My Wedding Dress?
So I’ve been contemplating lately what to do about my wedding dress. It has been almost 3 years now and it is still in the dress bag (and it has even moved from my house to my apartment). As expensive as wedding dresses are, I did not spend that much, maybe $300 at most including alterations. I don’t necessarily want to save it for my daughter (if I ever have a daughter) because I know styles will change and I want her to be able to wear what she wants. I also don’t really see the point of preserving it in a box, to only remain in a box for the rest of my life and my grandkids wonder what I was thinking. So here I sit with a really nice slightly used wedding dress, trying to figure out my best choice and I have found a few options.
- Goodwill – Definitely a charitable organization that could sell it. I do donate clothes to Goodwill all the time.
- Burial Garments – There are two different charities I’ve found that will take old wedding dresses and turn them into burial garments for infants. They may also accept old prom dresses, so if you have those laying around you could donate those too. The two I found are Heavenly Angels in Need and From Wedding Gown to Burial Gown, Give an Eternal memory.
- Brides Against Breast Cancer – This is an organization that will take donations and sell the dresses to make money to fight breast cancer. They travel around the country and also accept gowns to be mailed in.
- I’ve also heard of people turning their gowns into a christening dress for their children.
Come November I will see the folks at Brides Against Breast Cancer in Drexel Hill (outside of Philadelphia). They also have upcoming events in Cleveland, OH and other areas all around the country, so check out their calendar. I like the fact that they specifically deal in wedding dresses. While I feel the charities that create burial garments are doing something really great, I just get depressed thinking about it. Any of the above options will ensure that your wedding dress will get another use, and that is a very green option.
Tags: donate, environment, green
August 11th, 2008 at 4:33 am
Really these dresses are lovely and beautiful.
I think these dresses are very hot. Thanks a lot
August 11th, 2008 at 8:15 am
I hope more brides will follow your lead. Providing this information will help others to consider donating their bridal gown after the wedding.
August 11th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
When I first saw my mother’s wedding dress, I thought that’s not my style and I wouldn’t wear that, plus she was smaller than me. But after she died of breast cancer when I was 14, that dress has become important to me to incorporate into my wedding if I ever do get married. There’s something to be said about a mother passing down her dress to her children even if they make alterations on it. Plus, it’s reusing materials so I don’t buy an all new dress.
Dagny
www.onnotextiles.com
bamboo and organic clothing
August 11th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Dagny, I’m so happy for you that your mom saved her dress for you. The fact that you are going to use it is wonderful and thoughtful.
While that is not a choice I have made, hopefully my choice will go towards helping to cure breast cancer. I believe there are many options for each choice that will have a positive impact and thankfully we have these choices.
Thank you for reading.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:44 am
These are the good looking dresses.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:05 am
Very Nice Collection
August 16th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Your blog is interesting!
Keep up the good work!
November 13th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
[…] you remember a few months ago, I wrote about how I was going to donate my wedding gown to Brides Against Breast Cancer. Today, while I was sitting at work, I looked up at my post-it […]