What to do with the dress after the wedding?

[seaprincess]

Hey ladies!! Now that the wedding, TTD and AHR are done, I'm trying to decide what to do with my wedding dress....Part of me wants to have it cleaned and then sell it...part of me wants to donate it to a less fortunate bride...I've also heard of people redesigning their dress into a cocktail dress and having the train made into a christening gown....Tell me what you did/are doing and help me decide!

[BillysBride]

Great question!

 

I hadn't really thought about it, but I'm almost positive I'll sell mine. There are a lot of brides who can't afford full price for these gorgeous gowns, and I'd just as soon help one of them out while helping US come back a bit from all the wedding expenses.

 

I do love the idea of altering it to a cocktail dress and using the left over fabric for a christening gown. If we were having any more, I'd definitely think of doing that!

[JaimeLynne]

Oooh I also love the idea of altering it for a cocktail dress/gown for future child. And how incredible of you to consider donating it!

 

I think I will probably keep it for awhile. It just seems so sentimental. I dunno, maybe I'm weird But my Mom died when I was young, so I never had any of her stuff when I grew up... I think that's why I'd like to hold onto it, so if I have a daughter she could at least see (and maybe laugh by that time! lol!) what it was like and use/incorporate parts of it if she chose to do so...

 

Hrmmmm... very good question!

 

I do know I will wear it a second time for my AHR. Excited about THAT!

[boscobel]

I bought mine with intentions of selling it after the wedding since it was like WAY over budget, but I just can't. I love it so much. Bad thing is that I love it so much that it's crumpled up in the garment bag in my closet, without even being dry cleaned yet!

[Betsy]

Well I was a 3 dress bride. Then I got rid of the one dress. But I cannot get rid of the other two! I must be crazy. I had the wedding dress I wore cleaned, and put into a special box (whatever the f that means - I think it was just a way to pay more $$ @ the drycleaners LOL) And the other dress is hanging up in my closet. I think I am saving it for our 10 year vow renewal that I am already planning in my head. I hope it still fits me LOL.

[Soon To Be Mrs. Gomez]

I'm going to save mine! For memories.

[tvt]

there needs to be a 'nothing' option. Mine was rinsed out after our TTD, crumpled up in the suitcase on the way home, and now hangs, in all it's wrinkled glory, in our closet

[Jacilynda]

If i were to get rid of it I'd donate it. But I plan on preserving it. We have a gown chest that has my grandmothers dress, both of my moms, I plan on putting mine in there & so does my lil sis. I would NEVER wear one of my moms or grandmas dress! They are NOT something i would pick, but but love the idea of having all the dresses in our family keep going into the chest

[~*Kathy*~]

Wow, really great ideas ladies! Honestly I have no clue what to do with mine as well. I'm kind of in the same spot as Carly...it has yet to be cleaned and is hanging in my basement (under the stairs technically) in its garment bag. It's kind of sad to see it that way but what the heck else am I going to do with it? I was/still am considering selling it to recoup some of the costs (the darn thing WAS $1,300 before alterations after all!!) but I still haven't made a firm decision on that. And yeah, dry cleaning is downright expensive! It's bad enough us brides get hosed on the cost of the dress but the drycleaners want to hose you too!

 

I called a dry cleaning place and the base quote for any bridal dress was $165 and then extra if it has a train, or is silk/satin/whatever, extra if it has lace, extra if it has beading, yada yada yada...ugh it just makes me so stinkin' mad! lol /rant off

 

Anyhoo, I love your ideas Seaprincess! Very creative, especially the cocktail dress/christening gown...I love it. When my mom divorced my dad, she kept her first wedding dress and cut it up and sewed it in to a first communion gown for my sisters and I, I thought that was pretty creative as well!

[lolkitteh]

I did buy a gown preservation kit for $169 to have my gown cleaned, preserved and shipped back to me after the wedding (convenient since it includes UPS charges to ship it to them directly from the hotel and I won't have to deal with packing it in a suitcase after the wedding).

 

After that, I am undecided. FH and I do not plan on children, and passing it on to nieces who might want it is iffy, especially since it looks like they are all going to end up being taller and bigger than me (The dress is a street size 0-2).

 

And ladies, don't forget that if you gift it to charity, you do get a tax deduction if you itemize, which can sometimes be better than selling it, especially if you have costly and unique gown that isn't necessarily going to have a ready market.

 

What I will probably end up doing is try to sell mine first. If I don't sell it at the price I am after, I will donate it and get the tax deduction. I figure that if I don't get a price that is at least as good as the actual value to me of the deduction, off to charity it goes.