i've heard stories from ladies who repurposed their wedding dresses into party dresses with a dye job and new hemline. this would only work with certain styles of dresses though, plus the ability to still fit in it!

what I'm planning on doing (when I'm brave enough and saved enough cash) is to cut it off and make it into a cocktail dress. Mine was simple enough to pull it off luckily. No heavy beading or lace so it'll be a pretty sundress someday. The only reason I haven't done it yet is price, nerves and the necessity to find an amazing seamstress willing to do it.

When you say you just can't sell it, do you mean that you've tried to sell it and no one will buy it? If that's the case you probably just need to lower the price.

I'm a quilter and have never heard of anyone using wedding dress fabric in a quilt. Interesting idea. Using non-cottons in quilt tops can be challenging. You might want to get several opinions from experienced quilters about this.

The baptism gown idea is adorable. Much better than trying to pass down a wedding gown to your daughter (who will want her own dress, most likely). Make sure you have plenty of photos of the dress before it's altered in any way. :)

I love the idea of turning it into a cocktail dress as well. I thought about it once when I bought mine. Or framing it with a contrast colored background. It would be a nice piece of wall art!

I am going to turn mine into a Christmas Tree skirt. I think it is a great way to keep it and enjoy it year after year.

I am a seamstress and tons of people have brought their wedding dresses in to be repurposed. Almost everone shortens theirs and dyes or add's another fabric. I am going to be doing a segment on repurosing grad, bridesmaid's, and wedding dresses on my blog, it might help you decide what route you want to go with your dress.

There is a UK designer maker who has a shop on Folksy or you can find her on Facebook - called Bubs Bears. She is a really talented bear maker - she can use your dress to create a bear that you can display easily which uses all of the beautiful features of your dress. Worth a look!

Ways I've seen wedding gowns re-purposed:

-Lace appliques removed and sewn to drawer sachets that were given to friends

-Newly divorced friend turned her dress into an empowering art project by wearing it out & asking strangers to write messages on the dress in sharpie

-Saved for future daughter to play dress-up in it

-Made into bed throw pillows

-Incorporated into a framed collage

I thought about the quilt prospect, but I didn't like the idea of the fabric becoming more and more worn, torn, stained, etc.

I re-purposed mine by selling it and buying a lovely bent plywood chair and a Frank Gehry necklace. But my dress was in near-perfect condition, so I suppose this isn't an option for everyone.

i like the idea of a tree skirt, or a baptism gown...but the sachets are pretty sweet too.

until i come up with an idea that's feasible for a full lace gown, i'm gonna keep it boxed up.

i wore (and adored) my mother's wedding dress

at my own wedding, i should probably add

I've dyed a lot of clothes. It's a great way to get a second life out of a garment.

If you want to dye your gown, test the thread first to make sure it will take the dye. Polyester thread is durable and is often the first choice for seamstresses. However, if you dye a silk gown made with polyester thread, the silk will take the dye and the thread will not -- you'll have white accents everywhere the thread shows...and you'll be shocked to see how much thread does show.

To test the thread, carefully clip a seam in two places. Draw the cut length of thread and test it in a cupful of water with dye added. If it resists the dye, it's polyester. If it takes the dye, it might be cotton or silk.

Of course, if you can, ask the seamstress who made your dress. Be sure to also ask anyone who did alterations to the dress what kind of thread they used, as well.

TIPS
--LIQUID dye, NOT powder.
--TEST RUN on a similar piece of fabric first.
-Silk, cotton, linen, and rayon (and blends of these) take dye beautifully.
-Wash the dress first, remove as much excess water as possible, then put it into the dye bath. Thoroughly damp cloth takes dye much better than dry cloth.
-Using RIT Color Remover according to the label instructions before dying makes for much better results. This often takes out stubborn stains that have otherwise resisted every effort to remove them.
-Google the use of vinegar in dying and in setting dye.
-There are special dyes made for silk. If you're going to use one of these, do a test run on a piece of silk from a fabric store first.

P.S. Tips on dying would make a great post on AT, especially as many of us have bought silk pillows and would love to re-do them.

Sorry, that should be "Google the use of vinegar in dyeing and in setting dye."

...and "tips on dyeing" rather than the otherwise- morbid spelling my lousy typing produced.

Take one of your wedding photo's and have it transferred onto a piece of fabric which you can iron on or sew to a pillow made from the fabric of your wedding dress. I have a pillow made from an old cashmere suit my grandfather use to wear. On it, is a photo of him in the cashmere suit. I smile every time I see it.

If you don't want to pass it on to someone, e.g. a charity like the one mentioned above, WEAR it! Surprise your husband with pizza-on-the-bed, watch old movies in it, etc.

Oh just keep it!! I am waiting for my last sis to get married and then we are getting a group of about 20 girls together and going to a fancy hotal all dressed up in our gowns for high-tea.

If I can't sell my dress -it looks like a cream charmeuse evening gown with a lace top, I will have the bottom replaced with a black silk charmeuse bottom (sans train). That is when $ and waistline allow!

