It’s likely your wedding gown is going to be the most expensive dress you’ll ever own, so before you tie the knot, consider how to store your wedding dress to ensure its longevity.

Storing your wedding dress correctly means you can preserve its look and quality to share with children or even grandchildren one day. Alarna Hope, stylist and founder of The Effortless Bitch – a personal shopping and wardrobe makeover service – is all too familiar with the disappointment associated with a wedding dress that hasn’t been stored properly.

“I was helping a client go through her wardrobe and remove clutter when we got on to the topic of sentimental items that were taking up precious everyday wardrobe space. When I asked what was in a large floral box in her wardrobe, she looked at me excitedly and said: ‘That’s the dress my grandmother was married in.’ She went to show me the dress, but as she removed the lid and pushed the pink tissue paper aside, she gasped,’’ recalls Hope. ‘’Her dress was discolored from the tissue paper, and had moth holes in its gorgeous long skirt. I was heartbroken for her.”

When it comes to keeping your precious gown safe, these are seven steps Alarna Hope suggests you follow after the big day.

7 Steps to Storing Your Wedding Dress

Have your dress professionally cleaned, ensuring wine and oil-based stains are removed, and any sugar based stains are no longer present. Sugar based stains will leave brown patches on your dress over time, so the faster you can treat these stains, the better your dress will be preserved.

Purchase some acid-free tissue paper, muslin fabric, and an archival box from a specialist supplier. Storing your dress with acid free tissue paper will not dis-colour your dress, and storing your dress in an archival box will help keep moisture out. Using a regular box can change the colour of your dress and sometimes make it breakdown faster.

Make sure your hands are clean and dry when you store your dress. Line your archive box with your muslin fabric and then a layer of acid free tissue paper. Lay the middle of your dress over the box and let the excess fabric drape over the sides. Place more acid free tissue paper on the exposed fabric and gently fold the fabric over the paper.

If your dress is floor length, you will need to continue to gently fold any excess fabric over tissue paper. The aim is to not have a layer of fabric touching another layer. Always try to have your tissue paper between each layer.

So that the bust of your dress doesn’t lose shape, you’ll need to stuff the bust and sleeves and then cover the remaining parts of the dress in acid free tissue paper.

As an optional precautionary, you are able to put another thin layer of muslin fabric on top before closing the box. After closing the box, you may also want to store it in a large muslin dust bag.

Remember to store your dress in a cool and dark environment and check up on your dress every two years or so.