Image Source: Suess Moments
I can still remember how good it felt to choose the Stuart Weitzman Venette Mesh Knee High Boots as my 2019 bridal shoes. Embroidered with daisies down the leg, they were the perfect heel for a wedding: bold and unique. As a bride-to-be with a unique sense of style, I didn’t exactly want anything blue and any number of borrowed things, as long as they were from designer resale sites.
As soon as I tried on the thighs and saw that they were comfortable enough to dance in, I knew I wanted a short wedding dress that would complement its grandeur. At that moment, I promised myself that I would deliver. But I never wrote my vows to the groom.
So today I am a previous bride, confident in one of my planned wedding ensembles, admitting that I didn’t choose my dress as I imagined a smile on my then-fiancé’s face during our “first look.” In fact, I didn’t pick out my dress for him. I chose it for me – and that’s why I still wanted to have my moment, even though the wedding was called off.
The dress is a stunning custom version of the Galia Lahav Eloise mini, which I had trimmed shorter to fit my 5’1″ frame and adjusted to remove some of the tulle, so it wouldn’t weigh me down. To highlight the flowers on the side of My boots, I chose Simone Rocha earrings with emerald gemstones and pearls, secondhand at my favorite resale site, The RealReal.
Although I never walked down the aisle in my wedding look, I decided to go ahead with a photo shoot for one key reason: self-love. I wanted to show my appreciation for the meticulously crafted fashion moment I planned for my wedding, one that would normally debut during a walk down the aisle in front of family and friends, but instead came to life through the lens of my aspiring photographer. of weddings, Miranda Suess.
Image Source: Suess Moments
On the day of the photo shoot, an overwhelming sense of sisterhood fueled our energy and I ended up feeling even more empowered and beautiful than I would have at my canceled wedding.
Suess even created a GIF of me destroying a bouquet of yellow roses. Laura Collins, a florist at A Touch of Elegance, chose the color yellow because she said the bright hue reminded her of my light. The roses also turned out to be symbolic for me, as they represented a gift my ex sent to the woman he cheated on me with.
Image Source: Suess Moments
I ended up feeling more empowered and beautiful at the photo shoot than at my wedding.
I knew I wanted to donate my dress to someone who had so much admiration for Lahav’s ingenious couture fashion house, founded in Tel Aviv in the early 1980s. After feeling so much support from the women’s team at my photo shoot who have become my friends, I searched for a charity-focused wedding dress donation site that also helps women. I came to Brides For a Cause, a nonprofit organization that raises money for local and national organizations that have a greater impact in funding women’s causes, such as education, health and motherhood.
To participate in the dress recycling program, all I had to do was post my wedding dress to the inventory collection, which is then distributed and sold at one of four US boutiques.
According to BFAC founder Erin Scharf, thousands of women donate their dresses each year. Mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that number has skyrocketed in 2021, with many brides replacing their gowns to fit a new theme, deciding to elope instead, having a micro or destination wedding, or even canceling their wedding. wedding completely. That made me feel a little less alone, as did the assurance that my dress wouldn’t go to waste, abandoned on a rack somewhere.
Image Source: Suess Moments
“Recently, a bride came in with a budget of $50,” Scharf told POPSUGAR, sharing that most of her pieces start at $150. “We had just received a super fun and unique wedding dress with a big bow in the back. The bow wasn’t for everyone so we marked it down to $50. Well this bride fell in love instantly and was emotional while shopping for the dress because she never thought she’d find a dress within her budget.”
I immediately hoped that my own dress would bring a bride so much happiness, because I know firsthand how clothing can do that for a person.
That’s not to say that posing in my wedding dress and then giving it away was my only option. In fact, there are countless solutions on what to do with a new wedding dress that hasn’t been worn for various reasons. For example, you can resell your dress at a local thrift store or on eBay, Facebook, Nearly Newlywed, or Still White. You can recycle it and work with a tailor to give it a whole new look, maybe even dye it in the process. You can cut it and transform some of your favorite details, such as rhinestones or lace, into jewels. It can even become your Halloween costume.
As I posed in front of Suess for some final shots, lying in the bright flowers the florists had masterfully constructed around me, the tulle train of my dress brushed the edge of my boot. I looked down and thought how he could have dragged himself along the dunes at my beach ceremony, sweeping up the sand instead.
And that’s when I finally recognized my wedding attire for what it was always meant to be: simply a choice I had made for myself. A choice that I loved. A choice he was sure of.
Image Source: Suess Moments
Photographer: Suess Moments; florists: Laura Collins and Beata K. Ember of A Touch of Elegance; hair and makeup artist: Selena Mindali of Beautini; Filming Location: Grayscale Studios; rug: anthropology
There are only a handful of bridal charity shops across the country that accept wedding dress donations, including The Brides Project, Adorned in Grace, Wish Upon a Wedding Dress, and Brides Across America. Be sure to read up on each organization before deciding where to donate.