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January 18, 2021 In Associations & Awards, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Gown Preservation, Wedding Trends, Weddings

Treasured Garment Restoration Awarded WeddingWire Couples’ Choice 2021

Treasured Garment Restoration by St Croix Cleaners is honored to be one of the top vendors in Minneapolis on WeddingWire.

Minneapolis, January 18, 2021
Treasured Garment Restoration was announced as a winner of the 2021 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards®,
an accolade representing the top wedding professionals across the board in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism reviewed by couples on WeddingWire.

In 2020, the rise and spread of COVID-19 unfortunately impacted the wedding industry and the hundreds of thousands of small businesses who bring weddings to life every day. However, wedding vendors worldwide continued to guide their couples through wedding planning and the challenges of the global pandemic. In celebration of local wedding vendors nationwide and overseas, the 2021 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® recognizes the wedding professionals who excelled in supporting to-be-weds despite unprecedented challenges resulting from COVID-19.

To determine these distinguished wedding professionals, WeddingWire analyzed reviews across more than 20 service categories—from venues and caterers to florists and photographers—to find the most- and highest-rated vendors of the year. The winners exhibit superior professionalism, responsiveness, service and quality when interacting with the millions of couples who turn to WeddingWire to help with their wedding planning process each month.

Wedding professionals who win WeddingWire Couple’s Choice Awards® are members of WeddingPro, the leading B2B wedding brand. As the largest marketplace and community for wedding professionals, WeddingPro connects businesses with more than 13 million unique monthly visitors who are planning weddings on WeddingWire and The Knot, as well as with hundreds of thousands of pros in the industry. Through its online marketplaces, educational programs and community-building events, WeddingPro is dedicated to helping wedding professionals build relationships with couples and pros that grow their businesses.

CONTACT US TODAY BY EMAIL OR CALL 651-351-3951
We can’t wait to talk with you about the ways we can make your big day that much more special!

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About Treasured Garment Restoration

Treasured Garment Restoration was created in 2008 as a specialty division of St Croix Cleaners. We specialize in Cleaning, Restoring, Preserving & Wedding Gown Alterations. We thrive on exceeding customer’s expectations of the toughest clothing restoration challenges. We are passionate about the care we give to you and your garments! Visit Treasured Garment Restoration online at Facebook.com/TreasuredGarmentRestoration.

About WeddingWire

WeddingWire is a trusted online marketplace, connecting couples with local wedding professionals and a suite of comprehensive tools that make wedding planning easier. Operating within a $250 billion global industry, WeddingWire helps millions of couples every month find the right team of wedding professionals to personalize and pull off their special day. Couples around the world can read millions of vendor reviews and search, compare and book from a directory of hundreds of thousands of vendors local to them. Visit WeddingWire online at WeddingWire.com and follow on social media: Facebook.com/WeddingWire and @WeddingWire on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

January 13, 2021 In Wedding Attire, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Trends

The Top Wedding Dress Trends of 2021

The 2020 year was rough for most people, for many reasons, and, Brides were no exception. Planning a wedding is no small undertaking. Some couples take anywhere from 10 months to 2 years constructing and finalizing all the details for the big day, so, undoubtedly, forced cancellation and postponement was heartbreaking.

A recent survey by The Knot among U.S. couples who originally planned their weddings for March through August 2020 found that 52% pushed their celebrations to a later date in the year, while 33% rescheduled to 2021 and 14% are still unsure of a new wedding date.

But guess what!? We made it! The much-anticipated year of 2021 has finally arrived! From weddings that were rescheduled to 2021 and ones originally planned for 2021 to the brand new Brides that are just beginning to plan – it’s starting to get back on track and not a moment too soon!

So, let’s dive in and help you get those creative juices flowing as we reveal the most talked about wedding fashion for 2021!

Brave & Bold

This year is all about bolder wedding fashion. Brides are feeling braver than ever with their choices and free to really express themselves on their wedding day. Many are making their statement with ball gowns, exaggerated sleeves, layers of textures, romantic ruffles, edgy jumpsuits and capes!

