Devour the Details: Unbelievable Budgeting and A Wonderful Cause

The average cost of a wedding dress in the United States is over $1,200. It is an unbelievably high cost for something you wear one time. Yes I know some people try to wear their wedding dress more than once but in a brief search, I couldn't even come up with a number/information to share here. The dress is a symbolic part to any wedding so of course brides are willing to put a good chunk of their budget towards it.

Well, we found one bride who got the dress of her dreams for just $30 and plans on wearing it as much as possible. Redditor Alkikatt shared a DIY post on how she crocheted her dress in five months while commuting to work. The bride says she used 1.5 skeins of Aunt Lydia’s crochet thread (which she got on sale) and the popular pineapple pattern to make the entire thing. She even made a stop-motion video to show her progress. The outcome? Stunning. The dress, which includes a hand-made liner, is machine washable and wrinkle-free. Alkikatt plans on wearing it again with different linings, accessories, and the train bustled up in different ways.

Unlike Alkikatt, if you don't have a way to wear your wedding dress again and would like to do something special with it, I have a solution for you. There is a wonderful volunteer group called Angel Gowns for Dignity, whom turn wedding dresses into outfits for premature, stillborn, or ill babies that don’t survive birth and are too small to fit in regular baby clothes for burial.

Women that suffered this loss built this volunteer group when they realized they shared similar experiences of grieving loved ones routinely having to go Target, Toys R Us or other stores for clothes to buy a burial gown. This group helps to prevent grievers go through this situation. Angel Gowns for Dignity provides the families with two gowns — one for the child to wear for photographs and burial and another for the parents to have keepsake of the baby they couldn’t take home. They also are making special outfits for early miscarriages.

Now in collaboration with different hospitals, they hope to create more chapters of Angel Gowns for Dignity so people can provide wedding gowns that will be transformed. They are also in the process of forming a nonprofit organization to accept donations. Along with wedding dress donations, they also have received volunteer help from numerous people with varying levels of sewing ability. The group seeks donations of white or off-white lace or ribbon. They also welcome gift cards so those sewing can restock thread, needles and other supplies.

I hope this post can inspire you to devour the details when it comes to creating, saving, or donating your wedding dress. It's truly amazing what some people in this world can do and I love hearing stories like both of these; it should bring a smile to everyone's face on this gloomy Monday morning.