I saw a show about how some brides are renting their wedding dresses. Saves a lot of money and I think it is actually a good idea.

Just wondering, for those who have/had a wedding dress, what did you do with it???

Mine is hanging in the closet......................

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

After 26 years mine is still in a box in my old room at my parents house. At first instead of cleaning and boxing it I wrapped it in a blue sheet that was suppose to keep it from yellowing. My sister wore it maybe five years later as a halloween costume after she became engaged. It was already turning yellow. So after she wore it she took it to the cleaners and had it cleaned and boxed. I have not looked at it since.

Mine is 34 years old, so it's definately past the renting stage. It's hanging in my closet with a plastic cover over it. I look at it every now and then, and wish I could still squeeze into it.

Mom kept my wedding gown thinking my sister could someday use it, but that day came and go. My sister would have loved to wear it if only she can fit into my size 4 wedding dress but unfortunately she can't so the dress is still in the box.

If given the choice I would rather sell it than rent it.

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Loida Chan
A Bargain Shopper who believes that Life's Luxuries can come at small prices.

I bought a nice plastic cover and it's been hanging in my closet for 21 years.

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

Its been covered after being cleaned and is in a nice plastic bag hanging in my attic it has been moved several times to keep making room as we bring more stuff in there it been in that bag 24 years and its a size 2 omg I was 93 lbs lucky if I could get one leg in there now lol.. Nice post . Peace to all. Catherine

My dress has been cleaned, preserved and is sitting in a closet. I was hoping for a daughter so she would hopefully wear it, but no luck. My oldest son likes the dress and asked me to hold onto it. He said that he was hoping for a daughter of his own one day who could wear it.
He also said that maybe one day his future wife might like it and want to wear it(like that will happen lol).
Judy

It's in the closet. Mine was just a white prom dress, and I'm really not sure there's any reason to keep it.

Perhaps one of my daughters would wear my dress since they are both skinny mini's sure wish I could turn back the clock and have there shape for just a few days, wishful thinking .However they are shorter then me Hope is 4/11 and Caitlin is 5 even and both weigh about the same 95 lbs .I am 5/3 and the weight well what the heck 129 alot different then 95 lbs. But 35 lbs makes a difference and where is it all my belly and my bottom cause my arms and legs are still skinny. Hey talking about wedding dresses what does everyone think of strapless gowns and different colors. For me personally its personal choice your day have what you want. Peace to all. Catherine

My wedding gown is in the landfill somewhere. I kept it for years hanging in a closet. But I wasn't able to have it cleaned because all of the beads were glued on instead of sewn on. There were a LOT of beads. I would have had to sewn them all on (not even sure if they had holes) before it could have been cleaned. After 20 years and no children, when we were moving into a new house, I said, that's it. There's no reason to keep it any more. And it went into the garbage. It was VERY hard for me to do, but really, why keep it? I have pictures!

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Linda

threw mine away....long before the divorce.
Hated my wedding dress with a passion! But, because I was so much bigger then than I am now---It was the only dress that fit.

If there is a next marriage? Not having a wedding. Going to a Justice of the Peace, or something equally as simple. Or maybe have my mom or dad just perform the ceremony at home! Only reason I had the 1st wedding was because my grandmother asked me to.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

My sisters and I all wore the same dress. It was simple and quite nice. A number of other girls we knew wore it, too. It was worn maybe 10 times or so. I have no idea who ended up with it.

I can't imagine paying what I see people paying for a wedding dress these days. Renting or buying a used one seems like the way to go IMO.

I bought mine in Greenwich Village for $40 35 years ago. My dd loved trying it on through the years. She just had some professional pictures taken and took several wearing the dress. It is more of a romantic hippie flowing cotton affair. Still cool looking though, and amazingly still in good shape.

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I borrowed mine I could have worn my mothers or my cousins. My mom's was simple empire waist but I chose my cousins which was more fitted (more me). I had to take it in (she was larger than me when she got married) but I liked it.

There was no way I was spending a lot of money on something I would only wear once. If I didn't have the option of borrowing, I would have looked at renting or buying a simple white dress (like a prom dress or something)

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

My dd is getting married next week. When I got married, at first I was going to get something inexpensive because I am cheap at heart. My mother did not ever get expensive things ( with 8 kids) but she told me that was the one thing she spent money on was her wedding dress. She paid $100 for her dress 61 years ago. That was a lot of money than. 36 years ago when I got married and thought about what my mother said, I paid $300 for my dress (which was a bit of money back then). I have kept in in my cedar hope chest all these years along with my veil. It is in perfect condition. I never thought of passing it on to my daughter but it was there if that happened. Well, my dd is taller than me by about 5 inches and is a size 16 (I was a 12). So she bought her dress but she is going to wear my veil. I know the question is : how much did she pay for her dress ---$900. Like everything else, the price of dresses go up.