Top 10 Wedding Dress Trends

Short Dresses
Cape Veils
Romantic Ruffles
Crepe Dresses
Bishop Sleeves
Subtle Sparkle
Wedding Jumpsuit
Square Neckline
Slip Dress
Layered Skirts

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: The Knot

Kathryn Wen told Fashionista.com, “Brides are expressing themselves through more adventurous, seize-the-day approaches: “We have a lot more interest in color. Still the light blue, gray and blush ranges, but we’ve had people who’ve done mustard or burgundy. A little bit ‘out there’ colors.”

Personal Style & Versatility

Lace, bows, feathers, beading, sequins, pleats, rhinestones, and pearls – OH MY!
Embellishments are dominating this year and should not be overlooked!
Here’s a couple reasons why –

It’s the small details that will take a wedding dress you love to the next level and transform it into something that’s unique and personal to you.
Don’t stop at the dress… Embellishments can be added to veils, capes and shawls, matching couples’ jackets, and on the newly-trending hair accessory: barrettes and combs.
Brides want the option to switch up their looks – overskirts, capes and embellished top layers are more popular than ever.

In an effort to have a more sustainable dress, we are seeing Brides even design their own wedding gown or transforming an old one into the dress of their dreams! The possibilities are truly endless.

In fact, Treasured Garment Restoration specializes in bringing Vintage Wedding Gowns back to life. We clean and restore vintage wedding gowns, and work with you to add your own modern twist and match the dress to your unique style!

Check out this video: Twin Cities Live interviews Monica Zaun, one of our Alterations Specialists and features THREE of her most recent wedding gown rebuilds.

CONTACT US TODAY BY EMAIL OR CALL 651-351-3951
We can’t wait to talk with you about the ways we can make your big day that much more special!

Treasured Garment Restoration is nationally recognized for Wedding Gown Cleaning & Preservation, has an Award-Winning Bridal Alterations staff with 3 different locations around the Twin Cities’ metro area, and, is your Minneapolis-St Paul ‘go-to’ source for Wedding inspiration!

November 23, 2020 In Featured, General, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Gown Preservation, Weddings

TREASURED GARMENT RESTORATION INDUCTED INTO THE KNOT HALL OF FAME

9th Annual Hall of Fame Awards Honor the Top Wedding Vendors Across America

Treasured Garment Restoration is pleased to announce that we have been inducted into The Knot Best of Weddings Hall of Fame from The Knot, a leading wedding planning and registry brand and app. Exceptional wedding professionals who have earned four or more of The Knot Best of Weddings awards are inducted into the prestigious The Knot Best of Weddings Hall of Fame.

Despite COVID-19 interrupting many 2020 weddings and social events, wedding professionals around the nation continued to support to-be-weds throughout their wedding planning journeys. From adjusting future schedules to make way for postponed weddings, to helping couples host socially distanced weddings following state and local guidelines and restrictions with an increased focus on health and safety, wedding pros—and the industry as a whole—rallied together in 2020, ultimately helping couples continue to celebrate life and love. The Knot 2021 Best of Weddings recognition honors the vendors who went above and beyond to help to-be-weds navigate the global pandemic.

In its fifteenth annual year, The Knot continues its long-standing tradition of supporting local wedding vendors with The Knot Best of Weddings 2021, an annual by-couples, for-couples guide to the top wedding professionals across the country. To determine the winners, The Knot analyzed its millions of user reviews across various vendor categories—including venues, musicians, florists, photographers, caterers and more—to find the highest rated vendors of the year. These winners represent the best of the best wedding professionals that engaged couples should consider booking for their own unique weddings.

This year, The Knot Best of Weddings winners represent the top five percent of local wedding vendors listed on The Knot. There were 1,422 new inductees into The Knot Best of Weddings Hall of Fame for 2021, out of hundreds of thousands of local vendors featured on The Knot.

