Unclutterer

1. Posted by Lauren - 07/08/2008

   It seems like a waste to just ruin the dress. I’m going to try the eBay route after my wedding in a few weeks–that way I get some money for my troubles, and some other person gets to avoid the soulless bridal gown industry.

2. Posted by Jeannine - 07/08/2008

   I definitely agree with going the eBay route. Selling even small things like centerpieces you had to buy, cake knife and server, ring bearer pillow, tiara/hair jewelry, shoes, etc. seems like a great way to get at least a little money back on the astronomical amount we spend on weddings, and it hopefully gives someone else with a frugal nature or less funds a way to avoid being completely taken advantage of by the (I agree – soulless) bridal industry.

3. Posted by Bill - 07/08/2008

   I can’t imagine trying to convince my wife to trash some of the more useless stuff we have saved from our wedding. We have the napkins, we have the champagne glasses, we have the GUESTS champagne glasses, we have the cake cutter, we have the favors, we even have the fake plants that went on the side of the aisles. We have a garbage bag full of fake flower petals.

   The truth is as much as I’d like to be ‘an unclutterer’ I doubt it will ever happen because I’m in love with a pack-rat

4. Posted by Maria in Iowa - 07/08/2008

   You know something funny, though?

   I spent a week helping my parents unclutter part of their basement. (We got a good start, but there’s way more to be done.) Anyway we found a box filled with stuff in a dark lavender color scheme from MY wedding, back in 1985. Napkins, paper tablecloths, plasticware. That kind of stuff. I would say throw it out EXCEPT that my eldest child graduates from high school next spring – and guess what her school colors are? Purple and white. So if we are not too critical about which purple we are using, all my wedding stuff will work great for her grad party.

   I would like to say this was remarkable planning on my part, but of course it was just chance.

5. Posted by Eric - 07/08/2008

   Cake Cutter $80 on eBay
   Silver Champagne Flutes for toasting – $120 on eBay
   Some fancy registry stuff we never used – over $1000 on ebay
   Dress – Saved
   personalized stuff – we kept that (signature book, and a few other small things)

   All in all we got over $1,200.

6. Posted by Megan - 07/08/2008

   Although I think that cutting down on clutter is extremely important, I think that getting rid of your wedding dress (if it is meaningful to you) is crossing the line. I actually have my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s dresses in addition to my own and they’re very important to me. Plus, they’re often modeled in local fashion show fundraisers and thus they still have a useful purpose.

   I agree that napkins and cake cutters are junk. However, when sorting through clutter, there are some things which should be spared for sentimental reasons. While this is a slippery slope for pack rats, extreme unclutterers need to be sure that they don’t overshoot their goals by removing all meaningful items from their lives.

7. Posted by Emma - 07/08/2008

   A well timed article. I found an enormous bag full of cards from our wedding last night. I have no idea what to do with them… they can’t stay but the sentiments in them are so nice I want to keep them!

   Any ideas for wedding cards?

8. Posted by Shanel Yang - 07/08/2008

   Matt, I love that phrase “make space for your life.” That’s exactly what decluttering is all about. I can’t really live in the now until I get rid of clutter from the past or clutter that I think ought or might be part of my future someday. Only the essentials for my life now!

9. Posted by Anne - 07/08/2008

   encouraging words to getting rid of the dress.
   I toted mine around in a vacumned sealed box, from home to home. The place of honor, in a closet out of the way. Finally, our drama team at the church did a Reality Play, with a wedding scene…my contribution. The dress! I carried that cumbersome box for 18 years! What a great feeling to have it gone!

   @Emma re: cards
   I scanned our cards and our pics and made a scrapbook! I even scanned the cards hubby gave during engagement! I love the pages with his handwriting and little notes of love.
   Then I threw the stuff away…now my wedding memories are in one book and my kids go thru over and over!

