After the wonder of your own wedding day, you are probably feeling blessed and happy in your new life. You may even want to share the wealth and “pay it forward”. If you were wondering if there is a way to “pay it forward” with your used wedding dress, the answer is absolutely.
There are several charities that currently will accept a used wedding dress as a donation. We’ve collected just a few of the many worthy charities.
Option #1: Angel Gowns
Having a baby should be a blessed time, but for many families, a pregnancy doesn’t always end in a beautiful baby heading home. Each year, thousands of children are born premature or with serious medical conditions. Many of those children never leave the hospital with their loving families. Angel Gown, a department of NICU Helping Hands, takes wedding gowns and turns them into much needed formal gowns for newborns that fought hard in the NICU but, sadly passed away.
Currently, Angel Gowns is not accepting wedding gowns, but they’ll be reopening their donations at the end of 2014. For more information on how you can help, check out the FAQ.
Option #2: St. Anthony’s Bridal
St. Anthony’s Bridal understands that every bride deserves to feel special on their wedding day. The bridal charity takes used wedding dresses, prepares them to be reused, and lends them to needy brides in the Washington D.C. area, all free of charge. St. Anthony’s Bridal also sells wedding gowns at a flat fee of just $150 for brides who want to keep their gown after their special event.
They also accept prom dresses, and pair them with seniors in need in the Washington D.C. area. Dresses can be dropped off at Dogtopia of White Flint on Saturdays from 10am to noon, or they can be mailed to:
St. Anthony’s Bridal c/o Graziella Bianchi 10387 Main Street #204 Fairfax, Va 22030Option #3: Brides Across America
Brides Across America lends a helping hand to military brides who wouldn’t be able to otherwise afford the gown of their dreams. The charity, located in North Andover, Massachusetts, matches gowns with brides in the military, or marrying military personnel free of charge.
Brides Across America also accepts accessories, including tiaras and veils. They do not accept petticoats or undergarments. To send in your dress, you must visit the website and download the accompanying form. Dresses must be less than five years old.
Option #4: Wish Upon A Wedding
Founded in 2010, this charity with chapters across the nation helps to give couples facing serious challenges have the wedding they’ve been dreaming of. Wish Upon a Wedding focuses on couples facing terminal illness or other medical and life challenges. Over the years the charity has granted dream weddings for dozens of couples. They provide everything from engagement photos, to wedding attire, to food and locations to brides and grooms who are simply in need of a special day where they can share their love, free of the trials and tribulations of illness.
Wish Upon a Wedding is partnered with Brides for a Cause. Wedding gowns are taken in by Brides for a Cause, sold to the public, and the proceeds go to Wish Upon a Wedding. The donation is tax deductible.
Dresses can be mailed to:
Brides for a Cause4942 NE 20th Avenue
Portland, OR 97211
Option #5: St. Marys Brides For Haiti
They gratefully accept gowns 7 years of age or less and resell to raise money for Haiti. http://Www.brides4haiti.com
Regardless of which you choose, clean it first.
These are just a few options for donating your used wedding dress. However, no matter how dazzling your dress may be, if it smells like perspiration, has spills or grass stains on it, no charity will accept it in that condition. And you wouldn’t want a bride to wear it that way, either. Since most dry cleaners aren’t designed to clean wedding dresses, you’ll want a company with experience dealing in wedding dresses to tackle the job so the dress retains all of its fabulosity when the next lucky bride walks down the aisle.
Choose a preservation company with a good reputation and years of experience in wedding dress preservation to ensure the best results possible when cleaning your dress. No matter who winds up with it, they will definitely appreciate the loving care that was taken to restore it.
in the future you may want to add Cherie Amour Bridal. 100% of proceeds benefit Success in Style. Sales from our bridal boutique support our mission, we give free business attire to men and women in the Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, Region.
I have 2 wedding gowns I’d like to donatefor a military bride, however they require the gowns no more than 5 yrs old.one is a David’s bridal with tags never been worn,the 2nd one is a discontinued Alfred Angelo from 2010 size 24w NEW with out tags. Never worn. I live in New Jersey and I don’t want to donate to a thrift store,I wish to have a bride have one of the dresses free who is very budget consciously re military bride. Where can i send the gowns toto give to a military bride here in nj. Elizabeth nj. Id rather give the gowns free.
Hi Lisa – Thank you for your note regarding donating your dresses. We would suggest going on the local chat boards on either The Knot or WeddingWire to see if there is a group that could take your dresses or a military bride in need of a dress. All the best and good luck!
My daughters do not want my moms wedding dress that I wore to marry their father we divorced it’s a beautiful gown she was married in 1956 such detail around the neckline ivory satin it’s one of a kind
Can you please include St Marys Brides For Haiti? We gratefully accept gowns 7 years of age or less and resell to raise money for Haiti. http://Www.brides4haiti.com.
Thank you Susan. What a great organization. We have added Sr. Mary’s to the list in our article.
Thank you for letting us know so we can let others know.
Best wishes.
Madelaine
My daughter has a wedding gown (more than 10 years old) that she would like to go to Angel Gowns. Are they accepting gowns at this time?
I would like to donate my wedding dress to Angel Gowns for burial or christenings. My gown has been sealed in the box since 1958. I only had male children so there is no hope that anyone in the family will want to wear it. Please tell me where & how to donate this beautiful satin gown.
Hi Pauline – Thank you for your message. That’s so sweet of you to want to donate your dress. Unfortunately we are not able to assist you with this. You’ll need to contact these charities directly. Thank you, The Affordable Preservation Company
Hi Judy – Thank you for your message. That’s so sweet of your daughter to want to donate her dress. Unfortunately we are not able to assist you with this. You’ll need to contact them directly. Thank you, The Affordable Preservation Company
There are 3 places you can donate your wedding dress to the military, that include: United Service Organizations (USO), Brides Across America (BAA), and Operation Deploy Your Dress.
Thank you for these great suggestions!
I am looking for a place to donate my daughters wedding dress. It is about 14 years old-in a box from the dry cleaners. I paid to have it preserved and cleaned, boxed, I have never opened the box. I am in Austin. Wanted to donate it to a place where a bride could have it-it is beautiful with small beading -fairytale style. I wanted it to go somewhere that a bride that could not afford a dress, and anything earned off the dress goes to a good cause.
I have my wedding dress which is 35yrs old. I would prefer not to donate to a thrift shop and seems military not interested.
I have a wedding dress from 2008 that has been cleaned and preserved in a box by a company. I would love to donate to the NICU for many special angels to have.
That’s a lovely idea. We don’t have a resource for that but you might check with your local hospitals.
In addition to the resources in this article, you might also try Goodwill or Salvation Army.