What did you do with memorabilia from your first wedding?

brandypugh

My mom and I were cleaning out a closet and some bookshelves at my house today and I came across wedding photos and my guest book/memory book from my first wedding. What do I do with them? I'm not sure. Part of me wants to get rid of them because I'm starting new with FI. But then part of me thinks I should save them in case my three children who I had with my ex ever ask about our marriage or wedding. What would/did you do with your stuff?
Thanks!

Marrin713

xH threw it all out.  I mean ALL of it.

Lisa50

I still have the photo album, which I will give to my son.  There was no other memorabilia.

coopsbaby

I've got the photos, for the kids. The rest I tossed it. 

right1thistime

I was married for 15 years and we had 2 children together.  We separated in a messy painful way.  I am thankful that I held onto the photos & my dress.  It is part of my life, my past, and my childfren's beginning.  It's all in boxes,  I don't have to look at it and as I have healed, I am glad I have it.  ~Donna

awayagain

I kept the photo album for my son.  I gave the dress to a church thrift shop.  I smashed the champagne glasses in a fit of rage.

Avion22

I guess it's different for those of us who are widows....I still have my dress and the photos.   I'll probably get rid of the dress at some point (I'd love to know someone else is getting some use out of it), but I will keep the photos forever.  We didn't have any kids, so I might not ever look at them again, but it makes me feel better knowing that I have them and can look at them if I want to.

renjon7798

kept the pictures, gave the dress away and had a bonfire with the rest of it when I found out XH got gf preggers while we were still married. Not one of my finer moments, but I was slightly hurt.

PopPow

I kept the photos and tossed the rest.

victoriagrove

 I kept the wedding album.  I was married the first time in 88 and since then many of my family members, brother, stepdad etc. have passed away. I'm grateful to have these pictures.

AshDreamer

I saved the pictures for my son... The rest I donated... 

timsflower81

We didn't have kids and the divorce was not friendly.  I moved 3 hours away a few months after I kicked him out... so during the moving process I destroyed and threw out everything - guest book, photo albums, customized pens, unity candle, glass cake topper (it was fun with a hammer) and anything else that reminded me of the piece of crap husband I wasted a part of my life with.  I know I keep saying this but its true - my first wedding was seriously the worst day of my life.  

In other news - FI still had his wedding ring from his first marriage... he took to a "cash for gold" person at the mall on Saturday and got $100! I was shocked and we'll be using it for our honeymoon. lol

handfast4me

I kept the album for my daugher--and I have the antique fur hand-muff I carried (winter wedding) and hat in a box with other family heirlooms, but everything else is gone.  Gave the rings to my daughter, too. 

right1thistime

My rings went to my daughter as well.  No clue what he did with his ring.  And OH- the HAT!!  I still have the hat.  (Hey, it was the 80's!)  ~Donna

MandiNewMommy

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_second-weddings_what-did-you-do-with-memorabilia-from-your-first-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:35Discussion:a79435fe-60cb-4b5c-b308-05f14e39afdfPost:da5485f8-b4bf-494c-8529-2d5dda617c30">Re: What did you do with memorabilia from your first wedding?</a>:
[QUOTE]I guess it's different for those of us who are widows....I still have my dress and the photos.   I'll probably get rid of the dress at some point (I'd love to know someone else is getting some use out of it), but I will keep the photos forever.  We didn't have any kids, so I might not ever look at them again, but it makes me feel better knowing that I have them and can look at them if I want to.
Posted by Avion22[/QUOTE]

Me too.  I still have our cake topper, guest book, and a few other things.  They are in a box but I def do not want the get rid of them!

squarepeg72

I saved the pictures for the kids but I didn't really have anything else. I wore my mom's dress and she has that

PJBHL5

my preserved bouquet is hanging in my daughters room (she has just recently found out it was from mommy and daddy's wedding - she's 4), and my wedding dress is preserved for her incase she wants it some day. The pics are all boxed up between xH and I.

SlymShaydy

Packed it all up and put it with my ex-h's stuff when he moved out, including my dress.  No idea what he did with all of it.

BeachBride1216

Keep the pics and guest book for the kids.  At some point it will remind them that their parents did in fact love and care for each other at some point.  My mother gave me all of her wedding stuff when I got married even though she had been divorced from my father for almost a decade at that point.  I loved seeing the pics of them when they were younger and liked the idea that my parents did at one time love each other enough to decide to have me.

With my own first marriage, I have kept the pictures on my laptop and plan to burn them for memories since my grandfather has since passed away and they are some of the last pictures of him (he died the year after we got married.)  We never got around to puitting together an album and I finally tossed our signed photo frame the last time I moved when I realized there was no way I would ever reuse even the frame.

