Hi, I noted the post about the gowns being preserved. My daughter had her reception at a local historic site. They took lots of pictures on the grounds. He was lovely but it rained the morning of the wedding. After the wedding her gown was soiled on the bottom at least a foot up all around with mud and grass. She was really upset. I carefull read the label and the gown while lovely and on sale for $800 plus another $100 in alterations and bustling, was made of polyester. I put it in my washing machine with a gentle detergent, cool water and the delicate cycle. It came out almost pristine. I hung it from the ceiling in my laundry room in the basement to dry. The bottom is slightly stained as the dirt in our area has a lot of iron in it that gives it a red look. I had read up on gowns etc. before the wedding because I had considered making hers. They mentioned in the research I did that the "preservation" thing was mostly a gimic and that the "preservers" often throw the gowns in a washing machine. No one believes I actually did that but I certainly wasn't going to store it with red mud all over the bottom. She bought a special box to store it and acid free tissue etc. With the synthetic fabrics we have now that probably wasn't even necessary.