Today is National Tailors Day! In celebration, we’re sharing this post from our archives and sending out gratitude to the outstanding professionals who care for such important garments, ensuring we look and feel our best in our wedding attire. If you’re looking for wedding dress alterations or a Santa Barbara tailor to pull your look together, you’re in great hands with these A-List Members.

For most brides, finding that perfect wedding gown is exciting and one of the most significant and meaningful parts of their big day. And luckily, Santa Barbara is full of incredible boutiques and shops ready to help each bride-to-be find her dream dress - including one of the city’s best, Ana Maria’s Bridal Boutique, serving Santa Barbara since 1988.

After trying on dress after dress and finally landing on the one, it’s critical to only trust the experts with the cleaning and care of your wedding day treasure both before the big day and for years to come. In Santa Barbara, Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners & Tailors are the specialists for the job.

With 32 years of experience, Ablitt’s knows what a wedding gown means to the bride. They handle hundreds of dresses every year from vintage gowns to the latest trends from the most well-respected designers including Vera Wang and Monique Lhuillier, and treat each with the same level of special care and attention.

Ablitt’s has developed unmatched cleaning expertise and their entire staff even goes through training twice a year to stay up to date on the latest cleaning methods and newest fabrics. They truly are the Santa Barbara wedding dress specialiats and can help you with each of the stages in the process.

Photo 1: Elizabeth Victoria Photography | Photo 2: Joanna Fisher Photography

Before Your Walk Down the Aisle

Ablitt’s can both hand clean and press your wedding gown to perfection in preparation for the big day. The Certified Wedding Gown Specialist™ only cleans gowns with gentle chemicals designed to handle all kinds of stains and uses a pure solvent to rinse each dress before it is ready to be pressed.

To keep your dress pristine and wrinkle free during transportation, Ablitt’s prepares each in a bodice form and with tissue. They will also pick up or deliver your dress free of charge.

Photo by Waller Weddings

After The Wedding Day

Let’s be honest - spills can happen on your wedding day despite your best efforts. Champagne, cake, makeup, even ink could somehow make its way onto your bright white gown. With museum-quality practices, Ablitt’s ensures all stains, both visible and invisible, are tackled - especially sugar-based stains which are not removed during normal dry cleaning and could turn dark brown if not quickly addressed.

Photo by Ann Marie Studios

Wedding Gown Preservation

Whether you plan to save your wedding dress for a loved one down the road or want to cherish it as a memory for years to come, its preservation must be handled with extreme care and attention to detail. Ablitt’s allows you to examine your gown before it is protected with tissue and delicately folded into an acid-free, archival-quality wedding chest guarded from light and air exposure.

Then, when you want to bring your dress out again, one of Ablitt’s members in more than 500 cities around the world will inspect and press it for you, free of charge.

Photo 1: Sun & Sparrow Photography | Photo 2: Jose Villa Photography