You've finally found your dream gown after months of looking and saving! And, though the gown is undoubtedly close to your heart right now, one question lingers: what will happen to this exceptional gown after the wedding?

Many brides are rethinking the life of their wedding gown after the ceremony to build still more enduring memories (and sometimes other items like furniture, accessories, and jewelry, too!).

If you're looking for ways to dress up your wedding gown, we've compiled a list of ideas with what to do with your wedding dresses to ensure you make the most of it right after the wedding is over!

Donate it.

This is perhaps among the most traditional places for women to dispose of their wedding gowns. If you're in a hurry and don't have the time, money, or resources, you can easily donate your gown to the nearest Goodwill, Salvation Army, or other thrift shops, ensuring that your gown can find a second life with some fortunate stranger in need!

If you want to take things a step further and get a bit extra time on your hands, many organizations can take your dress and run with it.

Make it into a work of art.

If you want to be able to (literally) look back at your wedding gown every day, turn it into a work of art that you can display in your house. With a service like this, you might potentially frame your whole wedding gown, but you might still be imaginative on a slightly smaller scale.

If you want to do it yourself, cut a clean, equivalent square from your wedding gown and slip it into your chosen frame. Choose a shadow box frame for squares with more three-dimensional features (such as bows or beading) so these elements don't get flattened out.

Dresses, veils, and garters will all be beautifully framed and transformed into personalized art, retaining the joy of your wedding day. If you don't want to do it yourself, try hiring an expert.

Turn your dress into a gown for your little one.

Commissioning a handmade christening gown has grown in popularity to rework a wedding gown after the wedding. Since most christening gowns are white and have similar design elements (such as tulle or lace), the swap is relatively straightforward. Plus, whoever is sewing would have an abundance of fabric to deal with! You might also save the old leftover fabric for any future twins or a matching outfit for your older boy.

Suppose your society or family does not practice christenings or baptisms. In that case, you may have your gown altered to become an ensemble for a naming ceremony or use it for a later birthday party for slightly older children. Making your wedding gown into clothing for your children is a perfect way to give them a little bit of your big day, no matter how they wear it.

Hem it into a cocktail dress!

You've collaborated with your seamstress to get the dress adequately tailored. Why not contact her after the wedding to get a personalized cocktail dress made? Your dress already suits well, so why wouldn't you want to wear it anywhere after its vast debut?

Depending on the style of your dress, you might want to think about how good the top half of your dress would look with a different, shorter skirt. If you want to use it somehow, be imaginative about what you want from your concept and collaborate with your seamstress on something that will fit! In any case, it would make excellent before and after photographs.

A well-loved dress that ideally suits might be a brilliant conversation starter at next summer's soiree. Wear it on your first wedding day!

Dye it for a whole new look!

If hemming your dress to make it a little shorter isn't enough for you, it's time to take it to the next stage and dye the dang thing! This is one of the more labor-intensive innovative concepts for repurposing your wedding gown, and it may rely on the fabric of your gown (certain fabrics are more or less conducive to dying). But if you want to be out with the old and in with the new (at least in terms of appearance), dye the dress for an actual wedding dress redo. With this modification, you could wear your wedding gown almost anywhere.

Convert it into something entirely different.

Beautiful evening bags can be made from satin, lace, or tulle dresses, as this Etsy shop does! We adore the thought of wearing your dress in a clutch to your first-anniversary dinner or some other anniversary date in the future. If staying in is more your style, dresses can be turned into pillows or quilts, allowing you to be reminded of your wedding day every day in your own house. What better way to personalize your new home together?

If you choose to repurpose your outfit, shoes, decor pieces, and even jewelry are excellent options.

The offer is for sale.

If you're feeling the pinch after your wedding, you can recoup some of your expenses by selling your gown. Try a wedding-specific website, such as Nearly Newlywed or PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, to quickly sell your outfit. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you can even sell it on eBay or try Facebook Marketing to find your ideal customer.

Not everyone feels nostalgic about their wedding gown, so don't force yourself to feel this way if you don't—you'll always have fond memories of the gown without having to keep it. If you want to sell your gown, make sure that it is just what you are looking for before taking the plunge.

Preserve it for future generations.

Every bride adores her wedding gown (or, at least, we hope she does! ), even if you're not interested in finding imaginative ways to repurpose such a particular garment, you can still save it to hand on to your children someday. And if you don't want to move it forward, it's nice to have the option of pulling your old wedding gown out of the back of the closet to relive those special memories. Who wouldn't want to wear their dress again? At the very least!

Give it to someone else as a loan.

Who says friends can't borrow wedding gowns? That is not the case for us! We adore what Spanx designer Sara Blakely did to give her wedding gown a second, third, and even fourth chance. She borrowed it out and saved it for the next bride-to-be to wear on their wedding day. What a great way to repurpose something she might have just worn once!

Throw it out!

This last suggestion can be a fun way to send off your dress in style. "Trash the dress" has become a recent theme among brides to let off steam and have some fun after the wedding. Brides have swum in the sea, danced in dusty fields, and even set fire to their gowns. This cheerful "trash the outfit" photo op demonstrates how much fun it can be to make a mess of your wedding gown. Trashing your dress in front of a camera will result in some hilarious and stunning images.

Finally, you may like to keep your wedding gown and treasure it as a memento of a magical day when you and your significant other vowed your everlasting love to each other. It is not a good idea to put it in a plastic bag and conceal it in the back of your wardrobe because it is made of fragile cloth that does not stand the test of time. It would help if you got your beautiful gown professionally cleaned to ensure that it remains in flawless condition for future generations. Wedding gown preservation is more than mere dry cleaning; it starts with an examination from an accomplished wedding planner. The expert will devise a one-of-a-kind strategy based on the cloth, specifics and sewing, inevitable stains, and potential rips and breaks.

Call me Jen Hensey, a writer and blogger of LifeStyleConvo & UrbanHouses, who worked as a full-time content creator. A writer by day and reader by night.

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