The Knot has inspired 25 million couples (and counting!) to plan a wedding that’s uniquely theirs. With a rich history of providing high-quality content and inspiration, The Knot makes it easy for couples to connect with and book just the right wedding professionals to create their perfect wedding day. On The Knot Marketplace, couples can connect with any of the hundreds of thousands of local wedding professionals across the country. The Knot Best of Weddings gives couples the confidence to find and book the best local vendors to bring their wedding visions to life. In combination with years of trusted content, The Knot’s innovative technology simplifies wedding planning, inspiring couples to plan a wedding unique to their love story and personalities.

Wedding professionals who win The Knot Best of Weddings are members of WeddingPro, the leading B2B wedding brand. As the largest marketplace and community for wedding professionals, WeddingPro connects businesses with more than 13 million unique monthly visitors who are planning weddings on The Knot and WeddingWire, as well as with hundreds of thousands of pros in the industry. Through its online marketplaces, educational programs and community-building events, WeddingPro is dedicated to helping wedding professionals build relationships with couples and pros that grow their businesses.

For more information about The Knot Best of Weddings and this year’s winners, please visit https://www.theknot.com/vendors/best-of-weddings.

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About Treasured Garment Restoration

About The Knot

The Knot is one of the nation’s leading multiplatform wedding resources offering a seamless, all-in-one planning experience—from finding inspiration and local vendors to creating and managing all guest experiences, wedding registries and more. The trusted brand reaches a majority of engaged couples in the US through the #1 iOS and Android mobile app The Knot Wedding Planner, the #1 wedding planning website TheKnot.com, The Knot national and local wedding magazines, and The Knot book series. Since its inception, The Knot has inspired approximately 25 million couples to plan a wedding that’s uniquely them. Visit The Knot online at Facebook.com/TheKnot and @TheKnot on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

November 11, 2020 In Vintage Restoration

TGR Original: Honoring All Who Served!

We have been so honored over the years to clean, restore and preserve some amazing vintage military uniforms. Here are just a few:

Mary Larson – 1940’s Navy Uniform:

Above you can see the before and after photos of her military uniform. She also provided us with a photo of her during her service. She was featured on Fox9 last spring for her service to our country. You can watch the segment here.

Vintage Hat

You can see the before and after of this hat. It was hand cleaned and it was required to use several different cleaning processes as there were different textures and fabrics making up this hat.

WWII Bomber Jacket

Above, the jacket was half-cleaned using our expert cleaning techniques. Next to it is the finished jacket, on display in it’s preservation box.

Korean War Uniform – Cleaned & Preserved:

WWII Veteran Uniform in Preservation Box:

Thank you to all those who serve!

May 3, 2020 In Wedding Tips, Weddings

Look Your Best For That Fall Wedding

Wedding season is in full swing, and that means you’ll find yourself attending at least one nuptial celebration soon if you haven’t already! Here at Treasured Garment Restoration, we know first hand how stressful it can be making sure you look your best for such an occasion, so we thought we’d give you a few tips.

Get Your Item Cleaned and Pressed

First things first: make sure your clothing is cleaned and pressed properly before you pack. If you’ve dropped your items off with our sister company, St Croix Cleaners for dry cleaning, they can even fold your dress shirts for you!

How to Dress for a Wedding

Pay attention to the invitation! Semi-formal does not mean business casual, nor is it a license to dress sloppy. Men, make sure you have a nice, well-fitting suit for the occasion while women should be sure to have a dressy, short or long dress. Also, avoid white; that’s the bride’s color!

How to Fold a Suit Jacket for Easy Packing

Here’s a neat tip for traveling men! The method itself is pretty easy, but it’ll take a few tries to master. You want to pop one of the shoulders inside out while holding the suit jacket upright, and fold the outside of the jacket into itself, almost inside out. For a step-by-step with photos to help you along, follow this link over to the Black Lapel style blog.