SlymShaydy

Oh, duh, forgot to add that I just traded in my old engagement ring  toward my new one

jyoung630

I was able to save/rescue the dress, the rings, and the crystal Bride and Groom champagne flutes.  The rest was lost in a hurricane a few years after the divorce. 

adaisyandarose

I still have my photos and my wedding dress. IDK what to do with my dress, it's now 18 years old and I doubt anyone would want to wear that style again. Keep it for my daughter to make something for her wedding day out of it? lol

lb1212

My ex has wedding photos and video that he is keeping for his daughter.  He pawned the wedding rings, but kept the engagement ring.  We plan on resetting it into a necklace when she's older - maybe for college graduation.  I'm not sure what she kept.

SoSaysTara

My mom still has my dress from my first wedding and I keep talking about selling it.  Really, I'll probably just donate it.

The only picture I KNOW I still have from that time period is the picture with my elderly grandma who died a few weeks after the wedding.  It's my last picture with her alive.

The rest.. I don't actually know.  There is a box of stuff in the garage.. it might be in there, or it might be thrown out.  Not too sure.

JessChase713

Threw out the pics with the ex in them and kept the ones with my family,friends, and my bridesmaids. I gave away my dress to a friend that needed one to get married in. I left everything else in the house (ex stayed in it)...he can deal with it. (cheating basterd).

20pearls16

Sold the rings for 3 trips to Sam's club! Sent the dress to the trift shop. The album, the guest book etc I will give to my oldest daughter.

CassieCA

I kept it all even though no kids.  We separated amicably 9 years ago and are still close. I see it as a part of my history, and there are pictures, guestbook entries, etc from family (like my grandparents) who are no longer living.  On the other hand, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the dress and rings! LOL

Coming from the other side of it, my FI's parents were divorced when he was 1 (he Father died 5 years ago), and we had a ball going through their wedding pictures recently.  I'm amazed at how much he looks like his Dad!  We're actually thinking about setting those and my parents wedding album out with pics of us as guests walk in.

missv19732000

I gave my ex the rings when I kicked him out.  I'm sure he pawned them.  I still have the preserved dress, the pictures and the video.  I am keeping the pics and video for the kids.  Not sure why I still have the dress.  I have tried to sell it, but no one bought it.  I guess I should give it away before 1/19/13 - that's when I am getting married again - to a wonderful man who treats me like a princess!

willywally5

I married first time in 1990 and it lasted four years. We had no children.

I kept a few pics: one of my grandma and I, one with my parents and one of just me.

I took my wedding ring and a 'promise ring' (lol, typing that makes me gag now!) to a jeweler to be made into a pendant. He let me watch him smash it apart! That was therapeutic. Eventually sold the pendant because I hardly ever wore it. 

Put dress and veil on consignment; veil sold but the dress didn't. It was beautiful. This may sound odd, but i used the lace and fabric from it to make my daughter's christening gown and later, my son's christening outfit. My (current) husband didn't mind a bit and thought it was quite resourceful. 

My first marriage helped make me who I am, so I'm OK with having a few reminders. Although, I have no clue where those three photos are at the moment! 

mfeo24

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_second-weddings_what-did-you-do-with-memorabilia-from-your-first-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:35Discussion:a79435fe-60cb-4b5c-b308-05f14e39afdfPost:6f2c55fc-933d-44b8-b79c-0f7623eb469e">What did you do with memorabilia from your first wedding?</a>:
[QUOTE]My mom and I were cleaning out a closet and some bookshelves at my house today and I came across wedding photos and my guest book/memory book from my first wedding. What do I do with them? I'm not sure. Part of me wants to get rid of them because I'm starting new with FI. But then part of me thinks I should save them in case my three children who I had with my ex ever ask about our marriage or wedding. What would/did you do with your stuff? Thanks!
Posted by brandypugh[/QUOTE]

I didn't have children, so the answer won't reflect that, but I tossed all of it. The albums I left w the ex when I moved out, I'm sure he's tossed them by now. I had a box of keepsakes which my mom and I emptied unceremoniously into a dumptster one day. The dress is strangly still sitting under my guest bed, I haven't been able to properly get rid of that or the ring yet.  

sablearts

I didn't have children from my first marriage, but my father also had marriages before my mom that he did not keep any photos of and that I never really got to have questions answered about when growing up. So, I have a large rubbermaid box in the attic with my dress, photo albums, rings, and various other knickknacks and keepsakes from that relationship that are there not for ME or to show my future kids who that other man was, but so that they will be able to see the relics of that part of my life too. I don't want my kids someday to have big "blanks" about it. I also took the wedding album and wrote in who all of the people were and their relationships, etc, since 99% of those people I will never see again, but if my kids wonder who they all are I want them to be able to see (but I can now forget!)