It's a Nice Day for a Green Wedding! \m/

It’s a nice day to start again… for my wedding dress, that is. I have looked at this dress for years (and so have my parents before I took it off their hands). So I brought it to my Facebook family to ask whether or not I should keep my wedding dress. Here are the responses:

Jennifer Stevens Neilson Keep it....you only have one!!

Jeffrey Nicole Haddad Keep it!!! I feel like its bad luck to get rid of it! I never had mine cleaned or preserved~ it's hanging in the closet for me to see every day and I smile every time I do see it!

Sean Dotson Chuck it. Scott's not going anywhere. Simplify your life.

Cindy Shoults Parker Make it into something. I took my old one and made an angel for the Christmas tree top. You can get china doll parts at Michaels.

Sharon Rowlson KEEP IT STEPHANIE, I KNOW THROUGHOUT THE YEARS I HAVE TOSSED THINGS AND YEARS LATER REGRETED IT. YOU CAN LOOK AT IT & REMEMBER HOW YOU FELT LOOKING AT SCOTT ON THAT PERFECT DAY !! LUL

Robin Padelford Eiseman Did you ever see the episode on the Ellen sitcom where she was trying to make a "Martha Stewart" dinner for friends? She read where Martha said to use an old wedding gown to make a tablecloth. Ellen took this big dress with zippers, boning, bows, and all, and threw it across the table. Maybe you could do that!

Kevin Kaye Dana always wanted to do a "trash the dress" photo shoot - I could totally seeing you do one of those.

Cherry Booth Dotson If you think that Morgan might want to wear it one day then keep it, else, pass it on.

Sara J Dyer I vote "keep it". I'm keeping mine for Katie - not that she has to wear it, but I'm letting that be her decision.

Melanie Rowlson Conerly eBay baby! Get rid of it!

Sheila Rowlson Jones I say keep it. Maybe Morgan will want to use a part of it on her dress one day? Or maybe you could turn it into some sort of keepsake. You never know!!!

Dana Rowlson Kaye You never know, puffy sleeves may make a comeback within the next 15-25 years! I say "trash it".

All of the suggestions and advice were very helpful, but I failed to mention one important factor about my wedding dress. I never got to pick it out. Gracious church members who owned a wedding boutique gave me a dress, veil and shoes. I was and am still grateful for this blessing. The big picture to me was to marry the man of my dreams. Yes, it would have been nice to have picked it out, but I could not put that kind of financial burden on my parents. They barely had money for everyday items let alone a wedding. So even though I do smile when I see the dress, I don’t feel an attachment to it. Sean’s response has to be my favorite! I always am interested in a man’s point of view when it comes to women's issues! The ideas for a keepsake reminded me that my seamstress made a heart pillow from the dress, so I already have that covered. So, two more suggestions to consider before I go with Melanie’s advice of selling it.

After 15 years, I tried the dress back on for the first time. Talk about a flood of emotions overwhelming the senses. The first thing I noticed, it is too big which rules out trashing it at the beach for a photo shoot. I just don’t feel compelled to spend money to alter it when it will be thrown away. There has got to be someone out there that can use this dress. But there I stood in my wedding gown while my little girl staring up at me with those bright blue eyes, smiling and holding my train as I walked through the house. I just knew what the answer was going to be, but I asked the question to my five year old daughter anyway. “Morgan” I whispered as my eyes began to tear up… “Would you like to have this dress on YOUR wedding day?” She took her time looking up and down at the dress, all around it and hesitated before laying this on me… “Can I pick out my own?” Of course you can”, I said without missing a beat, and thinking I finally get to go shopping for one, but not too soon though. So my white wedding dress is now green – green for recycling! It is now posted on Craig’s List. I pray that someone can use it and cherish it for more years to come.