10. Posted by Sandra - 07/08/2008

    Some things to consider: don’t buy the piles of disposable wedding trinkets (personalized glasses, favours, paper napkins, etc) in the first place! We had a ‘green’ wedding: we rented all our dinnerware, linens, serving pieces, etc; had small cakes as centrepieces; no favours or throw-away decorations; invitations, etc on recycled paper; very selective registry including donations to charities we support. I donated my dress to a wonderful organization called the Bride’s Project that sells used wedding dresses to raise funds for cancer research (http://www.thebridesproject.com/). We ended up with lots of wonderful memories and digital photos and no cluttter!

11. Posted by Oksoimnotperfect - 07/08/2008

    This is great timing for me – I’ve started a scrap book with all my pre-wedding things, so as long as I keep on top of that then I shouldn’t have too much clutter from the wedding (in less than 2 months!). This is a good thing since we’ll both be moving into his one plus den ~740 sq. foot condo!

12. Posted by Karen - 07/08/2008

    I would advise women, if interested, to recycle the wedding dress right away. I wish I could get rid of mine now–but it’s 18 years old and out of style, and I don’t want to trash it. Over the years I’ve dumped all the wedding detritus, even the guest book (we never looked at it in 18 years!) I do have the cake knife–but it was a really nice silver-plated knife that my mom gave us for the wedding, and we use it on all our birthday cakes, holiday desserts, etc. I keep it with our regular silver. Another reason to buy quality.

    If you’ve married the right person, your everyday life will be a lot more interesting and rewarding than sifting through the remnants of a ceremony performed years ago.

13. Posted by Marla - 07/08/2008

    Having had two weddings, I can honestly say that the second was better not just because it’s the marriage that works – it’s the one that happened with a handful of flowers and two friends and a minister in front of a dance hall in Texas with crickets chirping as the only music. It was such a relief not to have a whole production! I guess we were more interested in being married than getting married this time around…

    I used to sell high-end jewellery, specializing in engagement rings in wedding bands and “up-selling” with gifts for the wedding party. It’s nice to be out of that racket.

    So, when I read questions on Ask Metafilter about gifts for the wedding party, and personalizing them – I always advised and still think “Don’t personalize anything.” Because then nobody else will want, or will likely use the items again. Now that I deal in antiques, while very old monograms and trophies can be interesting, a “Happy 25th” or “Congrats on your Retirement” message on a silver-plated or sterling tray can ruin an object that would otherwise be perfectly desirable for years to come. I’m also a big fan of suggestions for gifts like Leatherman tools or consumables or experiences as gifts for such occasions – because as the recipient of such things as an engraved lipstick holder for being a bridesmaid, I’ve always envied my husband’s Swiss army knife-type groomsman gifts.

14. Posted by Kristen - 07/08/2008

    Beautiful advice that everyone should read a second time over. It’s also the reason that my photographer is the one area where I didn’t search for the cost-cutting method. The day is just a day. While there are many sentimental factors to it, is it really necessary to stash them all in a closet where they are seen once every decade?

15. Posted by Missi - 07/08/2008

    Please don’t trash the dress! I just donated mine two weeks ago to http://www.bridesagainstbreastcancer.org a great organization that re-sells your wedding dress and the money goes to fulfilling wishes of people who are dying of breast cancer. I know there are similar organizations out there. You may want to consider them, it gets the dress out of the closet (mine was in there for 2 years) and helps people in the process. I took several pictures of my dress before shipping it off, and I have all the wedding pics of me in it already. I don’t think I’ll miss it.

16. Posted by Joyful Abode - 07/08/2008

    This is definitely great advice.

    I got married almost a year ago, and we have no clutter from the wedding… our “cake topper” was actually a little figurine we really liked and wanted in our house anyway (no froo-froo wedding dresses on it) so it’s displayed with our (few) framed photographs.

    We didn’t have a guest book because I didn’t see the point and didn’t want the pressure/guilt of HAVING to keep it for years and years, never looking through it (because I know I wouldn’t). So we didn’t even have one.

    The cards people gave us are long gone. My brother-in-law brewed up a special wedding beer for our reception, with adorable labels. My husband carried one of them around until last month when I asked if he REALLY needed to keep that bottle, and he let me throw it away.

    We used pretty plastic dishes and flatware (that looked like silverware) and I kept all the extras, but now they’ve been used up… we had several great parties with more people than we had real dishes, so that was a good way to use up those extras.

