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 ShunBridal.)
- Use the fabric to make a throw pillow, and feature in your home as a piece of meaningful decor. (Inspiration from ShunBridal.)
- 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 DHGate.
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 Brit+Co.
Where is your wedding dress right now?
Another thought: have the dress taken apart and re-tailored by yourself (if you have that talent) or by a professional into items you – or your daughters – can use in your wardrobe. Depending on the style, formality, and fabric of the gown, a lace or beaded bodice can be repurposed into a camisole or shell to be worn under a jacket. A satin or lace jacket or overlay makes a lovely shrug for a dress. Shorten a full skirt to tea length, an aline or straight skirt to knee length. Crinolines can be removed and shortened to be worn as a skirt or to line other skirts. A long train can be recut into almost anything, including home decor items. Keep your wedding day memories with you whenever you or a loved one wears one of these old-into-new items!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Also have heard of bride dolls (could be purchased or hand made porcelain) using a bridal gown to make a doll dress.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.These are fantastic ideas! Another thing I’ve seen is making doll clothes. Whether it’s Barbie clothes, Maplelea/American Girl dolls or teddy bear clothes (similar to Build-a-Bear). They can be given to grandchildren or other members of the family.
I’ve also thought of making strips of material and keeping them for different parts of my girls weddings, if they want to use them. A garter (as mentioned) or bouquet wrap (also as mentioned), can also use it to make decorations for the head table. Lots of different ways to use it if you are willing to cut it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you so much for this article. I have pieces of my wedding dress after our home burned. These are some very good ideas to make something out of the few pieces I still have.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I embellished a denim vest with pieces of lace from my wedding dress. Won first place at the County Fair and 100s of comments from friends and strangers alike when i wear it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you. A good idea!!
I’m glad you have some pieces left – you’ll have to do something great with them!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made christening gowns for my grandchildren from my dress,anda had enough lace to use on their bassinette.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have another suggestion that I have seen several places online….make a Christmas tree skirt! You could make one entirely from the gown or have sections of green, red velvet, etc.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What a festive idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My friend removed lace from her mother’s wedding dress and had it sewn onto the veil she will wear for her wedding.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Ny sister-in-law made a veil from her grandmother’s gown. She wore it in 1982, and her two daughter wore it this year.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.There also is an organization that accepts bridal gowns and make burial gowns for babies born dead or die shortly after birth.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Help! My daughter has drain bugs and tried everything , they keep coming back
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I don’t know much about drain bugs, but I found this information on another website! https://jillee.co/2uxr27j
Good luck!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The popular thing right now is using wedding dresses to make memory bears for grandchildren.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Ha ha. I am finally getting a wedding dress at the age of 63. I am going to get a tea length as I am shrinking. Not very fancy so can be worn many time and only he and I will know. That way it will not hang in the closet forever.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Congratulations!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.How fun!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think there are some good ideas here, & in the comments below, but I think, in this age of recycle, reuse, reduce, trashing your dress is a terrible idea! Someone, somewhere, cannot afford a beautiful wedding dress, & even if it had to be altered to fit, they would be eternally grateful to feel like the Princess all women want to be on their wedding day.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Please donate it, rather than trash it!
Those are some awesome ideas! Thought I would throw in one more “good” thing if I may. We have a couple of great groups of women who use donated wedding dresses to make tiny gowns and blankets for stillborn babies. I was the recipient of those twice when I lost babies at 25 weeks….the nurses would put the dress on the baby and take some pictures (only if you wanted them to) and then gave us the dress and blanket. It was very touching to know that people cared enough to stitch such tiny gowns for complete strangers! I hope it doesn’t seem overly sad, it’s definitely not meant to be. It was so appreciated during an unexpected time when we didn’t know what to do, and several years later, that’s where my early ’90’s poofy wedding dress went!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That’s so sweet! I’m sorry for your loss – I can’t imagine. Best of luck to you and your family! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I donated mine to an organization that turns wedding dresses into gowns for stillborns and infants that pass away. One dress can make a few gowns. There are a few organizations (nonprofits) that do this. I have a couple friends that had stillborns and children that passed due to SIDS. I felt this was a way to help grieving families like my friends.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That’s a beautiful gift to give a family in a time of need :-)
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