What did you do with your wedding dress?

We had 2 weddings (same guy, same weekend), an American wedding and an Indian wedding. My "regular" dress is wrapped in a clean, plain white sheet, in a box that has been hermetically sealed w/more packing tape than necessary. I just wasn't willing to pony up the $ for the professional cleaning / storage since I wasn't planning to wear it again.

My sari for the Indian wedding is in my closet - my MIL wanted me to wear it to BIL's wedding a couple weeks ago (apparently it's not the horrid faux pas it would be for an American to do such a thing, but the new SIL is such a pill I really considered dragging out the white dress). It's REALLY heavy and it was really warm, so I chose another sari.

As for what to do w/them, for the American dress I really have no idea. I played dress up in my mom's - but hers was v. inexpensive. A good friend's mom used parts of her dress when making the slip for the friend's wedding dress - I like that.

I'm planning to hang the sari on the wall in our new home, folded so that the palau showing (the fanciest beaded part). The Indians I've mentioned this to are perplexed as to why I would do this - but it's gorgeous work, and Indian, and I don't care for Indian art - so this can be some influence in our home.

[twinsmom]

My roomie and I were about the same size, so we went in together and bought it for my wedding, then she wore it for hers when she got married about 2-3 years later. It now sits with her. We stay in good enough touch that we can call each other up and get it from each other if any occassions arise for it...

Jen B.

[Vishenka69]

Mine has also been cleaned and preserved. I've tried selling it but the offers have been less than what I spent on alterations. My mom thinks I'm crazy and should get rid it of if for whatever because it takes up half of a hallway closet. DH doesn't really care what I do with it.

[Flynn]

Mine's preserved...not sure why but it seemed to be the thing to do when I was deciding what to do.

[Sheherezade]

Mine is boxed up and preserved too. It sits, along with my mother's dress and my grandmother's dress, in the guest bedroom closet. It seems ridiculous but strange to get rid of them. I got my mother's and grandmother's when I cleaned out my grandmother's attic. Maybe I should start a little museum. At least my daughter will have choices if she want a family heirloom. My experience has been that most of my friends wanted their own dresses though - not their mom's. Maybe that is different in different areas. I'm going to check out that charity that Jenn listed.

[SuzySunshine]

You know my aunt-in-law displays hers and she used it as a centerpeice when she threw me my shower. She has those old wicker looking manequins like you'd see in an antique shop and her dress is part of the decoration in her guest room.

My mom used to display hers as well in her room because it was a vintage dress from the 1800s. That stopped after I used it to dress up as Emily Dickinson for a book report in the eighth grade...

I hung mine up at my parents' house when I got to there for a brunch the morning after our wedding...and come to think of it, I have no idea what my mom did with it! But I think it's in storage with all of the other "Mary shrine" items that my mom won't get rid of. Everyone at our wedding kept asking if my dress was some vintage family heirloom (even though I thought it looked pretty modern), so maybe DD will have use for it when she gets married. She could at least use part of it in a new dress, like "Pretty in Pink"...

Now, the other issue with the wedding is that my mother wanted to be in charge of compiling our wedding pictures in a nice, scrapbooky type album to give to us...well, our 3 year anniversary is in two weeks and I have yet to see it. I keep getting terribly dramatic excuses about it, so it's become a standing joke with DH and our friends...

[Rapunzel]

Mine is at my mom's house hanging in her closet unpreserved. It was made by my grandmother for my mom's wedding and, so, it's got a history to it. I imagine my mom will keep it until her death and then I'll probably have it and I don't know what I'll do with it.... It's already an ivory color rather than white due to age (it's about 31 years old at this point). I don't think my daughters will be able to use it in a couple of decades. Maybe my mom will let me cut it up and use it to make a baby blessing outfit for my own grandchildren or something.

Jennifer

[HeartRN]

We eloped--My mom bought the poor medical student to be and his wife to be's wedding bands, plus a really simple ivory dress from Dillard's that I wore. It's hanging in my closet, and I laugh when I think about putting it on (It's a size 6)

[houseelf]

Marla-

This is why Erma Bombeck advised that every woman should by her wedding dress sized several sizes too large. That way, we'll always be able to brag, I still fit in my wedding dress! Hey, you take 'em where you can get 'em.

Kelly