    And the dress? I haven’t trashed it YET, but when we’re in a gorgeous locale and I find a good photographer, I seriously plan to.

17. Posted by Joyful Abode - 07/08/2008

    To everyone who thinks “Trashing a dress” means turning it into rags…

    It doesn’t have to mean that. It is basically a lovely photoshoot where you don’t have to worry about getting the dress a little grungy. This can mean romping around in fields of wildflowers, or swinging on a tree swing, or taking punky photos in front of graffiti-covered walls… whatever you want.

    It’s a way to say goodbye to your wedding day and move on to enjoying your marriage.

    If you dry-clean it after the shoot, you can still donate it.

18. Posted by Marc - 07/08/2008

    Rather than trash donate. Missi’s request seems good.

    A couple years ago my wife decided it was time to clean house house and her dress want to Goodwill. After holding out hope that our daughter would use in one day she realized that styles change so quickly it would be selfish of her to expect her daughter to where her “old” dress.

    Really clothing has a shelf life…why hold onto the bell bottoms until they come back in style.

19. Posted by Jacki Hollywood Brown - 07/08/2008

    I spoke to a group of women and I asked how many of them wore their mother’s wedding dress. Not one raised their hand. Then I asked why they were expecting their daughters to wear their dresses. Many of the women donated or sold their dresses after that.

20. Posted by Maria in Iowa - 07/08/2008

    Scanning the wedding cards and burning them to a CD sounds good to me. I think we still have ours somewhere. Not that they take up a ton of room, but still…

    (And I love the idea of a special wedding beer-brewing!)

21. Posted by Tracy - 07/08/2008

    Quote from above:

    “If you’ve married the right person, your everyday life will be a lot more interesting and rewarding than sifting through the remnants of a ceremony performed years ago.”

    I couldn’t have said it better myself. There’s so much pressure on brides and grooms to make the wedding the “best day of your life.” Certainly, it’s a very good day. But if the marriage is solid, you’ll have even better days to come. I’ve been married since 1999, and I can think of hundreds of days with my husband that were more fun and more meaningful than my wedding day.

22. Posted by Megan - 07/08/2008

    For those who are hoping to keep the dress while downsizing the space required, you might make sure that all of the bulky under-skirts are removed. You could always replace those later, but at least you’d still have the dress (with a smaller profile).

    Of course, donating the dress is a really great idea.

23. Posted by Louise - 07/08/2008

    No offense, but it sounds like your wedding trinkets probably added clutter to your guests’ lives, too. Where did this tradition of handing out inexpensive “gifts” to guests in the form of color coordinated matchbooks and Jordan almonds originate? At least one of your friends probably has an item in their junk drawer with your wedding date embossed on it, collecting dust.

    I’m on a crusade against taking or giving out free junk “just because.” We just attended a rally where door prizes were handed out, and I boycotted that part. If I had wanted stuff from the vendors, I would have purchased it. Why does it somehow gain entrance into my home just because it is “free”? I put that it in quotes, because nothing is free. Your time, space and energy have value; don’t waste them on “free.”

    I also think that the Princess for a Day wedding fantasy completely buys into the consumer culture notion that the path to happiness is paved with “stuff” that is purchased. When we begin our adult married life with a giant orgy of spending and accumulation, is it any wonder that we end up with lots of useless items and often a large debt, too?

    I’m not implying that your wedding was like this; please don’t take it personally. I think that talking about weddings and clutter is a fantastic (and unusual) opportunity. Thanks for providing it!

24. Posted by Oliver - 07/08/2008

    My wife is going to have her dress chopped to cocktail length, and died scarlet red, so she can have a party dress….

    But in general, we think in terms of opportunity cost. If something can sell quickly for good money we sell it. Otherwise, spending several hours to sell things that go for $20 or less is a waste of time. We donate them instead.

25. Posted by penguinlady - 07/08/2008

    We didn’t have a big wedding (thank goodness), so we don’t have a lot of clutter. I did dry my bouquet and after 6 years in a cardboard box, finally mounted it in a clear box with a photo of it on the day, and I love it.

