Your Dress, After the Wedding

Your Dress, After the Wedding

November 19th, 2010 @ 2:11 pm by Ms. Sloth
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Until I got engaged and started reading wedding blogs, I had no idea that there were so many options for your wedding dress, after the wedding.

First, there’s preservation.

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This is the most traditional option, and it’s a good one if you want to keep your dress, and perhaps pass it down to your future daughter. I’m not very sentimental, though, and I have no true desire to hang onto my dress after I’ve worn it.

There’s trashing the dress.

Your Dress, After the Wedding : wedding philadelphia wedding dress Trashdr TrashDr

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A trash-the-dress session makes for some absolutely phenomenal photos, and there’s a part of me that would love to do this. But I don’t think it’s going to happen for two reasons. First of all, I’d rather not destroy my dress. And, secondly, these photo shoots cost money—money that we won’t want to spend after paying for the wedding.

I could sell my dress.

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There are tons of websites on which a bride can sell her dress. There’s good old eBay. There’s Once Wed, Pre-Owned Wedding Dresses, and of course our very own Weddingbee Classifieds. I could definitely put my dress up for sale. It was so affordable to begin with that I doubt I’d be able to get more than a couple hundred bucks for it, and it may be kind of a pain in the ass for this lazy sloth. But it’s still an appealing option.

I could give it away. Temporarily or permanently.

Your Dress, After the Wedding : wedding philadelphia wedding dress Polaroi polaroi

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Mrs. Mouse lent her dress to Mrs. Stripes, which is fabulous and amazing. Meg from A Practical Wedding has organized The Sisterhood of the Traveling Dress, in which Team Practical members pass their dresses on to other readers, for free. I love the sense of community and history that goes along with a borrowed dress, not to mention how ethically and environmentally friendly the whole shebang is.

I could also donate my dress. Brides Against Breast Cancer is just one of countless organizations that accepts donated wedding gowns. They sell the gowns and then use the money to help women suffering from breast cancer. A quick Google search will bring up dozens of similar organizations.

So, yeah. That’s a lot of options. I haven’t made up my mind if I’ll sell or donate my dress, but I’ve got plenty of time to decide.

What are you planning on doing with your dress after the wedding?

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27 Responses to “Your Dress, After the Wedding”

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Member

Ms. Doxie (message) 38 posts, Newbee

I actaully bought mine on Preownedweddingdresses.com and it is fabulous! I think I may end up selling it back on the website after I am done with it for the same amout I bought it for.
However, I am a bit sentimental so it may be hard for me to sell it.

11/19/10 @ 2:25 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Trail Mix (message) 6,329 posts, Bee Keeper

Imma keep my bc I’m a sentimental schmuck like that

11/19/10 @ 2:27 pm (reply)

Member

LGenz (message) 3,804 posts, Honey bee

I think I’m going to have mine made into a christening gown for our (theoretical) children

11/19/10 @ 2:28 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Jellyfish (message) 1,450 posts, Bumble bee

I’m keeping mine. I love it too much. I am trying to sell my first dress though!

11/19/10 @ 2:33 pm (reply)

Member

JoyfulBee (message) 167 posts, Blushing bee

Ahh.. To keep or not to keep?

I’d love to keep my dress, and pass it on to a future daughter. I just think it’s one of those dresses that have a chance of being classic for a while…

However, there’s also a big chance that with the Mister’s genes, my daughters are going to be much taller than me when they get married. ._. what to do? You can shorten a hemline, but I’m pretty sure that lengthening a dress is much more complicated, haha.

To give you guys an idea, the Mister’s mom is 4′11″, while he and his siblings range from 5′6″ to 6′3″ with the Mister at the top of the list.

I’m 5′1″, although people in my family are generally taller than me. What are the odds?

11/19/10 @ 2:33 pm (reply)

Member

mdarrah (message) 1,205 posts, Bumble bee

Just a thought that combines a couple for ya: APW posted a thing about a dress store that recently burnt down and they were doing a full community-good of the traveling dress. Its donation, and loaning! Let us know what you decide!

11/19/10 @ 2:36 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Sewing (message) 2,701 posts, Sugar bee

good post. i don’t know what to do with mine. I don’t think I could give it away, and though I’ve toyed with the idea of cutting it up and doing something else with the fabric, that makes me sad too. So for now it’s just hanging in the closet.