Mine is preserved in a box in my closet. A friend borrowed my veil to decide if she wanted one for her wedding and I never got it back, but the rest of it is sitting nicely. I don't know why I'm keeping it. I really loved my dress, though. It was beautiful!

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Kim

My first wedding dress.... I threw it in a dumpster when I was moving into my now hubby's house.

My current wedding dress is preserved in a box in my closet. My girls have tried in on once, but then back in the box it went. They both said they want to wear it for their wedding.....got quite a few years before that happens!

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Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together.

For those of you who threw your dress away -- was there a reason you decided not to donate it to Goodwill or some other thrift store? Personally I would never throw away something like that, knowing it could be used by someone at least for the fabric or as a costume. So I'm curious if throwing it in the trash was a spontaneous thing or a deliberate decision.

And if you're wondering, my dress is in a box in my daughter's closet.

That's a good question. I guess I just never thought about donating it. But then again my dress had never been cleaned after wearing it and couldn't be cleaned unless someone wanted to sew on all the beads. Someone probably could have washed it themselves I guess. But we were moving and I just decided to get rid of it. Now I wish I had thought about donating it!

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Linda

Mine's in the closet. I didn't like any of the dresses I saw in the shops and I thought the prices were over the top. I had a seamstress make mine for about $350. Pricey for a dress I wore once, but a bargain compared to the dresses I saw in the shops.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

I think my decision to toss it was deliberate....once I knew I was moving in with hubby. Didn't want that memory (of the jerk) anywhere in the house. Never thought about donating it.....gee I think I even tossed the wedding photos too!

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Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together.

AHHHHH made a scarecrow out of it.... Ex husband pulled up and said, "Oh thats real cute...." I said, "Im so glad you like at... at least my moms money did not go to waste!!"

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Be careful what you wish for.....

Also I was thinking it was the first dress I saw only tried on one I do not trying on clothes lol purchased it and it was only 375.00 compared to the dresses today I mean I know some are sooooooooo beautiful I sometimes feel its so much money , but in the end its your time, your memories so enjoy. Peace. Catherine

My wedding dress was an off the rack off white crocheted type dress with a lining. I lost a bunch of weight after my wedding and I gave the dress to my Mom. She can wear it when she goes out somewhere nice.

Although wedding dresses are beautiful I can't see spending the money on a one time dress. We had a small backyard wedding. My BIL grilled steak and shrimp and my Mom and sisters made the rest of the food. Our whole wedding cost $1200 including $400 of food from Costco.

If I were rich I would have fancied it up but I personally feel it's foolish to go into a marriage owing money on that one day. For what some people pay for a wedding I could pay for my whole house.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Anna I agree you 100 percent while I totally loved my wedding and will cherish it forever. If I could do things different there would be much less people only our really close family and friends and on the beach wearing a simple antique old cheap spending dress, my dh is white pants and a white shirt open up no tie and no shoes and some local flowers and just simple appentizers , perhaps one of my children will do this as they say they want too. Peace. Catherine

Mine was an original design (collaboration between an amazing seamstress and myself). Kept it for memories sake.
Can't imagine another bride wanting the "exact" one I used. I think every bride deserves her own unique flair. It's her day to be a princess.

I still have my mother's dress too. It's kind of Jackie O in style but might serve as a costume one day as will mine if someone needed it in a theatrical situation.

This thread reminds me of that Brad Paisley song, And I thought I loved you then....
It was a magical day.... {{sighs}} and I thought I loved him then.....I love him more and more with each passing year!---The smile in those pictures couldn't compare to twinkle in my eye now.
I know how good it gets! I was dreaming about the fairy tale then and livin' it now.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane,

X

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Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

I donated about 5 years after I got married to a local store that rented out wedding dresses and prom dresses. My mom made it for me. I was 5 1/2 months prego with my first DD when I got married and I knew I NEVER wanted for one of my DDs to ever be able to wear the dress
Bummer though as the store went out of business several years ago. Thought it was such a good idea, but maybe it was started before its time??

after 2 years it is sitting in the closet never have been cleaned or anything. It just takes up space and I didn't want to pay the fee to have it cleaned or preserved. It is off white anyway
I have no plans as of yet, but wish I didn't care so much to give it away. I did all the tailoring work myself on a $900.00 dress just to save $200.00 more... LOL
Because of this, it could surely fit a girl about 6 inches taller than I. Maybe my best friend would like to wear it if she got married. My sister got married in vegas w/o telling me and I had another dress in the closet I wanted to give her.

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-Kristi

Well after working catering for over 10 years I grew to think weddings were a HUGE waste of $$ so I got married at the courthouse. I think I wore regular clothes, I don't even really remember. Been married almost 12 years though so I guess it didn't matter that we didn't do the big fancy money waster wedding. I am just too damn cheap to spend that much money on a wedding.

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