    My favorite “keepsake” though is my wedding binder – a record of how I organized and managed the day. It has pages from magazines that I tore for inspiration, romantic poems, my hilarious “wedding dress requirements”, the budget, just everything I needed in one place. I’ve since loaned the binder to other brides-to-be for inspiration on how to organize their day. A wedding takes up so much of your time and thought processes before the one day, and I enjoy looking back through the process to get there.

26. Posted by lhgirl - 07/08/2008

    One of my friends used the lace off her wedding dress to make christening outfits for her chilldren. It’s a really sweet way to say the love lives on and the little clothes take up much less room.

    My mom also took the train off her dress (the rest of her dress was ruined by her dry cleaner) and used it on the cake table for my wedding.

    You could also use some of the fabric from your dress to make a scrabook or small keepsake box of your wedding photos.

    There are lots of ways your dress can move on. I will probably never be able to fit in it again but each time I see that lace I know I will remember how happy I was on my wedding day.

27. Posted by Leslie - 07/08/2008

    I didn’t keep any trinkets from our wedding. (We didn’t have any to speak of, no favors, no flowergirl, no ring bearer) I kept my dress (preserved) and the guest book. I also had my flowers professionally preserved with a picture from that day in a shadowbox that I have hanging in the dining room. I am still so glad I did this.

    As for the wedding cards, I have plans to scan them as others suggested (Right now I am still working on scanning in magazine articles that I wanted to save, cards are next). But I don’t believe in saving things to disc, which just produces more clutter. We use Mozy to backup our important files online. That way, you can get them back if something happens to your computer.

28. Posted by Meg - 07/08/2008

    It took me a couple years to get rid of my wedding dress, but I finally decided to donate it instead of trying to sell it.

    To those that want to save their dresses for their daughters…

    Sure, it might work out. You may have a daughter, she may get married, the dress may still be reasonably in style several decades after you bought it, she may want to wear it instead of picking out a dress according to her own tastes (or feel too pressured not to because she doesn’t want to hurt your feelings), and the dress just might fit without too many alterations — or not,

    Call me skeptical, but most of the fun of the wedding dress for me was getting to pick it out. And my mom’s idea of wedding wear and mine were definitely very different.

    However, she was the one to pay for the dress, which definitely made it all the more special since it was her big wedding present to me.

29. Posted by Sue - 07/08/2008

    We didn’t plan our wedding as “green”, but we sure saved “The Green”! LOL!

    + No engraved napkins or matchbooks (no one smokes in our circle of family and friends)
    + No guest favors
    + The cake topper was a cross with interlocked rings that now hangs in the bedroom
    + We use the cake server on a regular basis because we bought a nice and simple design
    + My bouquet was silk and converted into a vase arrangement

    As someone else wrote, we focused more on BEING married than GETTING married.

30. Posted by Meghan - 07/08/2008

    I’m getting married in September and I’m not planning on keeping anything. That’s why I’m hiring a photographer, right? I’ll have a photo album and my memories.

31. Posted by Carolyn - 07/08/2008

    All this talk about what to do with the dress…not one of you completely ruined your dress on the wedding day? Mine was trashed. Between stains (mud, grass, wine, you name it) and rips from people stepping on it, there was no saving it.

    Most of the recently married ladies I know had the same experience. So, if you haven’t gone through the big day yet, don’t be heartbroken if all you have by evening is a giant, expensive rag.

32. Posted by Battra92 - 07/08/2008

    Actually the cake knife makes a fantastic bread knife. Many brides start their silver pattern based on that knife. Either way a good wedding cake knife (not some plastic or stainless knife with gaudy ornaments all over it) works well for slicing bread and (surprise surprise) birthday cakes. Theoretically you just threw out a handy knife.

33. Posted by JustTheSort - 07/08/2008

    There ARE those of us out there who have worn family gowns! My best friend and I each wore our mothers’ dresses. (Hey, it’s a cheap option and sometimes wearing ‘vintage’ is preferable to what’s in fashion at the time.) I’m lucky my mom chose a simple and flattering silk organza fitted sheath back in 1966. Slim and classy- no poofy crinolines to take up several cubic feet of closet space in the 27 year gap between ceremonies.

