The Wedding Dress

The wedding dress takes precedent over all other aspects of a wedding. When a bride chooses the dress, it’s come to be something more than a garment; it’s a symbol. But when a marriage ends, what happens to the dress and all it stood for? 

The wedding dress, encased in glass like an exhibition in a museum, hangs in the bedroom of women all across the United States. It’s a shrine to what is seen as the apex of a young woman’s life. She was worthy of love. She was worthy of a lifetime. During divorce, those dreams are shattered. Picking up the pieces of dreams and rearranging life can take years. But deciding what to to do with the dress can take a little less time. There are a few options, ranging from dramatic to altruistic. We’re here to explore how the dress can keep giving. 

Some will find destroying the dress therapeutic. We’ve heard of ripping the dress to shreds and throwing it in the trash; we’ve heard of cutting it into pieces and burning it like in some ancient rite; we’ve heard of having the old wedding dress altered and dyed for the divorce party. Should you choose to employ any of these more drastic scenarios, just be safe, especially if you plan on dousing it with something flammable and roasting marshmallows over its ashes (or dancing around it with your girlfriends at midnight).

Still, it can be difficult to let go of what a wedding dress stood for to the bride. It’s perfectly fine to keep the dress. Some women prefer to tuck it away with other keepsakes, others sit aside for children and grandchildren to play dress-up. If you choose to keep your wedding dress, don’t let anyone shame you for not “letting go” of your past. That dress can represent hope in general, and you still have plenty of hope for your “happily ever after”, however that looks.

The other option relieves you of setting a price on something that represents a slew of emotions--donate. We’ve heard ladies shy away from buying dresses where the marriage ended, but donating a dress surely cancels the negative vibes, right?

Divorce, and it’s many emotions, is not easy for anyone. Kevin Hickey Law Partners can navigate the legal end so you can focus on your family and your new beginnings. It’s about to get better. We’re here to help.