More and more brides are looking for alternatives to preserving a wedding dress and simply put it into a box in the back of the closet. Times have changed significantly and brides have become thriftier and more eco-conscious.
If you are one of those brides, we have a few cool ways to recycle your wedding gown, so it has more than just a single day of use in its life.
Way #1: Turn it into home decorations.
If you really want to remember the wonder of your wedding day, why not use your wedding dress and accessories to decorate your new home? If you are a talented seamstress, you can quickly turn your dress into a gorgeous table cloth for special occasions, or you can use some of the lush fabric to create luxurious throw pillows for your bed or couch. Remember though, the fabric of your gown is not machine washable, so you’ll want to be careful with how you utilize it.
You can also use a swatch of your gown in shadow boxes heading up your new steps. It can be a fun, artistic, and eye-catching way to decorate an otherwise dull stairway with understated elegance. Your bouquet, veil and tiara can be used in the same way.
Way #2: Turn it into a new party dress.
Wedding gowns can be cut down, deconstructed and rearranged to the point of looking like an entirely new dress, if it is placed into the hands of the right seamstress. You can always have your used wedding dress turned into a stunning cocktail number for special nights out on the town. If you don’t want to wear a white dress out and about, you can also have it dyed so it really is a different entity all together. Remember to be careful when finding a seamstress, though. Wedding dress fabrics are notoriously finicky, so you’ll want to use an experienced seamstress for this task, especially if you plan on dying the dress a different hue.
If you are planning on kids, you can also have your wedding dress turned into fun, dress-up clothes for your wee ones. Princess dresses can be fashioned from a used wedding dress with relative ease, and it will be especially nice to see your own daughter wearing the dress that started your little family.
Way #3: Sell it.
If you consider yourself a thrifty bride with a social conscious you can always sell your wedding gown on consignment. Consignment shop, Once Wed, allows you to list your dress for free, and a portion of the proceeds goes to support charities that help victims of sex trafficking, slavery and sexual exploitation. Not only will you make some money back on your dress, but you’ll be supporting a good cause, too.
Other options are listing the dress on auction sites, or other consignment sites. If your dress is on trend, and produced within the last couple of years, you are more likely to get a quick sale. You’ll also want to take good pictures of the gown, and ensure it has been cleaned prior to sale. These are all things consignment shops and thrifty brides are looking for.
Conclusion
You spent months and months dreaming about the perfect wedding dress, so now that it is a used wedding dress, it hasn’t lost its luster or value. If you are looking to recycle or repurpose your gown, consider the above options. Your used wedding dress deserves to have a second life.
Photo credit: Free Grunge Textures – www.freestock.ca / Foter / CC BY
