Monday, January 26, 2015

Five Ways To Reuse Your Bridesmaids Dress (After the wedding, of course)

I absolutely loved the bridesmaids dresses I picked for my girls. I loved them so much that I thought I might end up picking the dress up for myself to wear to a wedding in the future. And I loved the shoes I finally ended up picking for them. It took months of looking (seriously), but I ended up going with these Nina Women's Forbes Satin Peep-Toe Pump in silver. My bridesmaids said they were heels that they would be able to reuse, which is great because so often bridesmaids end up with heels and a dress that will forever be stuffed in the back of a closet.

If I'm being honest, my friend is about to celebrate her eleven year wedding anniversary to her high school sweetheart in a few months. And my bridesmaid dress from that wedding is still sitting in a bag in my parents' basement. I never even took it to get cleaned. I just put it in a bag and figured her wedding was over so I had no use for that used bridesmaid dress. And that was that.

Do you have a dress or two like that? If you do, this post is for you.

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Five Ways To Reuse Your Bridesmaids Dress  (After The Wedding, Of Course)


1. Go as a prom queen for Halloween.
It's almost an instant Halloween costume. Pick up a prom queen sash and prom queen crown and you're done. Seriously, it was that easy. You can even wear the bridesmaids heels too so you're reusing everything.

2. Donate it (to a company or a friend).
There are websites out there like Fairy Godmothers Inc. that will allow you to donate your bridesmaids dress. The dress must be less than five seasons old, so you need to do this as soon as possible. The dresses can then be purchased at an incredible discount (think $10) to girls in need who are planning to go to prom. If you're never going to wear it, you might as well donate it to someone who will. (Small aside: We have no personal relationship with Fairy Godmothers Inc. I just found them when I was googling. I didn't do too much research into them, so you might want to look deeper.)

If you don't want to mail it to a company you found online, and your local donation center won't take it, ask a friend. Friends ask me all the time if I have dresses they can borrow. If you're closet looks like Katherine Heigl from 27 Dresses, you should let your friends shop in your closet.

3. Turn it into a baby blanket.
If you know how to sew, this is a perfect idea. Use the front of your dress as one side of the blanket and purchase flannel material for the other side. Use the majority of the dress for the actual blanket and save any ruffles or bows to decorate the blanket. If you're like me and can't sew, you can purchase something like this on etsy (Small aside: I haven't purchased anything from that etsy seller. I just bookmarked that link because I love this idea.)

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4. Wear it to another wedding.
The photo above is from my friend Mallory's wedding. She asked her bridesmaids to purchase matching shoes (which I was obsessed with) and then told them they could purchase any dress as long as it was black. The style was up to the bridesmaid. That makes bridesmaids dress shopping easy, doesn't it? Purchase whatever you love best, as long as the color works. With that sort of dress shopping, you can guarantee that the bridesmaid dress is something you like and can wear again. If it's a little too fancy for date night, save it for another wedding.

5. Toss it.
I know, this is the most horrible solution, but if you're never going to wear your bridesmaid dress again, you can't find someone to accept your donation, a friend doesn't want it, and the bride is never getting pregnant, just throw it out. Don't let it take up valuable closet space. Just let it go.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What are some other ways to reuse your bridesmaid dress?

20 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness--the last option, while it kills me, is probably something most of us struggle with. Not only when we consider bridesmaids dresses but dresses in general. I usually go down memory lane as soon as that option pops up.

    Great advice!

    -xx
    Jessica

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    1. That's really how I feel about it too. I can't throw away a dress if I've gone somewhere fantastic in it (and really, where are you wearing a dress to that isn't fantastic). I try to wear it a few times but after three times, it has to be retired (especially with cocktail dresses). And then what? It's tragic really hahaha.

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  2. Love this post, Lisa! Fab brides choose bridesmaids dresses for their bridesmaids that they can wear again. The last wedding I was in was a fab bride, lol. I've worn that bridesmaids dress as a cute Sunday dress a time or two, including Easter. Love the costume idea too

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  3. Oh I love the babys blanket idea-- never in my right mind could I have thought of that-- thanks

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  4. Neat article! I had all my girls first of all get an inexpensive dress - I couldnt fathom them spending more than $120 on a dress they might never use again. But I chose a very simple style from David's Bridal that was a full length tapered dress which could then be cut to tee length later on for a future formal event. Great tips though!!

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  5. Great tips, I never thought of a halloween costume. Love it.

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  6. I was a bridesmaid in my sister's wedding last year and she picked out the best dresses ever. I have actually re-worn it :)

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  7. Haha. At first I thought this read, 5 ways to refuse the bridesmaids dress. I once wore beautiful white bridemaid's dress and I never wanted to take it off. It was very expensive, but worth it. Love the tip about making a blanket.

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  8. These are such good ideas! I love them all! (and never thought to do any of these!)

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    1. I try to make the dress shorter, or add/remove straps so I can rewear it, if not DONATE! I have a really crafty niece that likes to tear things apart, too. If I can't get rid of it, I know she will do something fun!

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  9. I LOVE the idea of turning your old bridesmaids dresses into baby blankets. If nothing else, I also love the idea of incorporating it into a Halloween costume!

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  10. I never thought about this before. It's great that it doesn't have to just sit around in the closet or in storage!

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  11. I ran into a young girl and her mom at Goodwill once looking for a prom dress to wear. I told her I had one at home she could use. They came and looked at it and she ended up wearing it to prom. Good way for others to get a use out of it.

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  12. Donating is a really wonderful idea! There are so many women who can't afford such a nice dress.

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  13. We donated all the dresses from our wedding party when all of the girls were done with it, and I also donated my gown :) Thanks for sharing your tips--love all of them except tossing it. You can ALWAYS donate if it's in good enough condition!

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  14. These are such great ideas! OMG, I love the baby blanket idea!

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  15. i donated mine for a prom dress drive. i wouldn't ever wear them again. lol

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  16. I love the idea of donating it. I know a lot of girls who have not been able to go because they couldn't get a dress.

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  17. Donating is a great idea. Make sure to take a picture first for posterity. I like the Halloween costume idea, too, if it is a really foofy dress.

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  18. I absolutely love this! I wish they did this in my area. So many girls, especially plus size don't get to attend prom because they can't afford it. Plus sizes are so much more expensive than average size clothing... I love this!!

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