Your wedding dress is likely the most expensive piece of clothing you’ll ever buy. It is what you obsess over for months as you hunt for the perfect one. It is what you strive to fit into as you work on losing just 5 more pounds. It is often joked that the dress is harder to commit to than the man. But, once you’ve found “the one” you have your moment and cry as you envision yourself walking down the aisle. You finally feel like a bride. Then you wear it on that special day, say your I do’s and head off on your honey moon. Now what? Is the dress still hanging in your closet? What do you do with it after the wedding? It basically comes down to two options — preserve or sell.
Preserve: Your wedding gown holds a lot of sentimental value. It is a major symbol of your wedding. Maybe your daughter will want to wear it one day. If these statements ring true to you, that preserving is the way to go. There are several companies that will clean and properly store your dress. Be sure to do your homework though — you’ll want to see how ling they’ve been in business, get an estimate with shipping and other hidden costs included, know what kind of guarantee they offer, etc.
Sell: I spent $x and only wore the dress for 5 hours. It’s in great condition and worth a lot. Someone would be very happy to have this dress, why do I need it? If this sounds like you, you should consider selling your dress. You won’t get what you paid, but some kind of return is better than none and it’s always nice to have some extra cash as a newlywed. Be sure to take some great photos and properly spec out the dress. As true of anything, beware of scammers and do some research here as well.
Vendors who have it figured out:
Wedding Gown Preservation Co.
Recycled Bride
Once Wed
My Wedding is Over
What will you/did you do with your dress? Please post your opinion below.
Photo credit: Images by Frost
What about Trashing the dress?
As soon as I finished this post I thought someone is sure to bring up trashing the dress. I am kind of a traditionalist and couldn’t stand to be the one destroying a wedding memory. It is definitely a growing trend though. It is kind of a symbolic way to show you will never need the dress again because the marriage will last forever and a fun way to get some really cool photos. What did you do with yours?
Mine is still hanging in the closet at mom and dad’s house. I’m probably not going to keep it. Maybe we’ll do a TTD for our 1 year. I’m just not a fan of keeping stuff around that doesn’t get used. I’m not much of a sentimentalist.
What a great write up, Thank you.
I am sure anyone who has had, or who has been in a wedding knows how much money is spent, but not many are sure on the actual savings that can be made long after (and now…way in advance). Millions of potential buyers around the world are searching for those great deals that you can now offer to them. MyWeddingIsOver.com is here to help on both ends, to help you recoup money spent, while helping another bride-to-be find deals that will enable her to have a dream day at a price she can afford.
Again, thank you for including MyWeddingIsOver… I’m sure I speak for the other websites listed above when I say we are here to help.
Benito-
I plan to have my dress commissioned into a beautiful piece of art. I had Jessica Mandala at http://www.weddingdresspaintings.com, create a beautiful painting of my best friends wedding dress. It was amazing and had the couples name and wedding date under the dress. It was such a great gift and now the dress is always on display. So cool!
I love the brushwork on that painting Emily. Very cool idea.
Wow, Emily – that is pretty awesome!
I myself thought of trashing the dress as I was reading the post and am glad to see others are bringing up and embracing the idea. Hakim Sons Films produced an underwater trash the dress film as a promotional piece for a great photographer and friend Josh Rodriguez. Take a look at http://www.hakimsonsfilms.com/blog/josh-trash-the-dress-underwater.
Everyone had such a great time doing this, especially the couple! Not only do they have exquisite photographs from the shoot, but they have a film to relive the experience of the memories created during the process. I think more brides should consider a Trash the Dress Film… the possibilities are infinite!
What a fantastic piece — thanks for sharing! The bride and groom look like they had a great time
Don’t forget about donating! There are plenty of charities that will take your wedding dress and use it to do good. Or you could donate it privately through a school, religious institution, club, or other group to a bride who can’t afford a wedding dress of her own.
Another great idea – thanks Christa! Brides Against Breast Cancer is a wonderful program to donate to. Take a look http://bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/#donategown
A friend of mine saved her wedding dress. After she had her first baby girl, she had a seamstress turn the wedding dress into a christening outfit for her baby. She still has material left over that she plans to have made into a first communion dress.
That’s really sweet. How special for the child. Love!
I in addition to my pals came examining the best thoughts located on your website then the sudden developed a horrible feeling I never expressed respect to the site owner for those tips. All the people had been as a consequence joyful to learn them and have now very much been enjoying them. Thanks for actually being so accommodating as well as for picking these kinds of cool topics millions of individuals are really desperate to discover. My personal honest apologies for not saying thanks to you earlier.
I was curious about your upcoming put up admin truly required this web site super wonderful blog site
hey admin thanks for fantastic and uncomplicated understandable article i adored your webpage site truly very much bookmarked also
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
Fantastic put up admin thank you. I observed what i used to be seeking here. I will review complete of posts within this day