    I agree (with Louise) about not personalizing favors for guests/attendants. I see piles of votives and flutes at thrift stores with names & dates on them and I always wonder if the couple is still together. Due to chronic groomsman status in the 1980s my husband has more engraved pen & pencil sets than any human truly needs.

    Save wedding cards to re-read on your first anniversary. At that point you will probably have no qualms about sending 90% of them to the recycling bin. (“Do you know who this is? I thought she was YOUR friend…I can’t read this name at all…”)

    I didn’t dry my bouquet- My mother took it home after the ceremony. She took out the ivy and rooted it and I got a nice, living houseplant out of the deal.

34. Posted by HMR - 07/08/2008

    My friend who is a professional wedding photographer for a VERY expensive photo group regularly spends up to 90 minutes at a location taking photos of the reception set up. She photographs the centerpieces the empty tables, the gift table the empty head table, the empty dance floor – you name it she photographs it.

    Later she or the other photographer (yes, they are so expensive they often have two, sometimes three photographers at one wedding) will take pictures of the same locations with people and gifts and cake and food. It’s always interesting to me to see the “before and after” shots. The empty pictures are still lovely in their anticipation of the event, and keep a bride and groom from taking half the wedding arrangements home with them.

35. Posted by Erin Doland - 07/08/2008

    When my mother got married, she was 5′ 6″ (in heels) and weighed 113 pounds — and her dress was “coffee” colored. Coffee, in case you’re wondering, is wedding business speak for brown.

    When I got married, I was 5′ 9″ (in flats) and weighed 121 pounds and the last thing I wanted to get married in was a brown dress that was a size too small and more than three inches too short.

    Thankfully, my mother took it well when I explained that her dress was not going to work for me. I was glad, too, when (like @Carolyn) my dress was introduced to red wine, chocolate icing, and Diet Coke at our reception. I don’t want to put my daughter in the position of having to tell me that my dress isn’t going to work for her.

36. Posted by Jesse - 07/08/2008

    We married quickly (2 weeks of planning before I was sent overseas to Kosovo) 5 years ago, and we went simple for our wedding. I actually DID wear my mother’s dress (something “old”) – which she wanted to hold on to, so it’s in HER house, my mother-in-law’s shoes (something borrowed), which she kept. The only things left over are the corsage and boutonniere (which I still have but when we clean I think I’ll actually get rid of them), and some bubbles which I think my 3 year old would enjoy. Our pictures are in a photo album (copies with my parents and mother-in-law), as well as on my computer (and on two disks that the aforementioned have on hand as well).

    Keep the wedding simple! That’s the biggest tribute to “uncluttering” I think you can make!

37. Posted by CJ - 07/08/2008

    My husband and I got married in February, and we didn’t keep much from the wedding. I preserved my bouquet and put it in a glass case with a picture of it the day of the wedding. We also saved our cake topper because we made it ourselves – it had action figures of Han Solo and Princess Leia (in a white dress, of course) on it. I’m planning on donating my dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer, and I’m definitely going to take the suggestion of scanning in the cards! I’ve been trying to decide what to do with them.

    Everything else we got rid of somehow. The card holder box sold on eBay for more than we paid for it. Most of the decorations were provided by the reception hall. We didn’t have a ringbearer’s pillow – we used my husband’s childhood teddy bear instead. Oh, and we didn’t have a traditional guest book. We had a movie-themed wedding and used small movie posters as table names (instead of numbers) and asked everyone to sign the one at their table. Since we used movies we liked, we now have a “guestbook” we can display on our wall.

    I guess I’d suggest to brides planning their wedding to use as many re-usable things as possible to decrease the clutter. If you can proudly display it or use it again, it’ll save you money in the long run too.

38. Posted by Meg - 07/08/2008

    FYI, I’m not saying that some women don’t have luck wearing their mom’s dresses. However, it seems like a bad bet to make — unless you have plenty of free space. If you have plenty of space in your home, then maybe it makes sense. However, most people I know need space more than a lot of “just in case” items. Personally, I’d rather my dress be worn by someone who needs it now instead of keeping it for someone who maybe, just maybe will want to wear it much later.

