There are endless possibilities.
Some brides just can’t let go of their bridal beauty. And that’s okay; they shouldn’t. I’ve mentioned before how if I could somehow be a bride (parallel universe?), I’d wear my dress everywhere. People would gawk at my bridal beauty as I ate burritos or walked my dog.
Storing your dress is just lame. It’ll sit in a box.. and stay in a box. Why pay all that money for something so beautiful just to lock it up. I’ve noticed on Pinterest that brides are starting to frame their dresses. Genius! What better way to get more mileage out of your designer gown than to hang it behind plexiglass in your entry hall?
By the way, what are brides preserving their wedding dress for? Do you really think your daughter or future daughter-in-law is going to want it? Did you want your mom’s? (A brief aside: one of my wife’s family legends was the time when her mother and aunt as little girls went into the attic and cut up their own mother’s wedding gown just for fun. Sent to their rooms without dinner was just the beginning.)
You ladies who’ve had your dresses in storage for years, go unpack that gown, put it on, and strut down the street. Prepare for plenty of well deserved attention (especially if you still fit into it)! Traffic will stop for you, total strangers will wish you health and happiness for the rest of your life, and who couldn’t use a shot of that once in a while? So don’t wear it just once. You never know when two little girls with scissors might be making a big pile of pretty ribbons in the attic.
I Just Want It To Be Perfect 
If you want to grow up to be a crazy cat lady, this is completely appropriate. However, I can definitely say that I’d love to photograph a crazy cat lady walking down the street eating hot dogs and checking her txts. It’ll be the new surrealism… a statement on the banality of wedding culture! Oh, if only I were an art student.
Me too. A great mental image already. And aren’t we all art students? Thanks for writing.
I love the idea of framing bridal gowns for display! Sadly, mine have been stored away in my grandma’s cedar chest – but they would look so much better on the wall! These dresses truly are pieces of art, and for the money spent on them, we should have a chance to look at them in-person every day.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks for writing.
There’s a new trend of taking your mother’s wedding dress and redesigning it to fit your own style. There’s even a design show about it. It a great option and it’s something new and something old.
That’s exactly what happened in my wife’s family. Thanks for sharing that.
Someone very close to me (I won’t mention names) once wore her wedding gown on a downtown Chicago carriage ride, and (oops!) barfed all over it!
I guess that’s another creative and impromptu way to Trash The Dress, even if unintentionally. Your secret (and hers) is safe with me. Thanks for sharing this.