Thursday, 22 April 2021
  • Login
  • Home
  • LSJ TV
  • LSJ Magazine
  • Siren Radio
  • The Linc
  • Cygnet PR
  • Style Guide
  • Privacy Policy
  • About LSJ
LSJ News
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Arts and Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Business
  • Community
    • Education
    • International
    • Viewpoint
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
    • Environment
    • Health
  • TV
  • Magazine
LSJ News
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Arts and Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Business
  • Community
    • Education
    • International
    • Viewpoint
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
    • Environment
    • Health
  • TV
  • Magazine
No Result
View All Result
LSJ News
No Result
View All Result
Home Community

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something… donated?

Wedding dresses can be quite an expense, but what have women around Lincoln done with their dresses after their big day?

Skye Davies-Rogers by Skye Davies-Rogers
March 5, 2020
in Community, Lifestyle, LSJ Magazine
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0 0
A A
0
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something… donated?
0
SHARES
88
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare via Email

It’s your big day. You’ve planned everything to the last detail but most importantly, what you’re wearing. The dress shopping is endless. Ball gown or fishtail? Long sleeves or strapless? So many possibilities. But once the big day is done, you’ve worn your dress and looked great in it, what do you do with it? With the costs of a wedding running so high, many women may decide to keep their dress due to its price. But some may decide otherwise.

According to Belle Bridal UK, the average cost of a wedding dress in the UK last year was £1385, depending on different factors such as the material, intricacies and alterations.

There are many options for what to do with your big white gown once the day is done, but what’s the best choice?

Donation to charities:

Charities such as Cherished Gowns UK take old wedding dresses and make them into beautiful gowns for babies that have sadly passed away. This charity began in 2014 when their founder created a gown for a bereaved mother from her wedding dress. Since then, they’ve received over 20,000 wedding dresses which have been made into over a quarter of a million cherished gowns, provided free of charge to hospitals around the UK.

Heidi Bailey sent her dress off to be donated to Cherished Gowns UK in 2017.

“My marriage had fallen apart and I knew it was going to end. By this point, my dress has been hanging in my wardrobe for 29 years. I lost a pregnancy late on and thought this option was a nice ending for it. I kept the sleeves though, to make a garter for my daughter’s wedding.”

Heidi’s dress, before she sent it off to be donated
An example of the gowns made by Cherished Gowns UK

Handing down dresses to future generations:

The age-old tradition of handing down your wedding gown to a loved one is one that started many centuries ago. Many brides either reinvent the dress as their own or keep it as it was. More and more people are choosing to have a vintage wedding dress, or have one handed down to them, as a sort of family heirloom.

On the Facebook page “Plastic Free Lincoln” commenters explained that their wedding dresses have been given to them by their grandmothers and were planning on doing the same for their children.

Georgina Richardson said: “I really wanted to have my mum’s dress- I’d been allowed to try it on as a child. But when it came to my wedding, it was too tight and too awkward to alter. However, we took the bustle off of my mum’s dress and added it to a remade version of the original. My aunt was a dressmaker so she used the old one to create a pattern. I still have my dress, it’s been used as an aid for a friend looking at styles, and I know my daughters would both like it- though perhaps more to morph into a steampunk outfit!”

Georgina’s mum’s original dress from September, 1959
The final dress for Georgina’s big day

Lincoln’s Steampunk heritage is particularly prevalent when upcycling dresses. Leanne Holden, a Steampunk enthusiast, turned her dress into many different costumes to celebrate Steampunk culture. She took her bodice and sewed it to various inter-changeable skirts to match the rest of her outfits. She has since worn it for Lincoln’s famous Steampunk Festival, showcasing her sewing abilities.

Leanne’s Steampunk dress, made from her wedding dress

Making it yourself and the freedom to choose what to do with it afterwards:

If you have the means and skills to create your own wedding dress, it may cost a lot less than buying a new one,  and you may feel more accomplished if you make it yourself.

Jen, who came from a family of crafters, decided to make her own dress for her wedding in 2011.
“It was a labour of love and brings back many memories. I made it in two and a half months between childcare, working full time, learning to drive and studying at college. I also made my bridesmaids dress, my own cake and all the cards. It was a busy couple of months!”

Jen spent around £80 on the pattern and materials for her dress, resulting in a medieval style princess gown.

“It’s still hung up in my wardrobe so I can reminisce. But I kept the offcuts of fabric and those became my eldest daughter’s naming day dress.”

Jen’s dress, handmade in 2.5 months
Jen and her husband on their wedding day

 

In terms of sustainability and wedding dresses, the choice is really up to you. Whether you donate it to charity, or hand it down to a loved one, you know that the dress gets a whole new lease of life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previous Post

Gossip media gone too far? Public demand change after Caroline’s death

Next Post

£40,000 appeal to make sure audiences are sitting comfortably

Skye Davies-Rogers

Skye Davies-Rogers

Related Articles

A photo of an eye chart through a pair of glasses.
Community

The regular examination that could save your life

by Leanne Buck
March 18, 2021
0

Opticians are still open for eye examinations and people are being urged to still attend the potentially life-saving appointments -...

“I’m too scared to walk in Lincoln by myself”
Community

“I’m too scared to walk in Lincoln by myself”

by Kaia Nicholl
March 18, 2021 - Updated on March 20, 2021
0

An LSJ news poll shows only 1.6% of women feel safe everywhere in Lincoln, while 49% don’t feel safe anywhere....

Are you going to turn me into a chicken?

Are you going to turn me into a chicken?

March 18, 2021
Will Lincoln residents continue to wear a face mask when it is no longer the law?

Will Lincoln residents continue to wear a face mask when it is no longer the law?

March 5, 2021 - Updated on March 26, 2021
How your old laptops are helping the community

How your old laptops are helping the community

March 4, 2021
Lincoln celebrates 9 years of Fairtrade

Lincoln celebrates 9 years of Fairtrade

February 25, 2021
Next Post
£40,000 appeal to make sure audiences are sitting comfortably

£40,000 appeal to make sure audiences are sitting comfortably

MORE FROM LSJ NEWS

Windmill

Symbolism of windmills

April 16, 2021
Heritage initiative will see £1.8m spent on Boston town centre

Heritage initiative will see £1.8m spent on Boston town centre

April 15, 2021 - Updated on April 16, 2021
Lincolnshire pubs and restaurants prepare for reopening

Lincolnshire pubs and restaurants prepare for reopening

April 11, 2021
“I would get stares because I was the kid who passed out from epilepsy”

“I would get stares because I was the kid who passed out from epilepsy”

March 26, 2021

I am part of the 97%

March 25, 2021

TRENDING

  • LSJ TV: Our latest news bulletin

    LSJ TV: News Summary 09/12/10

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 5 players who could be part of Jose Mourinho’s summer clear-out

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • “It’s A Scary Time” A Small Business in Lincolnshire Struggles with a Future of Uncertainty

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Lincoln City’s dramatic rise and their ambition to climb further

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘We would be one of the last to go’ – Lincoln City chief

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
LSJ News

© 2021 LSJ News - Part of the School of English and Journalism at the University of Lincoln

Useful Links

  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Arts and Entertainment
  • Business
  • Community
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • TV
  • Magazine

Social Links

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Arts and Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Business
  • Community
    • Education
    • International
    • Viewpoint
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
    • Environment
    • Health
  • TV
  • Magazine

© 2021 LSJ News - Part of the School of English and Journalism at the University of Lincoln

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.