The Dress Search Concludes
September 10th, 2008 @ 1:15 pm by Mrs. Pinot Noir
First I tried to rent my wedding dress, and then I looked for a used wedding dress. I was getting a little discouraged, and I began dreading the dress hunt. I had gone back to Minnesota for Christmas and it was the first time I had seen my family since our engagement. I wanted to have the experience of dress shopping with my mom, so we made an appointment at David’s Bridal for the day after Christmas.
I didn’t expect to find my dress there, but things like that usually happen when we least expect them. I tried on several dresses, and the third dress that I tried on was perfect. It was everything that I had imagined, and it fit me perfectly. I had found my dress—and it was about as un-ecofriendly as you can get. Instead, it was a brand-new, mass produced dress from a chain store. But, I really loved the dress and I didn’t think that I was going to have the patience to keep looking. So we bought it. I had found my dress!
[Source]
I won’t be posting any pictures of the dress until after the wedding. Mr. PN is a daily reader of Weddingbee, and we’ve both agreed that we don’t want to take any chances that he stumbles upon it (accidental or otherwise). In fact, he is so adamant about not seeing me in the gown before the wedding that he won’t even let me store it in the apartment. He is afraid that it will jump out of the closet and magically appear on my body. Luckily, my seamstress has graciously agreed to keep it in her studio until right before the wedding.
To give you an idea, it is somewhere between these two dresses:
I felt kind of guilty about not buying an eco-friendly dress. My compromise with myself was that I would donate the dress to charity immediately after the wedding. In fact, it won’t even make it back to NYC. The Monday after the wedding it will be shipped to Brides Against Breast Cancer.
Brides Against Breast Cancer does a national tour selling both new and used donated wedding dresses. The tour sells the dresses to raise money for the Making Memories Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing a spark of joy into the lives of women and men who are losing their battle against breast cancer. When I was looking for a used wedding dress, I checked into the Brides Against Breast Cancer Tour, but unfortunately it wasn’t coming to my area in time for my wedding. I am so excited that I will have the opportunity to donate to such a great cause! 
I know that many people save their dresses, but I knew this wasn’t for me. I will have plenty of pictures of me in the dress, and that will be enough. Mrs. Tulip recently wrote a great post on donating wedding items, where she listed options for donating wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses. Organizations that accept bridesmaid dresses include The Princess Project, The Glass Slipper Project and DonateMyDress.
Would you (or did you) donate your wedding dress, or even your bridesmaid dresses?
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17 Responses to “The Dress Search Concludes”
Great cause, but I don’t think I could ever bring myself to giving up my gown… especially since my mom is paying for it. It has crossed my mind though.
Instead we are considering giving donations in lieu of favors a la Mrs. Lovebug. I donate monthly to my favorite charity and Mr. McG is on the board of another… and we’ve decided on a third, the Canadian Cancer Society.
Thank you thank you for the bridesmaid dress donation suggestions… I won’t mention names, but i have a few lovely donations to contribute:) Can’t wait to see your dress!
Absolutely donating. I wouldn’t do it any other way.
@Miss Avocado:
You and me both!!! 
I happened to find my dress at Brides Against Breast Cancer when they were in my city. And I think I will probably donate my dress back to the cause when I am finished.
Those two pictures made me laugh out loud! Mr. Pinot Noir, my fiance also votes for the Pam Anderson style 
I’m definitely considering passing my dress on to another bride, but I’m not sure yet. I was always very disappointed as a little girl that my mom didn’t save hers — I love family memorabilia. Also, a friend of mine recently wore her mother’s wedding gown at her own wedding — not a dry eye in the house, let me tell you!
But on the other hand, a woman fitting into her mother’s wedding gown AND loving the style is a pretty rare thing, and really, how often would anyone ever get out my gown and look at it? I’d love to know another bride got use out of my beautiful gown and that a great cause benefited from it. So I’m torn.
Those two pictures side by side are hysterical.
I have many bridesmaids dresses that I would happily donate. I think donating your dress is a great idea. Will we wear it again? Most likely (and hopefully) NO. Im so happy that another bride out there is passionate about fighting breast cancer. Cheesy as it may sound, if we work together, we will be that much closer to finding a cure.
Too funny, the two extreme dresses side by side. That narrows it down a lot!
Don’t feel bad; if you donate, that is still a great thing. You tried so hard! I’m glad you found a dress you loved, even if it is first-hand! 
You still are fulfilling one of the three Rs (recycle, if not reduce or reuse)!
I can’t wait to see what you ended up with (nor can Mr. PN, sounds like)!
I’m pretty sentimental about my dress, but maybe someday I’ll get up the nerve to donate . . .
I would love for my wedding dress to jump out of my closet and magically appear on my body!
I am planning on giving my bridesmaids information on how they can donate their dresses, and will take care of it for them if they like. I also have a few bridesmaid dresses from weddings past that I would like to donate. Thanks for posting those links!
[...] New My something new will be my wedding dress. I was really hoping this could be my something borrowed or my something old, but I guess [...]
soooo pretty
[...] had originally planned on putting it up for auction on eBay. However, after learning about BABC on Miss Pinot Noir’s blog, I knew this was something I wanted to do. If you want to donate your gown, click [...]
Mrs. Pinot Noir, New York/Napa Valley
Age and Occupation: 24, Health Educator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Market Researcher
Engagement Date: November 10, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: June 25, 2008
Venue: Auberge du Soleil
About Me: I am a Minnesota raised, NYC transplant planning a destination wedding in Napa. I'm balancing my love for the environment and my hubby-to-be's love for tradition to create our "green wedding in disguise." Our wedding will include local food and wine, antique touches and lots of love and laughter. When wedding planning isn't taking up my free time (and money) I love to read, cook, workout, watch baseball and travel! Follow along in my adventure as I attempt to plan an eco-friendly and socially responsible wedding (with eco-oblivious Mr. Pinot Noir).
Good for you Miss Pinot Noir! I’ve thought hard about this. I don’t really have a ton of attachment to my dress and would like to do something like this for charity but it is amazing how many people (DH, sister, friends) think I will regret not having my dress anymore.
We’ll see. Kudos to you though!