What should be the fate of your wedding dress after the wedding? Here are some thoughts and ideas about awareness, recycling and sustainability to help guarantee that your Big Day is not the last day in the story of your wedding dress.
Maybe you have spent decades dreaming about it, searching for years for the perfect one. Months of anticipation until the careful design, and the fine material come together in the finished dress. Then weeks of nervous excitement about your choice and whether your bridegroom will really love it! And then you wear it for just one short day. The life of the dress consumes us until the wedding day, but little attention is given to its afterlife.
Appropriate aftercare
To guarantee that your dress keeps its original beauty and quality it is important to have it taken as soon as possible, at the latest within a week, to a laundry offering dry cleaning services. The materials from which a wedding dress is made lace, silk, satin and other delicate fabrics cannot be washed in a washing machine without the risk of damage. Removing stains and dirt is essential however, so that no stains are left on the dress, no dust on the train, and that the white material does not yellow over time.
Extra tip: The 3D flower appliques, pearls and other dainty decorations are particularly fragile. To be extra careful ask for a small sample of the fabric and take it to the dry cleaners. This allows them to find the most suitable procedure to avoid damage to your dress.
Give it away!
Undoubtedly no explanation is needed about how expensive a wedding can be. Many can only daydream about exchanging their vows in their dream location and in their dream dress. While of course the most important thing is not appearance, and a wedding doesn’t have to be held in a perfect setting, for most women the belief has been formed from childhood that this will be remembered as the most important day of their lives.
Help someone make their dream come true, who wouldn’t be able to do so from their own resources, and donate your dress to a bride to make her day unforgettable. You can do this through various organizations, or initiate your own appeal. Ask those interested to write a little motivation letter, explaining why they deserve to get the dress. You will see that you gain as much from it as the new owner of your dress does!
Remodelling
There is nothing new about remodelling a wedding dress, but most people are reluctant to see their dress “in pieces”. Yet this is a way to give a second lease of life to your dress, rather than leaving it in a box at the bottom of your wardrobe never to be seen. Separate the top and bottom part, wear them separately for everyday wear, or wear together in a simplified way for a special occasion.
Extra tip: Did you know that many of the Daalarna models can be requested in a body and skirt combination. So you can wear the top anytime later, even with a pair of jeans and a blazer.
Wear your wedding dress to celebrate your wedding anniversary!
In general it is not a good omen for the wedding dress if you are considering having to wear it a second time, if you don’t manage to keep your vows to each other! However there is nothing better than reliving the most beautiful memories of your wedding day years later, or renewing your vows on a special anniversary. If possible wear the same perfume- a perfect guardian of memories- choose the same hairstyle as on your wedding day, and wear the same dress as on that day. It might be fun to have the same photo shoot as on the wedding day too.
Photography after the wedding
Enjoy the possibility that you don’t have to take care of your dress to the last thread, nor to ensure that the dress survives the day intact. If you have unusual hobbies, or simply have a sense of adventure and would love some unusual photos then don’t hold yourself back! That is the basic pillar of the “trash the dress” movement: do something shocking, unusual, impulsive, extreme and have such photos taken that you wouldn’t have dared to as you had to protect the dress on the big day.
Jump into the sea, discover a forest, climb a mountain even- the point is to be creative.
Dress code: wear white
Give a new lease of life to your dress at an elegant event. Have you noticed that you always seem to have to look for a new dress for a special occasion, while your wardrobe is full of beautiful dresses waiting for a chance to steal the stage again. If you are invited to many functions, and enjoy wearing white, then choose a wedding dress that you will be able to use later for other events.
Extra tip: Have you seen the elegant, minimalist,simple lines of our capsule collection, the SUNSET collection? These models are perfectly suited to both weddings and dinner parties.
Mother, daughter granddaughter
Did you wish for “something old” on your wedding day? To wear as a talisman a prized accessory of your mother or grandmother? Think of this when choosing your dress: store it in a suitably packed way, in a cool, sealed place, and protect it for your daughter, or granddaughter, so that one day they can also adorn themselves in it. Don’t forget simple, classic elegance never goes out of fashion.
If you want to check if your dream Daalarna dress is available in your country, click here for the list of our international retailers.
