Wedding dress preserved in shadow box?! possibly places to get it done in the Tampa bay area? Or diy?

Maybe a frame shop?

I'm getting married in the TB area too and looking for the same thing. One of my BMs got married about a year ago and she did it but I can't remember where she did it so i'll have to ask!

Yeah thinking I need to call around to frame shops, just know they will cost a lot ... So was thinking about DIY..

I used to do picture framing at AC Moore (mostly east coast competitor to Michael's, if you're unfamiliar with the name). I was the best at the shadowboxes, and we mostly did sports jerseys. But we also did doilies, tablecloths, signed t-shirts, christening gowns. Once I did a really cool one with a photo of a guy's classic Mustang and the Hot Wheels version mounted to it, and another time I did about twenty tiny shoe ornaments.

Keep in mind this will very costly, especially if you want quality work and preservation- grade materials. You should make sure your glass is UV coated, and the backing they use is acid-free and colorfast so nothing bleeds through if you intend the keep the dress preserved. Generally garments are sewn to their backing and heavier objects are wired/sewn. All preservation grade framing should be reversible. NO GLUES.

We never did a full wedding dress, but most full-size adult male sports jerseys ran $350/400 and up. The shadowbox needs to be very deep to accommodate the items you are preserving (anywhere from 3" and deeper). That limits your frame style selection. Occasionally a framer can do a stacked moulding, which places your preferred moulding style on top of a deep, plainer box so that you get the look you want as well as the depth you need.

I would recommend (based on my experiences in a retail frame shop) that you seek out a private shop. Something as valuable and important as your gown should be presented to the shop for measurements and style selection and design. You should never leave something that valuable in-house. In retail establishments, items are often framed off-site and shipped back completed. Or you run the risk of an unskilled person working on your piece.

I could go on for hours but I hope that advice helped! They truly are one of a kind pieces and are amazing ways to preserve special items instead of plopping them on a shelf.