Is wedding dress preservation worth it?

strawberrybee9 · April 2015

Exactly as I wrote in my subject line: Is wedding dress preservation worth it? What if I simply dryclean the dress? I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with it.

(ETA: I *love* my dress, but the wedding is over. *sniffle*)

JennyColada · April 2015

I didn't even keep my dress, I donated it.

That's totally worth it if you ask me!

CMGragain · April 2015

What are you preserving it for? Your daughter won't want to wear it, except as a costume. (Mine certainly rejected my old dress!) It probably won't fit you in a few years. (Sigh!)

I really wish I had donated mine when it was still in fashion so someone else could have enjoyed it as much as I did! It is sitting in a box, wrapped in muslin. Somebody will throw it out after I am gone. What a waste!

I hope you got great pictures on your wedding day. Those are something you will want to look at, over and over again, as the years go by.

ILoveBeachMusic · April 2015

If you don't want to donate it, there are consignment wedding shops in my city maybe there are in yours too. Preservation is expensive and as CMGragain said your daughter probably won't want to wear it. I know very few brides who actually wore their mother's dress. Veils, however, are another story. Many times they can be remade so you might consider preserving yours if you want to have something to pass to the next generation.

JoanE2012 · April 2015

Mine is preserved in a box and I can't even see it. The plastic window is covered by a top layer of the box which is taped up. If I cut the tape, I void any guarantee against yellowing. I don't even know for sure that it's my dress, ha! Still couldn't bear to part with it though.

larrygaga · April 2015

CMGragain said:
What are you preserving it for? Your daughter won't want to wear it, except as a costume. (Mine certainly rejected my old dress!) It probably won't fit you in a few years. (Sigh!)

I really wish I had donated mine when it was still in fashion so someone else could have enjoyed it as much as I did! It is sitting in a box, wrapped in muslin. Somebody will throw it out after I am gone. What a waste!

I hope you got great pictures on your wedding day. Those are something you will want to look at, over and over again, as the years go by.

Not everyone gets fatter as they age.

missdelilah · April 2015

I'm in the process of deciding what to do with mine. Personally, I love vintage, and really wanted a vintage dress, but couldn't find one. I wonder if someone might appreciate my dress more in fifty years than someone now does. It's a gamble, I know. If my grandmother had been married in something other than a dark suit that was her best outfit at the time, I'm sure I would have considered wearing her dress.

I actually have worn my mother's wedding dress on a number of occasions, but it's a very simple knee length dress that she dyed blue. There was never a point at which it wouldn't have fitted my mother, but she never found the right occasion on which to wear it. I didn't want to get married in it because I'd already worn it. Part of me wishes that I'd gone with something less obviously wedding dress-ish. It would make a wonderful halloween costume if I dyed it black, but I couldn't see myself ever wearing it again. It was enough of a struggle to fit in to it for the wedding, but I think I put on ten pounds during the cross-country move. I'm sure it would fit me better now if I wanted to try it on.

I'm too much of a nostalgic person to want to donate it at this point, but I may change my mind eventually. I don't much care for the thought of it sitting in a box I can't open until my potential grandchildren are of an age to be married.

doeydo · April 2015

larrygaga said:

CMGragain said:
What are you preserving it for? Your daughter won't want to wear it, except as a costume. (Mine certainly rejected my old dress!) It probably won't fit you in a few years. (Sigh!)

I really wish I had donated mine when it was still in fashion so someone else could have enjoyed it as much as I did! It is sitting in a box, wrapped in muslin. Somebody will throw it out after I am gone. What a waste!

I hope you got great pictures on your wedding day. Those are something you will want to look at, over and over again, as the years go by.
Not everyone gets fatter as they age.

Not everyone stays the exact same dress size for the rest if their life.

CMGragain · April 2015

larrygaga said:

CMGragain said:
What are you preserving it for? Your daughter won't want to wear it, except as a costume. (Mine certainly rejected my old dress!) It probably won't fit you in a few years. (Sigh!)

I really wish I had donated mine when it was still in fashion so someone else could have enjoyed it as much as I did! It is sitting in a box, wrapped in muslin. Somebody will throw it out after I am gone. What a waste!

I hope you got great pictures on your wedding day. Those are something you will want to look at, over and over again, as the years go by.
Not everyone gets fatter as they age.

Don't I wish! I am actually losing weight now after all these years! Anybody want a 1976 wedding dress with long sleeves and a high collar, old size 12? Sigh!

ladywell · May 2015

larrygaga said:

CMGragain said:
What are you preserving it for? Your daughter won't want to wear it, except as a costume. (Mine certainly rejected my old dress!) It probably won't fit you in a few years. (Sigh!)

I really wish I had donated mine when it was still in fashion so someone else could have enjoyed it as much as I did! It is sitting in a box, wrapped in muslin. Somebody will throw it out after I am gone. What a waste!

I hope you got great pictures on your wedding day. Those are something you will want to look at, over and over again, as the years go by.
Not everyone gets fatter as they age.

I don't even know you @larrygaga and yet you can read my mind.

ladywell · May 2015

OP, it really depends on how much you can't bear to part with your dress/what sentimental value it holds for you.

My sister in law (who is not a very emotional/sentimental girl) sold it off on a used wedding dress website and god a fair amount of money for it. I think it was a fantastic idea for her!

Me, on the other hand, I pretty much fell in love with my dress and my sentimental attachment was too strong... I did not have it preserved, but I've kept it to be altered into a tea dress. So I can pretend to be fabulous one day at an anniversary or tea party or WHATEVER.

It's a blush dress, so it really worked out appropriately so.

And my older sister, she preserved it and, while claiming that its a hassle to lug it around when her family moves, likes the idea of potentially reusing the fabric for a blanket or some "family heirloom" for her future children.

Think about what you would like to have it for-- to show your kids/grandkids, to reuse, etc. and if you have a reason, keep it preserved! If there isn't a reason other than being unsure what to do with it right now, consider donating or selling over keeping a box.

Newborndoc2008 · May 2015

I had mine preserved with the thought that I'd be cutting it apart in a few years to make christening gowns or first communion accessories that can then be handed down as heirlooms. At least it's clean and protected until then. Most of the value of my dress was in the silk it's made from so I couldn't bear to part with it for less than it's really worth.

Is wedding dress preservation worth it?

Re: Is wedding dress preservation worth it?

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