So everyone
seems to be asking “But if you buy or make your own wedding gown instead of
renting, what do you do with it after the wedding?”
Sell
it. With the average Malaysian wedding
costing between MYR50,000 to MYR100,000, it makes financial sense to sell the
wedding dress online to recoup some cash. In Malaysia you can sell them HERE and HERE.
Turn it
into a family heirloom.
I know of many sentimental souls out there who wish to pass their wedding gowns
down to the next generation and pack
away their dresses with the intention of preserving them for their daughters in
the future. Do take good care of the gowns if you
intend to keep it as heirloom for your daughter/(s). I am not an advocate of
this because when that time comes around, the
bride may very well want to have her own design of dress to wear on her big day.
Trash it. I’ve
previously blogged about TRASH THE DRESS here. ‘Trash the dress’ photography sessions are becoming an
increasingly popular way to create ever-lasting memories through quirky photo
shoots after the wedding. Whether you’re rocking your frock through mud or
drowning your gown in the sea, you can use the photography session as the
perfect opportunity to have fun and get some great photographs. Photographers
offer a variety of ‘trash the dress’ sessions, so if you’d like the photo
opportunity but are unsure about the lasting damage to your dress, you can
control how far you go. Some ladies are pictured with just the hem dipped in
the sea, others are snapped setting fire to their gowns! You could get the
groom involved for some shots of you being carried through the sea or you both
cuddling in the mud in your wedding day attire. Just be creative with it
and see what ideas you can come up with.
Travel With It A
variant of TRASH THE DRESS, you get to re-use it many times without destroying
it. Bring your wedding gown with you when you go travelling with your husband
and get the hubby to photograph you while traveling all over the world. It
would be a fantastic idea and if you travel every year for your anniversary
celebration!
Frame it. You can invest in a large shadow box to display you wedding gown in. If the idea of displaying the whole dress doesn't appeal, you could simply frame your shoes or your veil as a reminder of the occasion. Or simply mix and match different items from your wedding – such as your husband’s tie and your veil – to create a montage of your special day. You could make a few to hang around the house for some seriously stylish, unique interior decoration. No matter how many rough patches you and your husband may go through in your home, the shadow boxes adorning the walls should serve as a gentle reminder of your love for each other.
Frame it. You can invest in a large shadow box to display you wedding gown in. If the idea of displaying the whole dress doesn't appeal, you could simply frame your shoes or your veil as a reminder of the occasion. Or simply mix and match different items from your wedding – such as your husband’s tie and your veil – to create a montage of your special day. You could make a few to hang around the house for some seriously stylish, unique interior decoration. No matter how many rough patches you and your husband may go through in your home, the shadow boxes adorning the walls should serve as a gentle reminder of your love for each other.
Re-wear it. Wedding dresses are
expensive items, so why not get the most out of it? We know the wedding dress can only be worn once. You can’t
go shopping in it, attend a party in it, or go to the beach in it, but it’s a
shame really because it didn’t come cheap. There is a way of putting it to use
in a more casual way though. Why not simply re-wear the bustier for a date with
your hubby when you celebrate the anniversary of your wedding? Team it with a
pencil skirt and blazer for a super chic date outfit and adapt it to
contemporary fashion each year. You could make this into a tradition and wear
it every anniversary to remind you both of one of the happiest day of your
lives.
Donate it to charity. While there
isn’t one charity for this purpose in Malaysia, there are many dedicated
second-hand wedding dress shops overseas which would happily accept any gowns
worn on a couple's big day. You can try The Brides Project. It
raises funds for cancer research. You can also consider Oxfam and the Red
Cross - both welcome donations.
Store it. Keep it in your
cupboard to show your children and see how far you’ve come.
They won’t believe that their mother was once a size ‘2’ so why not shock them?
:D
Re-invent it. For those brides handy with a needle and thread,
a quilt made from your wedding dress could be a good reminder of the day. Or
you can create a mini-doll out of it at Dolliciousbrides.co.uk. You can also dye and shorten it to wear as wearing
cocktail dress. You can also turn it
into a christening gown.