courier service to send them the dress to have it cleaned and preserved, and what a beautifully job. They have a clean by mail service and my husband and I now use them for many of our specialty items.

I can't thank them enough about the wonderful job they did on bringing my mothers gown back to life so I could wear it on my wedding day. The yellowing was gone, the repairs were not noticeable and it looked gorgeous. These folks know what they are doing; we now use them for our other cleaning and alterations, what a great shop. Thank you for making it possible.

What a great job Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation did in restoring my special wedding outfit! My husband bought me a traditional Scandinavian wedding dress while we were traveling before our wedding in 1958. It hung in my closet for the many years and had yellowed badly but still was in good shape. One of my daughters was helping me clean out forgotten areas in our closets and came across it. Her daughter was planning to get married soon and she had always dreamed of wearing grandmother's dress for her own wedding. She has been looking at the pictures for years. So we already knew of Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation having been in business nearly 70 years in our community so we explored with them the restoration process and making alterations as needed, and guess what, when all done the gown was the same color as my mother remembered it, custom fit to my daughters size and what a wonderful day, and the wedding photos have a remarkable resemblance of both the gown and my mother in it on her own special day. We thank you Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation for what wonderful service you have provided us.

Last year our town experienced lots of flooding and rain. While we were away on vacation, our basement had three feet of water in it and my boxed wedding gown was floating when my brother found it. The box was not waterproof and my wedding gown sustained water damage in the basement flood. The gown was stored in an area that I didn't realize was affected by water. My poor gown sat wet in its box for two weeks! By the time we returned and inspected it, mold had begun to grow. I was heartbroken. Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation restored my gown and restored my broken heart. I had no idea there was a company that specializes in restoring wedding gowns. My gown looks the way it did when I walked down the aisle.

Thank you Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation for bringing my mother's gown back to its original glory! It means so much to be able to walk down the aisle in her dress. I'm having Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation preserve my gown after the wedding so my daughter can walk down the aisle in the same dress.

Thanks Again

We had a destination wedding in Nicaragua two years ago and my mother and my husband's mother traveled to California to select my gown, I was there too and we bought a designers gown for our wedding. The wedding was absolutely beautiful over looking the ocean at dusk, a day to truly remember, but after the reception, I ended up in the pool with the gown on, and the ground had red in it some of which got on the bottom and top of the my wet gown. My mother was frantic and upset about the gown, so we air dried it, packaged it, and when we got home we sent it to Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation in Iowa. We found them on an internet search for museum care preservation and cleaning, sent them photos and we agreed to let them try to get the red out, clean and preserve it. Two weeks later they returned it via currier. The gown looks like it did when new. What a great and wonderful job. If you are in trouble with a gown, we would recommend them hands down, a great staff and wonderful service, thank you so much.

We own a boutique, tuxedo and bridal salon in Galena, Illinois. I knew of Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation through my aunt who works for the local newspaper in their city. We ordered a special brides maid dress in an ivory trim that, when it arrived, did not match the shade of ivory we wanted. We called Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation about the possibility of dying the trim to match the shade of ivory we needed. Then sent it them to apply their process. We sent a sample of the color along with the dress which was mostly chocolate in color except for the trim. My father picked up the dress two weeks later and the color match was now perfect. We live about 200 miles from them but are now going to use them for a lot more of their services. We have their business cards and wedding gown care, cleaning, preservation, and restoration brochures in our shop and recommend all of their services to our brides. We have no cleaners in our town and since my father works in south eastern Iowa it is easy for us to get things back and forth. What a wonderful shop and it is rare that you will find anyone who offers the extent of service particularly in the formal gown and wedding gown arena. Almost forgot to mention. We have many brides interested in having "green weddings", and we are so pleased to know that Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation offers a "Carbon Offset" as an included part of their gown cleaning and preservation.

A few years a go we were married on a cruise liner near Jamaica. We took my dress along for the occasion. The wedding was wonderful and after a stint on the islands we returned to have the gown cleaned and preserved. There were some spots of food and drink on the gown and were afraid they would not come out. We had heard of Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation gown service through my mother and decided to call them. Their staff was wonderful, polite, and knowledgeable about gowns. So we sent it to them and, back it came in the condition and color the day we tried it on. We now live a great distance from them but our experience in using their distance services was very positive. Thank you for doing a great job.

Sadly I had a fire in my home a few months back and among my personal things was the wedding gown I wore so many years earlier. The dress had turned yellow and lots of brown spots on it, and it was very smoky from the fire. Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation had the job of restoring my textile items through out the house and I just included the dress and veil along with their work. I really had my doubts about weather it would clean and not fall apart being so old. It was an off white chantilly lace body with moderate trim and very delicate even in its new day. Well, when it came back, the color was an off white and the brown stains were gone. I won't be wearing it again but, as one of my treasured personal items, I am so please to have it back in such fine shape, Thank you Iowa Bridal Gown Preservation.