Wedding Gown Preservation in Metro Detroit
Entrust your most cherished memory to five generations of expert care.
Your wedding gown is more than just fabric; it’s the physical memory of the day your life changed. At Janet Davis Cleaners, we understand the meaning woven into each stitch. Since 1938, we have been Michigan’s trusted guardians of bridal heirlooms, offering our world-class MuseumCare™ preservation to ensure your most precious memory stays as flawless as the day you said “I do.”
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Preservation is more than a cleaning process-it is a scientific commitment to your gown’s future.
Unlike standard dry cleaning, MuseumCare™ Preservation is a specialized, multi-step treatment designed to stop the clock. We remove invisible “sugar” stains (from champagne or perspiration) that turn brown over time, then house your gown in a chemically inert, acid-free environment. It doesn’t just look clean today; it stays pristine for decades.
Janet Davis Cleaners has been performing wedding gown services for Detroit and all of Michigan since 1938. Our gown preservation process is similar to how museums store and care for their delicate clothing. Each gown is cared for individually. It will never be mixed with another gown or with regular dry cleaning. Once your gown is clean, we touch it only with white cotton gloves to keep anything from depositing on the gown. After the gown is clean, prior to boxing, we invite you to inspect your gown (we supply white cotton gloves for you so you may closely inspect the gown). Each gown is then packed in an acid-free chest, stuffed with acid-free tissue paper, and supported by an acid-free bust-form. When you come to pick up your gown, we provide you with instructions for the safest keeping of your wedding gown. Every gown preservation is given a written lifetime guarantee.
Who is This For?
The Modern Bride
You’ve just lived the best day of your life, and your gown shows it. Whether your wedding was at a historic Detroit venue or a lush lakeside estate, the clock is ticking. Between outdoor photos and invisible champagne spills during the toasts, your gown has faced more than you might see.
The Legacy Seeker
You aren’t just keeping a dress; you’re keeping a piece of history. If you envision a daughter, niece, or even a granddaughter one day wearing your lace or walking down the aisle with a piece of your gown sewn into hers, preservation is the only way to ensure the fabric remains strong and beautiful for decades to come.
The Thoughtful Giver
Looking for a gift that lasts longer than a toaster? Gown preservation is the “ultimate” wedding gift. It provides the bride with peace of mind and protects her largest wedding investment. (We can even provide a gift certificate to present at the bridal shower).
Association of Wedding Gown Specialists
proud partner Of
In celebration of your wedding,
we are planting a tree in a forest of great need.
Preserving Nature With Each Wedding Gown Preservation
As proud members of the Association of Wedding Specialists, we are dedicated to supporting the environment through eco-friendly projects. That’s why we’ve partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation and the ReforestationFund™ project. This movement plants a tree for every wedding gown our members preserve. Since its founding in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has been a leading nonprofit organization focused on improving our world through tree planting.
“Janet Davis Cleaners are miracle workers. Our son’s fiancé had her Mother’s wedding gown from the early 80’s and it was in rough shape with a large stain on the front skirt. They stated the wedding gown probably had never been cleaned and they would do their best. It took three months and the results were nothing short of a miracle. The large stain along with smaller stains were removed. Our son and his fiancé live out of town and when I sent photos they couldn’t believe how beautiful the dress looks. What really makes this extra special is the fact that our soon to be DIL’s Mother passed away several years ago and she wants to make pocket squares for her Dad, as well as her Mom’s father and brothers. We are grateful for the beautiful job Janet Davis Cleaners did to bring joy to our future DIL and her entire family. I highly recommend Janet Davis Cleaners.”
–Megan Petralia
Get your quote to clean & preserve your wedding gown!
Lifetime International Guarantee
We stand behind our preservation process. When you have your gown preserved with us, you’ll receive a written guarantee backed by members of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists (in 500 cities internationally). When your gown is ready to be worn, simply return it to us or any AWGS member. We will inspect and re-press your gown at NO CHARGE.
Our Process
See the steps we take to preserve your wedding gown beautifully.
Step 1: The Inspection
First, before we clean your wedding gown, we perform a close inspection. We check to ensure the care label in the gown applies to the gown (sometimes the care label inside your dress is wrong). We do this by testing a small, inconspicuous part of the gown to make sure the composition and materials of the gown match the label.
Next, we test several beads on the gown to ensure they won’t come off, get damaged, or damage your dress during the cleaning process.
Step 2: Preparation for cleaning
Based on the inspection results from the first step, we will select the best cleaning method (we have several cleaning methods, all on-site, to choose from) for your gown.
For certain methods, all of the bead work must be covered and any flowers and hoops may have to be removed. Any details that have to be removed are meticulously marked so that they may be properly replaced after cleaning.
Step 3: Pre-spotting Treatment
This is where the bulk of the work happens on your wedding dress. All of the dirty areas and spots are meticulously treated prior to cleaning. This step requires an intimate knowledge of fabrics and spot removal chemistry.
A dry cleaning technician will spend an unlimited amount of time on your dress, going over every inch. Not every spot and stain can come out, but no expense is spared in trying.
Step 4: The Cleaning Phase
This is where the magic of the preservation process occurs. In proper preservation, nothing is added to the dress. Instead, the dress is fully cleaned and given an anti-sugar treatment. If the dress isn’t cleaned properly, nothing you do after this step will allow for a proper wedding gown preservation. After your gown is clean, as part of our wedding gown preservation process, your gown is given the white-glove treatment to prevent anything from re-depositing on your wedding gown.