Keep your Dress Wrinkle Free

For the least amount of worry, using a garment bag is going to be your best bet. If you’ve had your dress dry cleaned (hopefully with us!) we recommend keeping your dress in the dry cleaning bag while traveling as this will help prevent wrinkles. Once you get to your destination, take the dress out, and hang up. If it has some wrinkles, hang on a hook in the bathroom while you take a shower—the steam will relax most wrinkles. Also, for any stubborn wrinkles—you can use a hairdryer (on hot) on the reverse side of the fabric to relax them even more! A normal size garment bag should be able to hold 2 to 3 dresses, meaning you’ll be set no matter what the circumstances.

Finally…

Don’t forget about St Croix Cleaners’ same day service, which is available at a number of our locations for any last-minute garments you need to be cleaned!

May 3, 2020 In Specialty Cleaning & Couture, Wedding Dresses

“Trash the Dress” Photoshoots

It’s becoming a lot more popular – a fun photoshoot in a lake, on the beach, in the leaves, in a grungy warehouse while wearing your wedding dress! Treasured Garment Restoration, a division of St Croix Cleaners, offers cleaning and preservation of wedding gowns after the wedding. We also encourage women to have fun and take a relaxed photoshoot to “Rock the Dress” or “Trash the Dress” before bringing it to us for cleaning and preserving. However, there are limits to what we can fix and preserve – so be careful to decide whether you’d really like to “Trash” your dress in the lake or not… Read More.

February 17, 2020 In Associations & Awards, Weddings

Award-Winning Cleaning, Preservation and Alterations

A wedding may only last a day but the memories and heirlooms last a lifetime, and sometimes even generations to come. That’s why Treasured Garment Restoration handles each dress individually with care- and why couples are raving about our services.

Treasured Garment Restoration just won The Knot Best Of Weddings 2020. The award represents “the highest-and most-rated wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples.” Only five-percent of wedding professionals received this award in 2020 and we’re honored that couples chose us! When we preserve a wedding dress it’s cleaned individually, treated with an anti-sugar rinse to get rid of any invisible stains that could appear after time and wrapped in acid-free tissue paper and box, guaranteed to last a lifetime.

With the purchasing of sample gowns on the rise, we also clean and press wedding gowns before they go down the aisle. We’ll clean the gown to make it look like new again and steam press it so it looks effortlessly stunning on the bride. Another wedding planning site, WeddingWire, recently rewarded us the Couples’ Choice Award for 2020, recognizing our commitment to quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. Whether it’s before or after a wedding, we handle gowns with the upmost care.

Treasured Garment Restoration also has an award-winning alterations department. We recently received the Mpls St Paul Weddings coveted 2019 Diamond Award for Best Bridal Alterations.

One judge for the magazine said “The manner in which they can completely transform old-fashioned gowns into modern creations is astounding.”

Our alterations department can alter any hem all the way to designing a dress from scratch. We can reconstruct a family member’s old wedding dress into an updated style or use parts of an old dress to incorporate it into your modern gown.

Treasured Garment Restoration is proud to be recognized for its attention to detail and specialty alterations, cleaning and preservation services. To learn more visit TreasuredGarment.com.

December 16, 2019 In Featured, General, Vintage, Wedding Gown Preservation, Weddings

TGR Original: Rachel’s One of a Kind Wedding

Rachel had a vintage wedding veil she wanted to incorporate into her wedding day, but it was yellow and over 100 years old. While Rachel planned her fun, unique wedding she trusted her vintage veil to the Certified Wedding Gown Specialists at Treasured Garment Restoration. Read more about Rachel’s wedding journey below!

When was your wedding and where did it take place?
We got married September 1, 2019 at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St Paul. It was a Pokémon-themed wedding!

How did you decide to get your dress made and by whom?
I hate waste, so the idea of a traditional wedding dress that costs thousands of dollars to be worn once, then put in a box, never to see the light of day again is abhorrent to me. Instead, my partner and I decided to get “gijinka” cosplay outfits made of our favorite Pokémon. That way, we can wear our suit & dress to nerd conventions for many years to come. I approached Snow Cosplays specifically because I’ve admired her work at CONvergence. Both the seamstress and her wife are plus-size cosplayers, and Jessica frequently turns various intellectual properties into dresses: BriChibi Cosplay has been seen in Wonder Woman, Mario, and Buzz Lightyear ballgowns; to name a few. So, when I decided turn a Pokémon into a plus-sized wedding gown, she was the obvious choice. (My partner’s suit was made by KMK Designs.)

