MarziPlanner

Wedding trends – fun or frivolous

Posted on 16 March 2009

Every now and then a new bridal trend emerges, like having your beloved pet walk up the aisle with you, or a butterfly release, or “Trash the Dress”. This last one came about a year or so ago and I really can’t get my head around WHY you would spend thousands of dollars, and many many weekends in choosing fabrics and having fittings for your dream dress, to only then go and ruin it in the one hit!

Doing up the back of my wedding gown

Stories emerged in 2008 of brides wearing their wedding dress and jumping off jetties into the ocean, running through fields of mud in the country, setting it on fire or shredding it with scissors just for the sake of “closure” or not having to worry about storing it for the next 30 years. Originally an idea by a Sydney photographer, it was yet another photo shoot opportunity for the newly married couple to fork out for, the premise being that “you are not going to get married again and this is a symbol of the commitment” (news.com.au).

Sure – I spent more than I should have on my gown, and now it sits in a box, tightly vacuum sealed after wearing it that one day in October, 2005. Apart from hoping that one day my daughter might wear it on her wedding day, or even use the fabric, my view is that in the current age of eco-sensitivity trashing your wedding dress is wasteful and distasteful.

Here are some ideas for what to do with your bridal gown after the wedding:

• Sell it. There are heaps of websites that let you upload an image of the dress with a description to sell (they keep a % fee or registration fee)
• Rent it out. Again, search online for relevant sites
• Keep it for posterity. Just make sure it is cleaned then stored correctly – away from moisture and preferably vacuum sealed
• Donate it to a charity like St Vincents
• Sell it to a pre-loved clothing store
• Donate it to a secondary school or local theatre for their drama props department
• Disassemble it and get crafty with the fabric. Find patterns for clutch handbags at Lincraft
• Give it to a bridal business near you – they might put it in their front window!
• Have it pressed flat and then framed to hang on a bedroom wall