What To Do with Your Wedding Dress After the Wedding

The wedding is over and marriage has officially commenced. As you finish paying off the wedding credit cards, unpack from the honeymoon, find places for the wedding gifts, and start the thank you cards, there's a lingering thought in the back of your mind: what should you do with that beautiful, expensive gown hanging around the house?

You had such an authentic, real-life connection with your wedding gown. It sparked feelings of butterflies, excitement and genuine beauty when you wore it. To put it away in the closet amongst your every day clothes seems almost sacrilegious. Something that was that connected to one of the happiest days in your life deserves special treatment! Not to mention, this is probably one of the most expensive garments you will ever wear in your life!

Preserve It

This is the traditional route that many brides choose. Many dry cleaning companies offer dress preservation services to clean and press your wedding dress. They take care of stains and soil. After it's pressed, it will be stored in a special box that protects it from damaging elements like air, sunlight, moisture and bugs. There are also preservation specialists that literally specialize in cleaning and storing wedding gowns. If you choose the preservation route, take it in ASAP. Otherwise, the stains will set in.

When you preserve your wedding dress, you have a lot of other options, like handing it down to a daughter or wearing it to renew your wedding vows some day. If you're not sure what you want to do with your wedding dress, preserve it. You can always make the decision later, but it improves your options when your gown is in mint condition.

Donate It

Be realistic with yourself. Will you wear your wedding dress ever again? Probably not, unless it's for a special occasion. Why not take something that was meaningful to you and make a meaningful gesture out of it? Several charities exist to provide free or discounted wedding dresses to brides who are unable to afford one. Brides Across America give free dresses to military brides who cannot afford one. Brides Against Breast Cancer take the donated gown sales and use it to fund services for breast cancer patients. Look for a local charity or one that supports a cause close to your heart!

Sell It

Looking to get some of your money back from your wedding dress? Lots of brides re-sell their gown. Consignment shops are an option, but generally, they take a percentage of the sale. Online businesses are also getting in on this. Ebay and Craigslist are popular, but several websites have emerged that specialize in wedding dresses alone. Preownedweddingdresses.com and sellmyweddingdress.org are amongst the most popular. Both charge a fee for listing the dress on their site. Tradesy is also well known and they do not charge a listing fee on their site. However, they do charge a nine percent commission fee. Be sure to read all of the rules and regulations for each site as they vary.

Trash It

Surely you have seen the awesome photos that have emerged from Trash-the-Dress photo shoots! We've seen couples who make a day out of getting in their wedding attire, heading to a beach or even a paintball park and getting messy! Hire a photographer who has experience doing a shoot of this nature and get creative with it. Do you love horses? Wear your dress horseback riding. Are you into ATV's? Get dolled up in your wedding dress and head to a mud pit. Did your husband propose on Lake Michigan? Grab a photographer who can take some underwater shots of you guys! The sky's the limit with this creative and fun idea.

Frame It

If you have a large home and you have the appropriate wall space for it, frame your dress! The other option is to take pieces of the veil and gown fabric and create a shadow box filled with wedding memories. You can also include your wedding invites, dried flowers from your bouquet, photos, and whatever else holds meaning to you.

Re-purpose It

With this idea, I am giving you permission to cut up your wedding dress. It sounds ludicrous but think of all the things you can use the fabric for! Use fabric pieces for a baby's baptism dress. Use it for the fabric around a future bride's bouquet or her garter. You can find several creative ideas to pass your dress on to daughters, nieces, and other loved ones. It's the perfect way to have your dress be a part of their wedding without making them feel obligated to actually wear it! You can even take your wedding dress and have it sewn into lingerie!