Your wedding dress is one of the most special pieces of clothing you will ever own or wear, so you probably spent ages looking for the perfect one. That being the case, you owe it to yourself to consider what you will do with your wedding dress after you say your “I dos.” Many brides opt to sell their wedding gowns or to donate them to a charity like Brides Against Breast Cancer. Many others, however, decide that their wedding gowns are treasures worth keeping and choose wedding gown preservation.

Preserving a wedding dress is the right choice for you if you want to hold onto your gown as a memento of one of the happiest days of your life. You may also choose wedding gown preservation if you hope one day to give your gown to a future daughter so that she can wear it at her wedding. There are, of course, many other reasons to hold onto a wedding dress, but no matter what drives you to preserve your gown, the steps you will need to take before and after your ceremony and reception are the same.

Save the Bag

Don’t toss the plastic bag your wedding dress came in unless you have bought an heirloom garment bag in the meantime. Preserving a wedding dress is easier when you have a way to protect the dress from the elements until you can get it to the preservationist.

Pick a Preservationist

Find a drycleaning professional that specializes in caring for formal clothing well before the wedding. Check with the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute International to find one locally. Ask how long they have been preserving wedding dresses and whether they use acid-free tissue paper and acetate viewing windows in their pH-neutral preservation boxes.

Don’t Wait

If you can’t bring your wedding gown to the preservationist ASAP after the wedding, have your maid-of-honor do it for you. Remember, preserving a wedding dress perfectly means alerting the preservationist to any stains (check inside the bodice), tears, loose stitches or embellishments, and pearls or rhinestones that are glued on, as opposed to sewn.

Store It Carefully

Once your wedding dress has been cleaned and boxed, place it in a cool, dry place where it won’t be exposed to extreme changes in temperature or direct sunlight. Having the box sealed is not necessary, and you should remove your wedding dress once a year to inspect and refold it along different lines to prevent the fabric from cracking. If you notice that new stains have developed, return it to your preservationist.

There are DIY wedding dress preservation kits on the market, but when it comes to something as close to your heart as your wedding gown, working with a professional is worth the money. How much money? Preserving a wedding dress typically costs between $200 and $400. After spending hours and hours searching for the perfect wedding dress, it shouldn’t hurt to spend a little money to have a perfect remembrance of the gown you wore on your special day.