A wedding is a joy to plan: choosing your colors, picking out the perfect flowers and menu, and of course shopping for your dream wedding gown – what’s not to love? But when the last dance has been danced, the bouquet tossed, and the newlyweds hopped into their limo at the end of the reception, there will be a lot of stuff which was accumulated for the wedding that needs a good home. This is what to do with your stuff after the wedding.

Sell it! Wedding boards, Craig’s List, ebay and a host of other websites make it easy for a newlywed to put her wedding stuff up for resale. What might you want to sell? Decorations, for sure. If you had custom tablecloths and chair covers made, they will do you no good cluttering up your garage for the next fifty years. The same goes for vases, candelabras, and faux flowers. Theme decorations are another popular thing to sell post-wedding. Do you have hundreds of seashells you used for your beach wedding? Sell ’em! A bride planning a beach theme wedding will be delighted to take them off your hands, and you will be relieved of having to store them. Not only that, but you will recoup a little of your investment – it is a win-win situation.

Donate it! There are more ways than you might realize to make your wedding left-overs do some good. Drop off your centerpieces at a nursing home after the reception to brighten someone’s day. Have your caterer make advance arrangements to take left-over food to a nearby shelter or food bank (many have strict requirements about what they can accept, so don’t just show up unannounced with the uneaten food). Even your wedding gown can be donated to a worthy cause, if you so choose. Charities such as Making Memories resell bridal gowns as fundraisers to help give memory-making experiences to women with breast cancer. Think about how much good your gown could do: it could provide a bride on a budget the chance to buy a beautiful gown she could not afford new, and the proceeds from the sale will go on to help a cancer patient. Now that is something to feel good about.

Compost it! This takes a bit of doing, but speak to your caterer about composting the food waste from your wedding rather than throwing it in the trash. You might be able to make arrangements with a community garden who would love to turn your scraps into fertile soil. If you garden at home, start your own compost pile with the reception scraps. The symbolism of using your wedding to nourish a garden at your first home as newlyweds is quite lovely.

Use it! The most precious things are those which you can use and enjoy daily. You might not get much opportunity to wear your wedding gown post-wedding, but you can certainly wear your pearl earrings and some of your other accessories again. If you had very fancy pearl earrings, wear them to enhance romantic dates with your hubby, or wear more simple earrings all the time as a daily reminder of your wedding. Some of your reception vases could make wonderful vases to use in your new home. Or instead of a standard guest book, request your guests to sign squares of fabric that you can later stitch into a quilt to make your bed cozy and warm.

Share it! Lend your bridal veil to your cousin or your wedding necklace to your best friend. Let your sister wear your crinoline to fill out her gown. Remember the verse about “something borrowed”? Now it is your turn to be the lender. Bring your wedding things out of storage so that they can enjoy a second life in the wedding of a dear friend or relative. It will be very special to the bride you help, and fun for you to get another peek at your cherished wedding treasures.

Author Bio: Bridget Mora writes for Silverland Jewelry about weddings, relationships, and society. You will love the selection of handcrafted pearl earrings, necklaces, and bracelet at http://silverlandjewelry.com/.Visit today and receive free shipping on any jewelry order over $99.

Category: Marriage
Keywords: pearl earrings, wedding donations, charitable wedding, wedding gowns, selling wedding decorations