Btw, it was Reem Acra's "Heavenly" and today is my 2 year wedding anniversary!

Donate it to a charity shop. Women come in all the time looking for wedding gowns. It kills two birds with one stone: a charity gets money for its causes, and the gown is used again.

The Christmas tree skirt sounds so festive, I can picture a glittery dress making a nice snowy backdrop or accenting an all white tree.
Speaking of glitter - does anyone know what happens if you dye a dress that had sequins, crystals & pearls? Will they not absorb the dye?

@hotdogger13: that's why mine is still in the closet, unaltered. i'm fairly certain plastic beading and sequins do not absorb dye, or at least would not hold it properly. clear beads are probly the only thing you could get away with.

Hi Danielle. If you are planning on having children I would suggest saving the dress for your daughter to play "dress-up" in. I remember doing this with my mammas wedding dress and can recall the feeling of connection it gave me to her special day.

My mother used her's to make christening gowns for my sister and me.

not a useful comment. but this question reminded me of this blog http://myexwifesweddingdress.com/ :D hehe

A skirt for the baby's bassinette, and lace for a christening cap.

RE: beads & sequins... I don't know about sequins, but I have seen isntructions for dying plastic pearls, and seems to work just fine.

I got married in a silk suit, but if I had a gown, I'd just donate the thing to a charity. Make somebody else's life happier!

I know someone who had her dress made into a christmas tree skirt. I was highly skeptical, but it was beautiful. Her dress had a lot of detail along the hem.

I was also going to suggest donating it. However, it may be nice to keep it for your daughter(s). I have my mother's wedding dress. It was the only portion of the wedding that she did not pay for herself, and it cost a whopping $40. I plan to have something made with it when I get married to wear as my "something old", although I'd never wear the dress (and it would never fit).

Keeping mine for daughter to have for whatever purpose. A gift of a wonderful memory our family's beginning.

I know several brides who have done a "dirty" wedding dress photo shoot after their wedding -- on horseback, at the beach, in a fountain, up a tree, in a boat, etc. Basically all of the places that make for really beautiful shots, but could (at least potentially) dirty the dress and make it less than pristine. A lot of time their hair is less styled and their makeup is more casual in these shots, so they end up looking more themselves, and the photos quickly become the favorites over the stiffly posed wedding day photos.

Afterward, if the dress is too soiled to donate to a normal charity (ie a charity where it will be resold or given to women to wear again), it gets donated to a charity that turns the dresses into baby burial gowns and blankets, that are in turn given out at hospitals to grieving parents. One adult gown (even with a foot or so of soiled hemline) can make several beautiful baby gowns.

I like the idea of the quilt, especially if the dress is fairly ornate. The changes in texture from patch to patch, while still all in white, will look very smart.

I say either learn to quilt yourself, or find someone on Craigslist or similar and contract them to do it for you. It may be a little pricey but imagine how nice the outcome will be.

Call me a sentimentalist, but I really believe in keeping it, for your daughter or a grandaughter. I wish that I had either my mom's or my grandmother's wedding dress :( I do, however, really like @ernern's idea of "dirty" wedding photos. I might keep that in mind :)

Google "Trash the Dress". A lot of photographers do this. I love the idea, but couldn't bear the thought of *my* wedding dress filthy. (What would my mother think??) But the photographs really do turn out beautiful.

Here's one slide show of Trash the Dress: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/popup?id=3283476

my mother made my dress and after the big day, suggested chopping it into pieces to turn into a quilt. I did chop it up - so now I have a bunch of squares of my dress fabric waiting to be turned into something. I don't think I'd like to make a quilt soley out of that, but to incorporate a square or two in baby quilts I think would be nice.

If you truly can't find any use for it, try: http://myexwifesweddingdress.com/. Full of many (usually ridiculous) ideas. :D

All my siblings and cousins were baptized in a gown made from our grandmother's wedding dress. She was married in the 1920s, we were baptized in the 1960s, and some of the great grandchildren wore it in the 1990s. It was a dignified reuse of beautiful fabric, the lace trimmed gown hangs all the way to the floor when the baby is held by the parents and godparents.

My mom wore her mother's wedding dress, but didn't want the entire chapel length train. My grandmother cut off part of the train, and turned it into Christmas ornaments for herself and her children.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I really have some thinking to do. I actually am a professional photographer and have done a trash the dress photo shoot already. My husband and I met over a mutual love of cars so my photographer friend and I went and had a shoot at a junkyard. They turned out beautiful. Thanks again for the suggestions. Maybe when I get something done, I will post photos!

I photographed my little girls wearing my dress & plan to display the photos at their weddings: http://www.pinfluence.com/2011/11/07/the-princess-brides/

pink dress
I like the idea of the quilt, especially if the dress is fairly ornate. The changes in texture from patch to patch, while still all in white, will look very smart.

Repurposing wedding dresses is a service I offer. I have lots of pics and descriptions on my website, http://sewingbymaudy.com/repurposed_wedding_dresses, and blog, www.cuttingcloth.blogspot.com. I hope this gives you some ideas. Cheers