During my mission to let go of material things, I realized that hidden deep in the back of my closet was something that I no longer needed to cherish: my wedding dress.
Before my divorce, I always imagined holding onto my dress and passing it down to my daughter one day. But after my divorce, I no longer think that’s necessary. Really, who wants a “family heirloom” wedding dress from a failed marriage?
First I want to tell you a little about my dress and why I considered it special before my divorce.
When planning my wedding, I was on a pretty tight budget because I didn’t want to put my parents (or myself) in debt. Most of the decorations were handmade by me and my Mom and Dad, my sister and niece made the cake and catered, and pictures were taken by my cousins. It ended up being my dream wedding and I’m grateful for that.
I always had a vision of what my dress would look like, but hadn’t found it in my budget. The dress came to me from my (now ex-) husband’s family. It had been bought years before for one of his cousins who then decided she didn’t want that dress. And to be honest, when I saw it I didn’t want it either.
It was long sleeved (for an August wedding) and had a massive train. My parents offered to have pay to have it altered if I could make something out of it that I wanted. We took it to a local seamstress who worked her magic. She chopped off the sleeves, tucked in the train and added the blue bow on the back that I always dreamed of having. When it was done, it was perfect.

But now, I’m left with this huge garment bag, taking up space in my closet and my life and I no longer need it. What should I do?
My niece was fond of the idea of doing divorce pictures. Not sure if you’ve seen any of these but it’s basically a photo shoot of the “ex-wife” wearing her wedding clothes and slowly destroying them. It makes interesting pictures but I feel like that it may be better suited for someone who’s angry and revengeful towards their ex. Thankfully, I’ve moved on past feeling this way so destroying a perfectly good dress kinda feel like a waste.
The next option is to try to sell it and use the money to do something fun with. I kinda like this idea (and it’s the plan for my wedding and engagement rings) but I’m not sure how easy it would be to sell since it has been altered.
Or I could donate it and hope that someone who couldn’t afford a new dress could get use out of it. That’s kinda what I’m leaning towards.
So, what do you think? Destroy, Donate, or Sell? Comment and let me know!
I vote sell if you it’s easy, donate it if not. Or, I guess you could give it back to the ex’s cousin…although that might be mean. 🙂
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Ha ha 🙂 that would be one way to do it…
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I have the perfect idea Of what you need to do with it. There is a company that is located in Knoxville or in this area and they take wedding dresses and they turned them into burial dresses for babies that pass away 😦
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That makes 2 with this idea! How did I not know about this before?
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There is a company that takes donated wedding dresses and makes tiny gowns for babies who don’t make it out of the hospital. I’m not sure the name of it, but I’m sure it would be easy to find if you Google it. I’ve considered donating my dress to them since it will just be taking up space in my closet for 20+ years, even if my daughter did choose to wear it.
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Wow! Didn’t realize this existed. Seems to be a popular idea with 2 votes so far…
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Donating something is such a good feeling, like taking a violin to Tennessee and leaving it there. The best gift (for your own heart!) is the gift given to someone who will never have a way to repay you………… that’s the philosophy of a very old lady, me. 🙂
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So very true! Giving to others is a wonderful blessing 🙂
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It is. Does something special to your heart and soul.
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I vote do a trash the dress photo shoot! lol
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All tho the donation idea is a kind way to rid of it.
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