Many brides keep their wedding dresses as keepsakes and pass them down to their children. Others take part in the popular “destroy the dress” tradition, photographing themselves playing in the mud or swimming with their bridal gowns that were once so pristine. But for the thousands of women who don’t plan to ever wear their wedding dresses again, donating them is a way to give their gowns a second life while also helping people in need.
The most obvious place to donate a wedding dress is your local Salvation Army or Goodwill store. Both of these charities accept gowns that are less than five years old and typically do not require alterations before they can be accepted. Most locations offer pickup services and online donation forms. If you are decluttering during the COVID-19 pandemic, these are a great option for those items you no longer need or want.
Other nontraditional options for donating your wedding gown include specialized organizations that use the dresses to raise money for charitable causes. For example, Brides Against Breast Cancer sells donated bridal gowns to help fund breast cancer awareness and early detection programs. The organization has raised over $1 million in the nearly two decades since it was founded.
Another nonprofit, NICU Helping Hands, uses donated wedding gowns to make infant burial gowns, also called Angel Gowns, for families that have lost a child or babies in the NICU. The organization also uses the dresses to create memory boxes and other memorial items for grieving parents. The organization maintains a waitlist for brides that would like to donate their gowns so seamstresses can start working on the dresses as soon as they are available.
Other charities that accept donated wedding gowns include Adorned in Grace, which helps bring churches together to fight human trafficking in communities around the country. The charity operates dress shops in Oregon and Washington that sell used wedding dresses, mother-of-the-bride outfits and flower girl attire to support anti-trafficking mentoring for young adults and more.
For the eco-conscious, donating your wedding dress is a smart choice because it saves resources and energy that are used to make new clothing. According to GreenDrop, the production of a single garment releases hundreds of gallons of water and 10% of global carbon emissions.
If you have a wedding dress that you no longer plan to wear, be sure to inspect it for signs of mold or discoloration, which could indicate the gown has been stored too long and may not be suitable for donation. Most charities and thrift stores provide a list of guidelines to ensure their gowns are suitable for sale or reuse.
Before you donate your wedding gown, be sure to contact the organization and ask about any specific dress requirements or policies. For example, some places will only accept wedding dresses that are in excellent condition and have been cleaned professionally or by a dry cleaner. Others will only take a certain type of fabric, such as silk.