About The Wedding Dress Preservation Company
A century of preserving what can’t be replaced.
We’re the most trusted online retailer for you to reach the state-of-the-art facility that has preserved over 3 million wedding dresses since 1913. Backed by our personalized service every step of the way, beginning from your initial inquiry through the life of your precious wedding dress — we are here for you throughout the process.
Couples’ Choice Award
12× 
Best of Weddings (Hall of Fame)
Since 1913
A Century of Preserving What Matters
The Wedding Gown Preservation Company — the facility where every dress is professionally cleaned and preserved — opened its doors in 1913 in Endicott, New York. Back then, wedding dresses were heirlooms by design: passed down across generations, worn by daughters and granddaughters, never thrown away. Caring for a wedding dress was an important part of honoring the family story.
Over the next hundred years, wedding fashions changed. Traditions changed. Materials changed. But the fundamental challenge of cleaning and preserving a delicate textile like a wedding dress has not changed. We’ve refined the cleaning chemistry, technology, and processes, upgraded the preservation materials, and modernized the shipping — but the goal is exactly what it was in 1913: for a wedding dress to stay as bright and beautiful in 100 years as it does the day it leaves the wedding dress cleaning and preservation facility.
More than three million brides have trusted their dresses to our care — through both World Wars, the Depression, and every change in fashion the past century has seen. For more than two decades, we’ve been the dedicated team helping brides access that same preservation from home.
Meet Tom & Madelaine
As a woman-owned family business, Tom and Madelaine have personally helped brides preserve their wedding dresses for more than two decades. Before co-founding The Wedding Dress Preservation Company, Madelaine pursued her passion for weddings as a professional wedding planner — which is why she understands better than most exactly what your dress means to you.
That’s why it’s important to trust your dress with people who genuinely care about your wedding dress and your satisfaction, not just another pretty website.
We’re always just a call or email away — real people who know your order and are here whenever you need us. We read every message, answer every question, and are committed to your satisfaction every step of the way.
If you’ve ordered with us before, you may know us as Affordable Preservation Company. Same dedicated team, same state-of-the-art facility, same 100-year guarantee — with a name that more clearly reflects what we’ve always done best: preserving wedding dresses, now with a simpler and more informative ordering experience.
Why Brides Choose Us
Six Reasons to Trust Us With Your Dress
Woman-Owned & Family-Run
Tom and Madelaine are the husband-and-wife team behind The Wedding Dress Preservation Company. Not a startup, not a dry cleaner’s side business. For more than two decades they’ve been the trusted online retailer for museum-quality cleaning and preservation from the wedding dress cleaning and preservation facility that has served brides since 1913.
Museum-Quality Cleaning
We use a museum-quality cleaning technology trusted by conservation professionals to preserve delicate textiles for centuries. Gentle on silk, lace, and beadwork. Safe and effective on the delicate fabrics most dry cleaners aren’t equipped or trained to handle. Read about our technology →
The Longest Guarantee in the Industry
A written 100-year anti-yellowing guarantee. If your dress ever yellows, it will be restored at no charge — for a full century. See the guarantee →
Award-Winning, 5-Star Service
17-time WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner and 12-time The Knot Best of Weddings winner — and The Knot Hall of Fame inductee. A 5.0 average across 475+ verified reviews on The Knot, WeddingWire, and Google. Read what brides say →
FREE Insured Shipping, Every Step
A complimentary sturdy shipping kit arrives at your door, your dress ships safely and directly to the facility at no cost, and your professionally cleaned and preserved wedding dress ships back to you — fully insured every step of the way. No driving across town to and from a local dry cleaner.
Honest & Transparent
We want every dress to come back perfect — and in most cases, it does. If any stains can’t be fully removed, we’ll include a personal note with your dress explaining what was treated and what remains. In the rare event a dress can’t be safely cleaned at all, we’ll contact you first and offer a full refund. No surprise charges, no upsells, no fine print. Just the work, done right, at the price quoted.
