Help Required on how to clean a wedding dress
 

My friend has decided to get married in her mother's wedding dress. The problem is that although the style is to her taste the dress is in need of a good clean. She was wondering if she could just put it in the washing machine, inside a pillowcase, on a wool wash. Personally I would prefer to recommend that it is dry cleaned, but I think her lack of money at the moment is a bit of an issue. The fabric of the dress is a heavy satin with some stretch lace at the boddice.

Have you kind ladies any suggestions?

There was a program on TV called How Clean Is Your House that said to use denture tablets to soak delicate fabrics and laces clean. Just roll in a towel after rinsing in clear water. I know it works on lace curtains just fine. No scrunching or scrubbing required.

Get it dry-cleaned! If she can afford the investment, it is the best thing to do....if something happens to it, the cleaner will have to fix or replace it...if she does it and ruins it, it's gone....

Definitely not a washing machine! Satin is a finish; whether or not it's washable depends on what fiber it is made from. Here is a website that gives some info about satin:
http://ask.metafilter.com/56639/How-to-wash-satin

Definitely dry clean. If she can't afford the money to dry clean the dress how in the world can she afford to get married?
Two do not live as cheaply as one; sometimes not even as cheaply as two times one.

I agree, save money elsewhere but have the dress professionally cleaned.