Steaming, Satin and the Right Order to Dress: Wedding Gown Prep

Your gown is the most photographed thing you will ever wear, and the most delicate. A few small decisions in the days before the wedding decide whether it looks flawless in every frame or carries a crease, a water mark or a tan smudge that no amount of editing fully removes.

This is the gown-prep guide we give our brides. None of it is difficult. All of it is the kind of thing you only learn after you have seen it go wrong.

Steam the night before, never the morning of.

Creases from the garment bag need to fall out before the day, and steaming takes longer than people expect, especially on a full skirt, a train or layers of tulle. Doing it the night before means it is calm, unhurried, and there is time to deal with any stubborn area. Doing it on the morning means steam, heat and moisture in the same room as your hair and makeup, which helps nobody.

Hang the gown high the night before so the skirt and train hang clear of the floor, and let gravity do some of the work for you overnight.

The satin trap nobody warns you about.

If your gown is satin, read this part twice. Many satin gowns arrive with a starch or sizing finish from manufacture. That finish reacts badly to moisture. A single drop of water, a touch of steam held too close, a damp hand, can leave a ring or a water stain that will not lift with spot cleaning. Once it is there, the only fix is often a full, careful wash cycle, which is the last thing you want days before the wedding.

The safe approach for satin is to have it gently washed and properly steamed by a professional before the day, so the starch finish is removed and there is no longer anything to react. Talk to your dressmaker or a specialist bridal cleaner about this well in advance. It is a small job that prevents a heartbreaking problem.

The right order to get dressed.

There is an order to the final half hour, and it matters.

• Shoes on before the dress, wherever the gown allows it. Bending and reaching to fasten shoes once you are in a structured gown risks the fabric, your hair and your makeup all at once.
• Pre-lace a corset-back gown. Have the lacing set to roughly the right tension the night before, so on the morning it is a gentle tighten rather than a ten-minute job with three people and a lot of tugging.
• Finished face and hair come last, and the gown goes on without passing over your head. This is why the next point matters so much.

What you wear to get into it.

The top you wear while getting ready should button or zip down the front, never pull over your head. Once your hair and makeup are done, a pullover top is a disaster waiting to happen. A soft button-through shirt is the classic choice, and it photographs beautifully in the getting-ready images too.

Garment care is one part of a calm, photo-ready wedding morning. For the full picture, including detail shots, the getting-ready room and what not to wear, read our complete guide to preparing for your wedding morning. When you are ready to plan the beauty side of it, you can tell us about your day.