Our Partnership
With Wedding Gown Preservation Co.
The Wedding Dress Preservation Company is the Elite Authorized Retailer for Wedding Gown Preservation Company. Our partner, Wedding Gown Preservation Company, owns and manages the cleaning facility and does not sell directly to the public. When you order direct from them through us, your dress is professionally cleaned and preserved at their state-of-the-art facility — with the exceptional personal service of a woman-owned family business. Michael Schapiro, President of Wedding Gown Preservation Company, has been our trusted partner since we became their first dedicated online retailer in 2003, and that long-standing relationship is the foundation of everything we offer — from our pricing to the free insured shipping included with every order.
In 2011, after years of consistently high preservation volumes and an exceptional customer-service record, we were awarded Elite Authorized Retailer status — a designation held by only a select group of authorized retailers nationwide. It means our customer-care standards and commitment to excellence meet the most exacting bar in the industry, and it’s one of the reasons our 100-year anti-yellowing guarantee is backed not just by us, but by the parent company itself.
How It Works
What Choosing Us Actually Looks Like
Every bride who orders with us takes a leap of faith — and we take that seriously. Here’s exactly what the experience looks like, from start to finish.
1. You order online
Select your service — Traditional Preservation, Celebrity Preservation, Clean-Only, or one of our Restoration services if your dress is 20 years or older. Add personalization if you’d like it. Free insured shipping is included every step of the way.
2. Your shipping kit arrives in 4–5 days
A complimentary sturdy shipping kit arrives at your door — complete with a prepaid FedEx label, packing materials, and step-by-step instructions. See what’s in the kit →
3. You bag the dress and drop it at FedEx
Just pack your dress and drop the box at any FedEx location — about 15 minutes, and we take it from there.
4. Expert cleaning and preservation
Your dress moves through a thorough six-station cleaning process, then is carefully placed into an acid-free preservation chest with a UV-protective viewing window. See the chest construction →
5. Your preserved chest ships back
The full process averages 4–14 weeks — longer during peak wedding season. You’ll receive updates via email at every key stage — when your kit ships, when your dress arrives, and when your dress is on its way back to you. You can also check the status of your dress anytime through our online tracking tool.
6. Guaranteed for 100 years
Backed in writing by our 100-year anti-yellowing guarantee.
Honest & Transparent
What You Can Count On
Choosing the right company to care for your wedding dress is a big decision. Here’s exactly what you can count on when you order with us.
- You can count on… honest service recommendations. If your dress is less than 20 years old, one of our cleaning or preservation services is probably the ideal choice for your wedding dress. We will never try to upsell you to a restoration service if your dress doesn’t need that level of care.
- You can count on… complete honesty about results. Although most stains can be removed, some cannot. Our skilled technicians remove at least 95% of all stains. If anything remains, a detailed note will be included with your cleaned and preserved dress.
- You can count on… the same price regardless of your dress’s value, fabric, or size. What you see at checkout is what you pay — no hidden fees, no unexpected charges. The only exception is an extra-heavy ball gown or long heavy cathedral train, which may carry a $100 surcharge. You’ll always be notified before any work begins.
- You can count on… honest guidance with no pressure to upgrade. If wedding dress cleaning without preservation is the right service for your situation, that’s exactly what we’ll recommend.
That kind of honesty matters to us — it’s why our brides refer their friends, sisters, and eventually their daughters when it’s time to preserve their wedding dresses. We’re also one of the few preservation companies that publishes how our pricing works — no hidden fees, no fake discount codes, no fine print.
Still have questions? Call us at (800) 887-0135, Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–4:30 PM Pacific Time. We’ll talk through your dress, your situation, and which service fits.
Ready to Trust Your Dress to a Century of Experience?
100-year anti-yellowing guarantee. Free insured shipping, every step. Museum-quality cleaning and preservation — trusted by over 3 million brides since 1913.