You may remember Finds’ friend, Aimee, who shared her awesome wedding deal ideas from her recent wedding. Aimee is back again. She was wondering what to do with her wedding dress. As she pondered this, she found some great ideas and came across one unique idea for a small piece of it. Here she is to tell us about it:
“What do you do with a wedding dress after a wedding? This question has been weighing on my mind since I returned from my honeymoon.  Should I sell it? Donate it? Preserve it?  So many options, and I still have not arrived at an answer.
- Donate it to a charity re-seller:
- Brides Against Breast Cancer – sells dresses with profits going to support breast cancer charities
- The Brides’ Project – sells pre-worn/sample dresses with profits going to cancer charities
- Brides Across America – gives wedding gowns to military brides
- Save it to create another memory with a daughter/loved one (love this one) – hire a photographer to do some photos of your daugther (niece, granddaughter etc) playing dress up in your gown, or
- Sell your dress locally or online, so that someone else can wear it and you can recoup some cash (a win-win):
- In Chicago, there is the Green Wedding Alliance which has their wedding recycling eventthis weekend (April 27), it is a great place to sell a dress or other wedding stuff you have saved.
- Local consignment shops
- Online on Craigslist or Preowned Wedding Dress.comÂ
In the meantime, I stumbled upon a fantastic company that will take a small piece (or in my case a leftover piece) of the dress and create a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry!
LACE Studio (formerly Green Grass Gifts) creates a customized necklace with lace, or fabric, from a wedding dress.  The owner/artist Liz Carter is so friendly and helpful. And, the process is super easy. You just send in the fabric, pick a color, size and chain and receive custom jewelry!
It could not be easier and I love how the necklace turned out! I chose the 20mm size, with the champagne background and a 20 inch gold chain.  I’m so thrilled about the fact that, no matter what I decide to do with my dress, this jewelry will be something I can wear forever.
Just for Erica Find’s readers, LACE Studio is giving away a 20mm gold necklace with a custom lace charm ($60 value).  The lucky winner will get to send her wedding dress material in to have her own custom wedding gown lace jewelry created. Plus, all Erica Finds’ readers will receive free shipping on any order with code GGGFREESHIPPINGEF.”
Aimee again puts me to shame on the wedding front! My dress is hermetically sealed in a box in our coat closet – neither affordable nor charitable. My veil may be somewhere accessible. If so, I am going to send a piece over to LACE Studio. Better late than never right?
Want to win your own necklace from LACE Studio? Use the Rafflecopter below. Giveaway is open to US residents, 18 and over and is void where prohibited. The giveaway will close April 30th and a winner will be selected and notified on May 1st. Not a bride? Gift this prize to a friend (or send her this post) or send a piece of lace you like from a craft store! The charm will be beautiful regardless!
Good luck!
Please note: We were not compensated for this post. Aimee’s necklace was provided free of charge for the purpose of this review. All opinions are Aimee’s or mine.