8 Creative Things You Can Do With Your Old Wedding Dress

Last month my husband and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary! We celebrated by taking a long overdue trip together to Mexico, where we relaxed, got matching sunburns, and enjoyed each other’s company. At one point we got to reminiscing about our wedding day, which sparked a conversation about the fabulous 80’s fashions we had our whole wedding party sporting. My wedding dress in particular was packed with iconic 80’s details, like a drop waist, poofy sleeves (with added tulle to make them extra poofy, of course), and a huge lace bow for good measure. :-)

I still have that dress, and reminiscing about it got me thinking about ways I could put it to good use. I’ve kept it mainly out of sentimentality, but 30 years later, it feels like a good time to do something with it other than just keep it in storage. So I started looking around online for inspiration for things you can do with an old wedding dress, and I found a lot of great ideas! I put together a list of some of my favorite ones, and I’m excited to share that list with you today. Now I have so many great ideas of things I can do with my wedding dress—if only I could just pick one! :-)

8 Creative Things To Do With Your Old Wedding Dress

1. Get Crafty

There are a lot of fun ideas out there for craft ways to use your old wedding dress. I’ve selected a few of my favorites to feature here, but there are likely dozens more ideas that you can find online!

Make a necklace, bracelet, or other jewelry item that features a piece of the fabric of your dress. (Inspiration from Living Well Mom.)
Use the fabric from your dress to make a keepsake garter to pass on to another bride. (Inspiration from The Inspired Hive.)
Use the fabric to make a throw pillow, and feature in your home as a piece of meaningful decor. (Inspiration from Attempting Aloha.)
Use the fabric from your wedding dress to create a christening or blessing gown for your future children or grandchildren. (Inspiration from Threads Magazine.)
Use the fabric to make a bouquet wrap, and give it to a close friend or family member with a wedding coming up.
Use the fabric to make a little girl’s dress that will make any girl feel like a princess! (Inspiration from Make It & Love It.)
Use swatches of the fabric from your wedding dress to decorate and embellish a photo album of pictures from your wedding.

2. Dye It

Your white dress may scream “wedding gown,” but dyeing it a different color can make it perfectly wearable for all sorts of occasions! Get the full instructions and details on dyeing a wedding dress at Brides.com.

3. Wear It On Your Anniversary

If your dress still fits, why not dust it off and wear it on your anniversary? Even if you’re not brave enough to leave the house in it, you can still relive the magic of your wedding day from the comfort of your own home.

4. Make A Jewelry Display

If your wedding dress has lace, use it to make a custom jewelry display that you’ll be able to admire every day! It looks great, plus it will help you keep track of smaller jewelry items like earrings. Get the instructions and details on making a lace jewelry display here.

5. Host A Wedding Dress Party

If you’ve ever wished for an occasion you could wear your wedding dress to, just host your own! Invite all your girlfriends over for a tea party where the dress code is “wedding dresses mandatory.” Make sure to take plenty of pictures! Inspiration from Bridal Guide.

6. Donate It

Instead of letting your dress get dusty in your closet, give it to someone in need. Brides Across America provides wedding dresses to military brides who would be unable to afford it otherwise. And you can find plenty of other organizations accepting wedding dress donations by searching “wedding dress donations” online.

7. Sell It

If you could use some extra cash, you can sell your wedding dress online. PreownedWeddingDresses.com makes it easy to sell your dress, and it’s much more affordable than through other companies. Just pay a $25 listing fee, with no commission or other fees required.

8. Trash It

Give your wedding dress one last hurrah by lining up a “trash the dress” photoshoot. These kinds of photoshoots have been pretty popular over the last few years, and people have gotten creative with them! I’ve seen photos of wedding dress clad ladies covered in paint, colored chalk, mud, wine… you name it! It would make a fun memory while giving your dress an epic sendoff. Inspiration from WedEclectic.