As part of our lifetime international guarantee, if your gown ever yellows, bring it back for re-cleaning at no extra charge.
Step 5: Steaming & Pressing
Your wedding gown will be pressed or steamed to prepare it for storage in the wedding gown preservation chest.
At any time, you may return your gown to us (or any Association of Wedding Gown Specialists member) for repressing for free (once).
Step 6: Inspect & Reassemble
Lastly, before we place your wedding gown into the preservation chest, we perform a close inspection to ensure all removable stains are gone. We re-attach any flowers or other details that had to be removed prior to cleaning (except for any hoops, they will be placed at the bottom of the preservation chest).
We invite you to view your gown at this point and approve all the work we have done before we place your wedding dress in the preservation chest.
The Final Step: Preservation Chest
Your gown is carefully packed into the correct size preservation fully acid-free (not just pH neutral) chest for your gown. Acid-free tissue paper is packed between the folds in your gown. An acid-free bust form is used to hold the shape of your wedding gown.
All of our wedding gown preservation chests have an acid-free window so that you may view your gown at any time. We also include a pair of white cotton gloves should you open the chest. When you pick up your wedding gown, we will provide you with a written warranty and instructions for the proper storage of your gown.
Before
After
Vintage Wedding Dress Transformation
Interested in seeing more comparisons like these? View featured Before & After images like this in our Wedding Dress Gallery.
What Makes Us Different
All Wedding Gowns are Cleaned & Preserved On-Site
The key to properly preserving your wedding gown is to ensure that all of the oils and sugars are removed from your gown. By cleaning and preserving your gown at our facility, you can trust the quality of your preservation.
We don’t ship any gowns out for outside processing – everything is done at our plant here in Berkley, Michigan.
Acid-Free Materials Used in Preservation Chest
We utilize only acid-free (not just pH neutral) materials that will touch your dress after it’s safely packed into the preservation chest. This includes an acid-free preservation chest, acid-free tissue paper, and an acid-free bust-form.
The difference because pH neutral and acid-free is that over time pH neutral materials can re-acidify due to contact with moisture.
Lifetime International Guarantee Through AWGS
One of the key benefits of choosing Janet Davis for your wedding gown preservation is the written guarantee supported by members of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, with experts in more than 500 cities worldwide. Whenever your gown is ready to be worn again, simply return it to us or to any AWGS member. We’ll carefully inspect and professionally re-press your gown at no charge.
You View Your Gown Prior To Entering Preservation Chest
Because we perform all of the work on your gown in our own facilities, we give you the option to look at your dress one last time after cleaning but before it’s placed into the preservation chest. Most places don’t allow you to do this, or worse, they can’t.
Environmentally Responsible Practices
For each gown preserved, we make a donation to carborfund.org to offset the carbon emissions generated by the entire cleaning and preservation process.
Experience You Can Trust
Family-owned and in business since 1938, you can trust Janet Davis Cleaners to safely clean and preserve your wedding dress. The owner, a fifth-generation dry cleaner, oversees the care of every gown to ensure the gown is cleaned to the best of our ability while also protecting the delicate items, such as beads, sequins, and flowers, from damage.
Invisible Stains Treated
As a part of our cleaning process, we treat invisible stains. These are sugar-based stains that are not immediately visible but will yellow with time. The process is similar to cutting open an apple. When you cut the apple open, it’s white. But if you leave it on the table for an hour and come back, it will be yellow. The process is much slower with wedding gowns, but the final result is the same. By treating these in advance and offering a lifetime guarantee, you don’t have to worry about invisible stains.
Inquire About Gown Preservation Services
Leave it to Janet Davis Cleaners to preserve your most cherished dress!
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the full ‘box up’ or ‘forever storage’ service include?
Our complete MuseumCare™ preservation service includes expert cleaning, professional pressing or steaming, and meticulous white-glove handling. The cleaned gown is placed in an acid-free, archival-quality preservation chest, backed by an international lifetime guarantee against yellowing and creases.
What kind of ‘storage box’ is used for keeping the dress safe ‘long-term’?
We use a high-quality, acid-free (not just pH neutral) archival chest specifically designed to protect textile heirlooms long- term. This special chest is key to our lifetime guarantee, ensuring your gown remains in pristine condition.
Is my wedding veil or accessories included in the service ‘price’ or ‘cost’?
Our preservation package includes the cleaning and steaming of one standard wedding veil at no additional charge. We will carefully inspect and preserve any detachable accessories, such as sleeves, alongside your gown.
How long does the full ‘preservation process’ typically take?
Typically, the process takes three months to allow for our multi-step cleaning and preservation standards. We provide an estimated completion date at drop-off, but we can often accelerate this timeline for emergencies. These expedited slots are limited and handled on a case-by-case basis—just let us know what you need!
Is there a ‘guarantee’ or ‘warranty’ against the gown yellowing over time?
Yes, we offer a lifetime guarantee against any yellowing or permanent creasing of the gown within the archival preservation chest. This guarantee is backed by the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists.
“We have used Janet Davis Cleaners for routine dry cleaning and also to preserve my wedding dress! They have always done a fantastic job and are so easy to work with.”
– Bailey A.