7 Ideas For An Old Wedding Dress

These are still some of the most popular wedding dress repurposing ideas, but old garments got so much more potential with the development of online marketplaces and charities.

Today, you can donate your old wedding dress to charity or a museum in just a few clicks. Helping others and supporting cultural education never goes out of fashion.

Alternatively, you may sell your dress. As a rule of thumb, you can compensate about 50% of a designer dress retail price, and vintage dresses can sell for a much higher price than initial.

1. Preserve It as Heirloom

For many women, a wedding dress carries deep symbolism and serves as a reminder of the best day of their lives.

Although it’s not the most practical solution, there’s nothing wrong with preserving your wedding dress if it’s dear to your heart.

The truth is, you won’t look at your dress often, even if you keep it in your wardrobe rather than a box hidden somewhere in the attic. And you likely won’t ever wear it again unless you decide to make a nostalgic photo shoot.

Still, the ability to show your wedding dress to your children or grandchildren after many years is priceless.

They may even wear it for their wedding if they don’t mind vintage (yes, even the trendiest dress will look old-fashioned after a few decades).

Your wedding dress is a part of your family history. It embodies your love story, personality, and emotions on that special day.

If you decide to keep your wedding dress, make sure to store it correctly to maintain it in the best possible condition.

White fabric tends to become yellowish over time. Brown oxidation spots, mildew, and fabric ceasing are other common issues related to incorrect wedding dress storage.

If you wish to preserve your wedding dress at home, you should first clean it thoroughly, preferably at a dry cleaner’s. Then, place it in a large box where it won’t get wrinkled from excessive folding.

Don’t store your dress hanging. Most wedding dresses have heavy skirts that will weigh the dress down, causing irreversible damage over time.

Accessories with metallic or plastic details, such as the belt, must be stored separately from the dress; otherwise, they may stain the fabric.

Alternatively, you may opt for professional wedding dress preservation services.

Experts will assess your dress and create the most suitable for its fabric and design preservation plan involving chemical treatment and special packaging techniques.

2. Donate It

If you’re a pragmatic person, keeping your wedding dress in a box for decades may not seem reasonable. After all, you can find numerous more practical uses of an old wedding dress. For instance, you may donate it to charity.

Wedding dress donation advantages include more wardrobe space, potential tax deduction, and a chance to help someone in need.

Many women can’t afford an expensive designer wedding dress, but each of us wishes to become a princess for one day.

Something you don’t need anymore may be a real treasure to another person. If you don’t want all the hassle of finding a trustworthy charity, you can post an advert online and pick a person who deserves your dress yourself.

And if you’re afraid someone will take advantage of your advert, research local charity organizations. Not every charity accepts wedding dresses, but some of them are dedicated specifically to this cause.

Some charities don’t donate wedding dresses directly but rather resell them and distribute the profits to other organizations, for instance, Brides for a Cause.

Others pass dresses directly to military and first responder brides, such as Brides Across America.

Not all donated wedding dresses are used for their initial purpose, though. For example, Angel Gowns transforms donated wedding dresses into gowns for the burial services of infants.

3. Give It to a Museum

If by “old wedding dress” you mean not a one-year-old dress but an actual vintage piece with a long history, consider donating it to a museum. Many people would be highly interested to see fashion history coming to life.

However, museums won’t accept every wedding gown. Your wedding dress should preferably have some documentation supporting its historical value, such as a receipt, box, or photos of your grandmother wearing it for her wedding.

Of course, museums may accept some garments even if you don’t have any supporting historical evidence. It’s merely a nice bonus than a requirement, but rules may vary from museum to museum.

Generally, you have a higher chance of success if the dress is in perfect condition, features very typical for that era design, or was made by a local or famous designer.

Don’t overlook vintage wedding accessories such as hats, gloves, and shoes. If you can donate an entire wedding ensemble, you will really contribute a lot to the museum.

One important point is that museums don’t accept vintage wedding dresses right away. You shouldn’t show up with your dress in person expecting to leave it there.

Instead, contact the museum by e-mail or phone and send them pictures for evaluation. Checking the museum’s website for their policy on garment donation is a great idea.

4. Sell It

Wedding dresses tend to be expensive, especially vintage and designer gowns. Donating your dress to someone in need of a museum is undoubtedly generous and kind, but it isn’t the most cost-effective solution.

Selling your wedding dress allows returning at least part of wedding expenses. You can post your dress either for a fixed price at any online marketplace or sell it at an auction.

The most important thing when marketing your wedding dress is high-quality pictures. Include photos from all angles and close-ups of decorative details such as embellishments.

Ideally, add some pictures from your wedding day to show potential buyers how the dress looks on the body. Of course, you should also add a detailed dress description, including measurements and the designer’s name.

Determining a fair price for an old wedding dress may be hard, but luckily, some websites offers handy wedding dress value calculators.

There, you can find out your dresses’ worth based on its condition, designer, and initial price.

Auctions are a better option for vintage wedding dresses than regular marketplaces. History enthusiasts or museums may pay for such a gown significantly more than ordinary buyers, truly appreciating its value.

5. Get Crafty

If you’re a crafty person, consider transforming an old wedding dress into something more useful. You’re most likely dealing with a tremendous amount of material, so upcycling it is a smart and environmentally friendly option.

The DIY wedding dress makeover ideas are endless – you can make a beautiful beach dress, dress for your niece’s birthday, or an extravagant dress for a photo shoot.

After all, you don’t necessarily have to transform your wedding dress into another garment. Instead, you may use the fabric and embellishments to make a creatively decorated photo album, clutch bag, or Christmas tree ornaments.

Your crafts may be much more useful for you or someone else than a gown lying in a closet. Optionally, you can sell your crafts to earn some extra cash.

If you’d like to repurpose your wedding dress into a different garment but don’t have the necessary skills, you can hand it to professionals in the field.

For instance, Unbox the Dress features dozens of experts who can transform your old dress into a new design.

6. Wear It for Your Anniversary

If you love to indulge in nostalgia, you can wear your old wedding dress for your anniversary – be it the first, fifth, or twentieth year together. Some couples even make a photoshoot recreating their wedding day, often including their kids.

Wearing your wedding dress for an anniversary helps to remember how madly in love you were (and hopefully, still are) and thus strengthen your relationship.

Furthermore, finding out your wedding dress from two decades ago still fits is highly uplifting.

If you want to wear your wedding dress again, consider discussing it with your husband beforehand.

Some men like surprises, but if he’s wearing a regular T-shirt and jeans and you suddenly appear in a wedding gown, the situation may be awkward.

7. Wear It for a Photoshoot

A wedding dress requires a special occasion – you certainly won’t wear it for your birthday or Christmas celebration. However, you can wear it for a photoshoot.

One option is to leave your dress as is and recreate your wedding day on an anniversary, and another option is to transform it into something extravagant and make a creative shoot.

For instance, you may rip it or cover it in colorful paint for a dramatic effect or make a flowy bohemian dress for a whimsical photo shoot in the forest.

Alternatively, you can rent out your dress for someone else’s photo shoot. Weddings are a common theme among professional creative photographers, so your dress may even end up being featured in a fancy gallery or in a magazine.