What is your absolute favorite memory from your wedding day?
Most of my good memories are from the party. We designed a badge game, like how you have to earn gym badges in a main series Pokémon game, for people to go around and enjoy the whole party. If you earned eight badges, then you could request a kiss or something else from us (instead of clinking glasses). Everyone got really into it, and we ran out of several of the badges. I’m also very proud of how the centerpieces looked. We spent a lot of time on those.

Why did you decide to get your antique veil restored?
My veil was my great-great-grandmother’s and it survived the Holocaust. In an era of US politics where antisemitism is at a peak, it’s so important to me to display pride and take joy in my heritage. When my great-aunt told me she had this veil, there was no question of whether or not I’d wear it. Of course I was going to wear it. I didn’t intend to get the veil “restored,” per se, as Aunt Ruthie was very insistent that I shouldn’t do anything to it – I just wanted it clean, since it had a few stains on it. But I guess a cleaning isn’t that simple for a 100+ year-old heirloom! The veil underwent a beautiful vintage restoration.

Why did you bring your wedding veil to Treasured Garment Restoration?

I use St. Croix Cleaners’ delivery service for dry cleaning for my dry-cleaning, and I’d seen ads for TGR in my inbox and on their website. Since you’ve taken such good care of my modern clothes, I figured you’d do just as nicely with my heirloom.

Treasured Garment Restoration is a nationally recognized member of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists. This means we clean each bridal gown and garment individually with care. Learn more about wedding gown cleaning and preservation options at TreasuredGarmentRestoration.com.

Photography Credit : Luke Nygaard, Nygaard Photography

October 6, 2019 In Wedding Dress ReDesign

Steps to Re-designing a Vintage Gown

This is such a popular topic these days, that we’re re-blogging this post from earlier this year. Heres our “8 Steps to Re-designing a Vintage Gown.”

So you’ve received the heirloom wedding dress from your mother and have thought about wearing it. But wait.. it doesn’t fit! Or perhaps the style is just a bit out-of-date for your liking? Don’t completely turn down the dress yet – you might still be able to wear it, and make it your own!

Many brides these days are turning to vintage wedding dresses from their mother or grandmother. It’s become a big trend over the last few years, and only continues to increase! Think about it – wearing a special gown that embodies the strength, wisdom and compassion of the women in your family down the aisle on one of the biggest days of your life. But where do you even start if this is something you just *might* be thinking about?

We’ve put together 8 Simple Steps to Redesigning Your Mother’s Vintage Dress to give you a better idea of what the process looks like! The entire process can vary in the time it will take to fully complete your dress, and really depends on the amount of changes you are wanting to make, but it’s a good idea to start around 9-12 months out.

1. Is There a Possibility?

The first step is to bring the vintage gown to us so that we can determine whether there is even a possibility for you to redesign and wear it! We’ll examine the fabric, beading, lace, examine any stains, and how it has been handled and preserved through the years (ie, was it placed in a box, or in a pile on the floor of a closet?). Depending on the gown’s age, we may need to work with our vintage restoration department to clean and restore it before working with it. Sometimes the entire gown can be worn, other times, only parts of the gown or certain fabrics are able to be used for your gown.

2. Let Our Designer Get to Know YOU!

Darcy, our Wedding Gown Designer, would love to learn more about you, your likes, dislikes, things you are drawn to so that she can get a better idea of what you might like. This step usually includes sending Darcy pictures of other dresses you like – whether it’s parts of a dress (ie. the neckline, or a certain type of beading). It can also help to share a Pinterest board with Darcy and some of your overall ideas for the wedding, pictures of architecture or places, or any beautiful images that you really feel drawn to! Darcy is then able to draw a few sketches and come up with some ideas for transforming the gown into something you would love.

