Thursday, May 13, 2010

To Sell or Not to Sell?

Opinions needed please! A friend of a friend saw my wedding pictures a few weeks ago and apparently fell in love with my wedding dress. So she emailed me and asked if I was interested in selling it to her. Honestly, I was seriously floored by this, as I hadn't even really given any thought to what I would do with my dress. I did get it cleaned after the wedding and it's currently hanging out in the back of my closet.

So then I started thinking about it more. Do I want to sell it? I don't know. Part of me does, because, I'm obviously never going to wear it again. Also, I would like another bride to be able to get some use out of it and feel beautiful on her wedding day. But then the other part of me says "No way, don't sell it". Not that I really expect/think that my future daughter(s) will really want to wear it, as it will probably be majorly dated and might not fit. But will I be upset in 20 years not even to have the option of giving it to them? But then, what if we have all boys and it's not even a consideration? Will I regret not selling it then?

I know that I did love looking at my mom's old wedding dress. It didn't fit me at all and had long sleeves and tons of lace, but we did end up using parts of the dress to incorporate into my wedding day details. In addition to the lace we wrapped around my bouquet, my mom also cut a small square of satin from her dress and had my aunt embroider it with my new initials and wedding date, which got sewed into the back of my dress as my "something blue". So I'm worried that maybe when my time comes to show my dress to my daughters, even if it's just to use a small part of the dress, I will be really sad/upset if I don't have my dress anymore.

Also, my dress was not very expensive (as wedding dresses go) because it was so plain - so I have no idea what I would even charge this girl. A few hundred dollars? At that point, is it even worth it? Would it be an option to loan the dress to her, so she could wear it for her wedding, and then return it to me (obviously I would ask her to re-dry clean it). Is that a weird request? Borrowing a dress?

So that's my predicament! Ladies who are already married, would you or did you sell your dress? Do you regret it? Ladies who aren't married yet, would you ever sell your dress? Why or why not? Any input would be great!

18 comments:

Emily said...

Would she need to have the dress altered? I loved my dress, and would loan it to someone, but probably not sell it. But, if alterations were necessary, it would change the entire dress, so I'd probably just decline.

star said...

I am with Emily, I would loan it to her, but only if the dress fit her well enough that it did not to be altered. I love my wedding dress, so I would never sell it or get rid of it!

Jill said...

Don't sell your dress, I think you will regret it. I never wore my mother's dress but when my sisters and I all got married we took a piece of my mom's dress then I had my and my husbands initials and wedding date stitched in blue on the piece of my mom's dress then I had it sewn on the inside petticoat of my dress...my something old (or it could be your something blue)

LuvRedandWhite said...

I wouldn't sell it (maybe loan it). My mom had to get rid of hers (it was handmade by her mom), and she completely regrets it since I won't be able to use a piece of it in my wedding.

Chelsea said...

I don't think I could bring myself to sell my dress (down the road when I get married) but I am a bit of a 'memory' pack rat...
I would be afraid to loan it to someone I barely knew, I wouldn't want it to get ruined. If it wasn't very expensive why doesn't the girl just look into getting her own??

MCW said...

Maybe let her borrow it...and then take it back?
Just an idea - My mother's friend makes wedding dresses into baptism gowns...my nephews is a combo of my mother's and sister's. My mom gave it to my sister at her baby shower. They are so special, beautiful and can be passed down...

Annie said...

Tell her where to find a new one of yours! You will want yours some day with no alterations or the possibility of it getting messed up at her wedding!

Amanda Leigh said...

NO WAY!
DONT SELL IT!!!
Esp since you said it wasnt all that pricey to being with.

This is a terrbile comparison... but I can only imagine with a wedding dress, the guilt would be 10x worse...
But to this day, I KICK myself for selling ALL of my cheer uniforms from HS. I dont have one for memories.

I would not sell it... esp if its not something you had thought about before!
The reason you had not thought about it before, was because you didnt want to!

Hilary said...

Oooh, I don't think I could part with my dress. Just on the off chance that I may have a daughter to wear it one day. I might consider letting someone borrow it, but not if she had to have alterations done. That's a tough call.

P*P*P said...

Obviously I haven't gotten married yet (only about one month to go though!), but I am not going to sell my dress. I am far too attached to my things and that is a BIG thing that I love and just as you described, even if my future daughter(s)(fingers crossed for someday!) don't wear my dress I would love to have the chance to show them, use pieces of it for special wedding day details....it's a hard one, but if she wouldn't mind just borrowing it (charge her a small "rental" fee) than I would totally go for that!

k e r r y said...

I say don't sell. I had my dress altered (gasp) and can now wear it as a casual dress. Of course I had a very casual wedding and the dress is white linen so it works!

Posh Peach said...

I have to go with no, don't sell it. I think the sentimental value is worth more than the price it would go for. I've also heard of bits of the dresses being made into baptism gowns. If you didn't mind someone borrowing it, as long as it wasn't altered, I don't see anything wrong with that.

Unknown said...

I sold my reception dress but kept my ceremony dress. Yes, it's sitting collecting dust, but there's a sentimental value to it. I can't picture ever selling it.

Ally said...

Don't SELL! Esp if it wasn't that expensive. I thought about selling minue and posted about it. I think I will have it made into a baptismal gown per MCW's suggestion.

Always Organizing said...

I would not sell it. I'm very sentimental though and love the idea of having my future daughter or granddaughter wear it.

Sara @ Russet Street Reno said...

I'd sell it if someone wanted it. They just take up room, and probably won't be worn by anyone again. Your hypothetical daughter won't want to wear it because she will have her own style and like you said, it's not an expensive gown, so it's not really an heirloom. I will be selling mine to buy things that both my fiance and I can use. As for 'memories,' that is what pictures are for.

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Lisa said...

LOVE the idea of lending it to her, actually!

 
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