What the Stages Mean
Once your dress reaches our facility, it moves through several careful stages before shipping back. Here’s what to expect at each one — and roughly how long each takes during our typical season.
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Received & logged. Your dress is checked in, photographed for our records, and assigned its tracking serial number. Usually within 24 hours of arrival at our facility. -
Inspection. Our textile specialists inspect the dress under UV light to identify visible and invisible stains, note fabric type and beadwork, and flag any structural issues for repair. -
Cleaning or restoration. Your dress goes through our museum-quality cleaning process (for preservation/cleaning orders) or our 100% hand-cleaned restoration process (for restoration orders). -
Pressing & minor repairs. Steam or hand pressing depending on what service you select and the specific fabric of your dress, plus any minor repairs included in the price. -
Chest assembly. Your preservation chest is carefully hand-assembled with 100% acid-free archival materials and your personalization is added if selected (name, date, photo). -
Return shipment. Your finished wedding dress ships back to you fully insured via FedEx. You’ll receive an email with the tracking number when it leaves our facility so you know what date it will arrive.
Typical end-to-end time, from the day you order to the day your preserved dress arrives back home, is approximately 4–14 weeks depending on shipping distance, the season, services ordered, and whether any additional repairs were made. Restoration orders typically take longer (8–12 weeks). During peak wedding season (May through October) the queue can extend toward the longer end.
Frequently Asked About Tracking
Where do I find my serial number?
You can find your serial number in the upper right corner of the order form inside your shipping kit, and in the confirmation email we send once your dress is received. Serial numbers start with a two-letter prefix — DS or KP. Newer ones look like DS-12345678 (hyphen, 8 digits); older ones look like DS123456 (6 digits). Either format will work.
My dress just shipped — why isn’t it showing up yet?
There’s no need to be concerned if your dress isn’t showing up in the tracking system yet — this can be quite common during busy seasons. It can take 1 to 2 weeks for your dress to appear after it arrives, because every dress goes through a careful individual evaluation before being logged. Your FedEx tracking number is the most reliable confirmation — if it shows it’s been delivered, your dress is safely in queue at the facility.
It’s been “being processed” for weeks — is something wrong?
This is completely expected — “being processed” covers the entire hands-on stage of your dress’s care: cleaning, pressing, and assembling your preservation chest. Our tracking system shows two statuses: your dress has been received and is in process, or it has been shipped back to you with a FedEx tracking number. If you’re within the typical 4–8 week window, you can rest assured that everything is right on track. You’re always welcome to call the cleaning facility directly at (800) 305-3108, Monday–Friday 8:00 AM–4:00 PM ET to check on your dress at any time — there’s always someone available who will be happy to assist you.
Can I get email updates instead?
Yes — we automatically send an email when your dress arrives at the cleaning facility and again when it ships back to you with a FedEx tracking number. In between, you’re always welcome to call the cleaning facility directly at (800) 305-3108, Monday–Friday 8:00 AM–4:00 PM ET to check on your dress — there’s always someone available who will be happy to assist you.