11/19/10 @ 2:48 pm (reply)

Member

ScooterBride (message) 280 posts, Helper bee

I’m making my own dress, and I’m doing it in such a style that I could re-wear it. Sure, it might only be for fancier parties, or even Halloween, but I am definately going to wear it multiple times.

If we end up doing our wedding in another state like originally planned, I’ll probably re-wear it for some photographs I’d really love to do locally.

11/19/10 @ 2:48 pm (reply)

Guest

Ireland

Love the idea of selling it. Most wedding dresses are very expensive and getting a decent return can be beneficial.

11/19/10 @ 2:59 pm (reply)

10.

Member

10.10.10 (message) 118 posts, Blushing bee

I considered selling mine. However, the day of the wedding, one of my new daughters asked me to please be careful with “her” dress because she plans to wear it when she gets married. She’s 16 (we have girls). Yes, I cried. And I’m fully aware that she will change her mind by the time she gets married, but I’m saving it anyway. It’s being cleaned for the preservation process now.
If nothing else, perhaps it can be made into a Christening gown for my future grandchildren (if we have a baby, it will hopefully be before our girls get married, so I can’t hack it up…just in case).

11/19/10 @ 3:08 pm (reply)

11.

Member

10.10.10 (message) 118 posts, Blushing bee

Should read “we have TWIN girls”.

11/19/10 @ 3:08 pm (reply)

12.

Guest

JtG

I always resolved to sell my dress after the wedding, but I got darn emotionally attached to it. It took forever to find just the right dress and a lot of monies to make it fit just right.

For now it’s nicely packed in a Container Store archival box with lots of archival tissue and stuffed under my bed.

Similar to Blushing Bee above, I’m hoping to someday use it for Christening and Baptismal gowns. That kind of defeats the purpose of packing it away so carefully, but the sentimental part of me just had to pack it away oh so carefully.

11/19/10 @ 4:02 pm (reply)

13.

Member

icelara (message) 272 posts, Helper bee

I am renting my dress, so I’m just gonna give it right back! I’m not sentimental at all….I just wanted to wear a dress I loved, and I am getting exactly that without having to worry about what I have to do with it after.

11/19/10 @ 4:46 pm (reply)

14.

Member

Minutiae (message) 2,371 posts, Buzzing bee

I’ll probably keep mine. It will make a great dress up for future grand kids.

11/19/10 @ 5:07 pm (reply)

15.

Member

redbullfanatic (message) 489 posts, Helper bee

We did a TTD and I thought for sure when we got back I’d put it up for sale but I just can’t do it. I’m normally not attached to articles of clothing but I guess it’s more special and it’ll hang in a closet for years.

11/19/10 @ 5:23 pm (reply)

16.

Member

marieta (message) 339 posts, Helper bee

I haven’t figured it out. There will be no daughter to pass it to, so there’s no point to that. But I’m one of those sentimental people who does tend to hang on to things. I’m guessing it will sit in my closet for a while, though I may give it away at some point.

11/19/10 @ 5:28 pm (reply)

17.

Member

mrspaetz (message) 3,805 posts, Honey bee

TTD. Still on-going after 1.5yrs since our wedding

11/19/10 @ 7:02 pm (reply)

18.

Guest

MissSailboat

I plan on having part of my dress made into a christening gown/outfit for our future children.

The Trash the Dress photographs are incredible, but I don’t think I would be able to spend more money to destroy a dress I’ve already spent money on.

11/19/10 @ 7:03 pm (reply)

19.

Member

nmeyer01 (message) 130 posts, Blushing bee

I love my dress so much but I feel like I may sell it! I mean, I’m never going to wear it again, if I had a daughter I would never expect her to wear it, and it’s just this bundle of money that I could be making back!

Who knows!

11/19/10 @ 7:11 pm (reply)

20.

Member

OctPumpkin (message) 593 posts, Busy bee

Good post! I bought mine from Brides Against Breast Cancer and might donate it back, although they only carry gown styles 1-2 years old. @MissSailboat: @LGenz: great idea about the christening gown.

11/19/10 @ 7:46 pm (reply)

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