So, the most exciting day of your life has passed and now you have set out on a wonderful new adventure called marriage. Congratulations!
After the confetti and bubbles have blown away and you are left with your fond memories of your day, you might start thinking, ‘What should I do with my wedding dress?’
Some brides will store their dress carefully for its sentimental value, or to even pass onto daughters in the future (provided they have the same awesome fashion sense as their Mum did!)
But many brides will just pop it in a bag in the back of the wardrobe, unsure what to do with something that was for a moment so very important. And there it may stay, in limbo, endlessly.
We think that selling or even hiring your preloved wedding dress is a great idea, and love that this is becoming a trend with contemporary brides.
If you need to prepare your wedding dress for sale or hire, Only Dream Dresses has all the tips and advice here sorted for you.
Why you should sell or hire your wedding dress
Selling your preloved wedding gown could get you around half the cost of it back. For some brides knowing they would resell their dress enabled them to get the slightly more expensive designer gown in the first place!
But if you are still a bit uncertain about going ahead with selling your dress, have a quick read of our blog here.
https://onlydreamdresses.com/sell-wedding-dress/
There are many good reasons why selling or hiring out your dress is a great idea, from financial to practical to environmental.
You might have also got so much joy from your beautiful gown that it seems a shame to box it up – and this way you can share that joy around, and let your lovely dress live on!
Personally, we think it is the modern savvy thing for brides to do.
So how do you prepare your wedding dress for sale or hire?
Get it cleaned
Arrange to have your dress professionally cleaned by an expert in wedding dresses as soon after your wedding day as you can. Any stains set in the longer they are on the fabric which may affect your resale value if you don’t get onto them quickly.
Even if you were super careful about not getting stains on the dress (and really, who wants to be that worried about having fun on their wedding day!), stains like sweat, make-up, and dirt will still just naturally happen.
Store it
Store it in a dust free container (most good cleaning companies will do this for you as part of the service). It should really be sealed air free, so don’t just bung it in a plastic bag as this can trap humidity and cause mould to grow on the fabric.
Take a tiny keepsake
Not that we recommend cutting a big hole in your wedding dress, but if you can get away with a tiny piece of the fabric (say from offcuts from your dressmaker) then you can arrange to have a small keepsake such as this cute necklace made from your dress.
This takes up much less room in your wardrobe than the actual dress!
Take some awesome photos
You will need some very good quality, clear photos of all of the detail in your dress. A lovely shot from your wedding day is nice, but won’t give enough information to someone considering buying it.
Pop your dress on again for these photos and make sure that you get full-length shots from front and back, close up of any beading or decoration, a good shot of the bodice and straps etc.
How do you market your dress?
Only Dream Dresses can help if you need with writing up a description to sell or hire your wedding dress.
If your dress is very on-trend, then you will want to sell it quickly – get it listed within 3 months of your wedding. Some super clever brides have even pre-sold their wedding dress before they have worn it themselves!
If it is a more classical style that won’t date as quickly you don’t need to hurry quite as much, but these, of course, will still sell, so don’t worry about its marketability.
Even if you have a vintage dress from decades ago, if it has been kept in good condition, it still may sell. Vintage never goes out of style!
Some selling points could include:
- The original cost (and the amazing saving!)
- The fabric used
- The designer
- If it can be altered easily
- If it is a more common fit
Many brides today are looking for a second dress to wear to their reception with more comfort and style. If your gown can be altered to be shorter or more sexy for example, you could sell it as the ideal reception dress show-stopper!
How much should you charge?
It is obviously your decision what to charge, but we find that medium priced dresses sell or rent the best. The more expensive as well as the ‘too-cheap-to-be-true’ priced ones will take a little longer to sell.
Most dresses will sell for around half the original cost with hire fees around the 25% mark.
If you would like some more information on how to list your wedding dress for sale or hire with us, our FAQs should be able to help you https://onlydreamdresses.com/faqs/dress-owners/ or email us at hello@onlydreamdresses.com
Main photo by Konstantin Semenikhin