3. Meeting #1 – Talk Design and Take Measurements

Next, you’ll set up a second meeting with Darcy to see what she has come up with. She’ll usually have a few ideas and options for how she thinks you would love the gown to look. You can then edit the designs from there and talk more about your preferences. During this meeting, Darcy will take your measurements as well.

4. Show Actual Changes on the Vintage Dress

Once the final design is agreed upon, Darcy will use your measurements to mark up the vintage dress to show where changes will be made. This could include safety pins, bits of fabric, or ribbon to show the changes. At this time, the dress will be altered a little to fit your earlier measurements – this could mean the dress might get cut in certain areas, but not always.

5. Meeting #2 – First Fitting

You’ll set up another meeting with Darcy to come in and see the dress as it is marked up. You will try on the dress to make sure the measurements are accurate and that everything is lined up in the correct locations. This is the moment when you can begin to really visualize and see the dress becoming YOUR dress!

6. Sewing

This is where Darcy begins to sew your gown – to place lace or fabric in different places and to fit the dress perfect for you. Throughout this period, she may be in contact with you for minor tweaks or other measurements. This is your dress, and you want it to be fabulous!

7. Final Fitting

At your final meeting with Darcy, you get to see the final result! You are able to try on your dress, make sure it fits, and to show it off to all your best girlfriends! If there are any minor tweaks to be made, we make sure to leave a little time to complete them.

8. It’s Wedding Time!

Once your gown is complete, we press it to perfection, and give it to you for your big day! You are going to look beautiful!

July 10, 2019 In Cleaning, Wedding Dresses, Weddings

TGR Original: Angela’s Wedding Gown Journey

They say rain on your wedding day means good luck in your marriage, and Angela certainly had that. Her sparkly gown was going to shine no matter what! With rain outside and dancing the night away, Angela needed to clean her gorgeous dress after her Arkansas wedding and make it look brand new again. See why she chose Treasured Garment Restoration to clean her Cinderella gown!

When was your wedding and where did it take place?

My wedding took place at Thorncrown Chapel. It’s located in a tiny historic town in the Ozark mountains called Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

When did you know that your wedding dress was “the one?”

I knew that my wedding dress was “the one” after going to a few shops without any excitement. It was the 4th shop and the second to last dress I put on. The style of the dress has wider straps and a beautiful cut on top. I chose this style because it looked antique to me and would fit the venue perfectly. It also was shimmering with sparkly sequins. I felt like Cinderella! I absolutely love sparkly things and the dress was so easy and comfortable to move around in and I could twirl and dance around the shop with ease! It was definitely unique from the other dresses I tried on. To top it off I got half off the price because it was the only one on the rack and it happened to be my size! So it was meant to be!

What is your absolute favorite memory from your wedding day?

My favorite memory from my wedding was taking all of my guests on a ghost tour of the Crescent Hotel “America’s most haunted hotel” where our reception took place. Everyone had so much fun and learned a lot of history behind the historic town and hotel. Our reception was very memorable as well because we had so much uninhibited fun dancing the night away at a club in downtown Eureka Springs called Eureka Live.

Why did you decide to get your wedding dress cleaned?

I decided to get my wedding dress cleaned and repaired because I want it to look like it did when I first put it on, in the hopes of giving it to another bride to be or maybe keeping it for a special someone someday- maybe my daughter!

Why did you bring your wedding dress to Treasured Garment Restoration?

I brought my wedding dress to Treasured Garment Restoration because it was recommended to me by the staff at St. Croix Cleaners. I saw amazing reviews online and knew I wanted to take it to the best! The employees I encountered were all so helpful and they had impeccable customer service!

Treasured Garment Restoration is a nationally recognized member of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists. This means we clean each bridal gown individually with care. Learn more about wedding gown cleaning and preservation options at www.TreasuredGarmentRestoration.com.

*Photos by Ashley Kimbrough Photography