You spent months searching for the perfect dress for your wedding day, and now that you’ve finally tied the knot, it seems a shame to just shove your beautiful wedding gown into a box in the back of your closet.

It’s not uncommon for women to search for a more meaningful existence for their precious wedding dress than simply putting it away in storage. Luckily, you can do a variety of things with your wedding dress after the wedding.

Whether you’re looking to preserve your beautiful gown for prosperity or transform it into something else altogether, here are just some of the things you can do with your wedding dress after the wedding.

Have Your Wedding Dress Framed for Posterity

For some people, a wedding dress isn’t just a sentimental garment. It’s also a work of art, something gorgeous and special that begs to be displayed. Specialty framing shops can help you create a one-of-a-kind piece of art by framing your wedding dress so you can display it permanently or until you decide to do something else with it.

Why not consider framing the groom’s tux as well? A his-and-hers set of framed art could make a great addition to your home and would certainly make for an interesting conversation starter when guests visit.

Donate Your Wedding Dress

If you’re not too sentimental about your wedding dress, why not give it to someone who could use it? If you don’t have a friend or family member who’s getting married, there are plenty of options for donating used wedding dresses.

Some charities accept gently used wedding dresses and other formal wear (those one-of-a-kind bridesmaid dresses that will likely never be worn again), and they resell them to raise funds for a good cause. Brides Against Breast Cancer and Brides For A Cause are two organizations that collect and resell wedding dresses to support charity.

Of course, your local thrift stores would also be delighted to accept wedding dress donations. So your gorgeous gown could get a second chance to shine, and you’d be helping out a bride in your community, too.

Transform Your Wedding Dress

Even if your dress is perfect, you’re only going to wear it for one day. That is unless you transform your wedding dress into a whole new outfit. Then, if you’re handy with a sewing machine, you could alter it yourself, changing it into a cocktail dress by shortening the length.

If you’re not brave enough to DIY your dress’ transformation, a tailor or professional seamstress can help. Depending on the fabric your dress is made from, you might consider dying it, too. However, changing the color of your dress can give it a completely new lease on life, and you might find that you get a good deal of use out of it once it’s altered.

Of course, depending on the style of your dress, you may decide to keep it as a formal gown. A simple dye job could transform your lovely, elegant wedding dress into the perfect ensemble for dinner parties or other formal events.

Repurpose Your Wedding Dress

If you’re not going to wear your dress again and you don’t want to preserve it as it is, you might consider deconstructing it and creating something entirely new out of the material. Many wedding dresses have a lot of fabric in their construction that you can use to create various practical or keepsake items.

A popular way to repurpose wedding dresses is to create Christening gowns or princess dresses for older children from the fabric. But you don’t have to stick to making other items of clothing. Why not make a decorative pillow to keep as a reminder of your big day?

Another idea is to use pieces of fabric from your wedding dress, along with material from other sentimental items of clothing, to make a memory quilt. Making a memory quilt can be a fantastic project that incorporates fabric from your new spouse’s clothing, too.

Have Fun With Your Wedding Dress

No one says you have to take your dress seriously. On the contrary, it can be downright fun to wear your dress just for the heck of it once your wedding is over.

Why not schedule a post-wedding photoshoot with your bridesmaids in a fun or unexpected location? If you don’t care what happens to your dress, you can have a lot of fun at places like the beach, your local park, or even at a paintball arena. Enjoy making new memories and preserve the photos for posterity.

Let Us Make Your Wedding Day Perfect

Let’s Find Your Dream Dress.

At Sposa Mia Bridal, our hand-curated collection of Bridal Gowns will steal your heart, with a mixture of price point and styles we provide a unique selection of gowns and accessories that is elegant, timeless and romantic.

To schedule your visit, please give us a call at the boutique or take a moment to complete our appointment request form. We will get back to you as quickly as possible to confirm the details!