While many brides hold onto their wedding dress as a keepsake or even destroy it in the “destroy the dress” tradition, some take a more empathetic approach to the once-glamorous gown, choosing to donate their dresses. Donating your dress is a great way to declutter, give back, and potentially earn cash for your old wedding dress.
The best part is that you’re helping a charity and giving your gown a new home. Whether you choose to donate your used wedding dress or sell it, there are plenty of places that will gladly take on your gently worn gown. However, before you start listing it on various websites to find its next owner, consider that there is a chance your dress will not sell. Plus, listing and promoting your dress can be time-consuming and you may have to wait months for a sale.
One option is to donate your dress to a bridal boutique that specializes in pre-owned wedding gowns. They’ll resell your gown and the proceeds will go to their designated charity. This option is good for brides who want to help a particular cause, such as breast cancer, or have other restrictions on their dress, such as color or fabric.
Another option is to donate your wedding gown to a local non-profit store that gives the dress to a bride in need. They often have a specific dress size that they accept, so if you’re unsure about how to pack it, ask the charity you’re donating to to provide instructions. They can also offer garment bags to help protect your wedding dress.
You can also donate your wedding dress to a faith-based organization that focuses on sex trafficking prevention. This charity will resell your gown, and the proceeds from its sales will go towards supporting sex trafficking survivors, awareness campaigns, and more. This is a great option for brides who have a strong moral stance on the issue of sex trafficking.
There are also a number of charities that will turn your wedding dress into infant burial gowns, known as Angel Gowns, for families who have lost their newborns. These groups usually have volunteer seamstresses who create these precious gowns out of donated wedding dresses, and they are offered to hospitals, funeral homes, and directly to the families who need them.
If you want to donate your wedding dress to an Angel Gown program, there are several options in the state of New York. You’ll need to contact the group to see if they are currently accepting donations, and you should also check the condition requirements of your gown as some organizations will only take dresses that are less than five years old. Some may also charge a cleaning fee or only accept certain styles of gowns. Regardless, it’s worth getting the dress cleaned before you donate it as ingrained stains can be difficult to remove. It’s also a good idea to have it packed in a box or garment bag with a secure closure so that the dress will not be damaged in transit.