39. Posted by Cat - 07/08/2008

    I must say there are reasons to keep the dress other than hoping a daughter would wear it! My mother, her mother, and my husband’s mother and her mother had kept their dresses, and we displayed them on mannequins at our reception next to photos of the couples on their wedding days – great way to honor our families and provide something interesting and memorable for the guests!

    As for the other wedding paper and memorabilia – aside from our album, we made a scrapbook of things like all the paper (invitations for shower, save-the-date, the copper plate from the engraving, menu etc), our program (so much love went into planning the ceremony and I handmade the programs – very professional looking, check out Crane’s imprintables), and a variety of the best candids from our guests. Easy to store and easy to get out and reminisce!

    As for the larger items – we skipped the cake in favor of a dessert buffet, but didn’t keep the bouquet – no one wants to be the bride that never lets go of being the “princess” and having all that out on display…

40. Posted by Pat - 07/08/2008

    @Cat – wow great idea to display the dresses!

    While I agree with most of the comments about keeping the wedding simple and not buying crap that you’ll feel compelled to save – I have to say that I do use my cake knife and server, which are not specifically wedding themed.

    I also saved my wedding dress – don’t know why, but I wouldn’t toss it. Wish my mom had saved hers -I would have worn it. I’ll save mine for my daughter when she goes thru a rebellious stage and wants to destroy something.

    One thing I had a really hard time getting rid was a big box full of gorgeous Japanese gift giving envelopes. Here, people usually give cash, in fantastically ornate envelopes with hand crafted wire or string closings. Often these are in the shape of cranes or turtles or other felicitous symbols. Some I repurposed as Xmas tree decorations, but I ended up trashing a bunch.

    Here’s some simple ones here, in English:
    http://pingmag.jp/2008/04/24/origata/
    some elaborate ones:
    http://www.worldlyweddings.com.....o-s/80.htm

41. Posted by Nancy - 07/08/2008

    Another donation option, if your dress is clean (that is, no stains, no yellowing from storage, etc.):

    http://marymadelineproject.org/

42. Posted by KateNonymous - 07/08/2008

    I saved my wedding dress. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to get rid of it. It’s preserved and boxed, so it doesn’t take up a gargantuan amount of space. I also have a box of invitations, table quote cards, etc., and at some point I’ll get rid of most of those.

    As for favors, we got artisan dark chocolates made by a local confectioner and wrapped in personalized labels. While not everyone ate them, they were all eaten–no little trinkets cluttering up drawers anywhere!

    Here’s my question: Two guests gave us framed invitations. Both are lovely, but I can’t imagine displaying them. I certainly wouldn’t display two of them. No one else wants a framed invitation from my wedding. What do I do with these?

43. Posted by Jerri - 07/09/2008

    That definitely wouldn’t count as clutter to me. it just means to much. I have a shelf in my china cabinet that has all my wedding keepsakes. Every time I look at it, I can think of our special day.

44. Posted by Meg - 07/09/2008

    Katenonymous,
    We got a framed invitation, too! We displayed it for a while because we liked it and it had room for other pictures, then we finally gave away the frame to a thrift store.

45. Posted by runnin' rebel - 07/09/2008

    My wife and I just got married in May and there is a whole bunch of stuff I want to get rid of including some of the lame gifts. I am currently obsessed to unclutter everything until school kicks in again .

    As for the dress, I am not sure what to do other than good old fashion pursuasion.

    Since we live in Vegas, we had altf photography to cover our engagement, wedding, bridal portrait sessions. It was the wife’s idea, not mine. It was also very expensive. However, it was also very worth it. I have to say in the beginning I had my doubts considering the wife had us do glamour shots (yes, I know) for christmas and that was quite the rip off (even though we did get some good photos of of it) but also I consider myself to be very hard to impress when it comes to artistic creativity in general.

    After we sat down last weekend with John and Delisa to go over our album, I have to say I was blown away, especially with the bridal portrait session. Instead of the dress trashing, the bridal portrait session was shot in a studio. I reccommend that if you plan on getting married and you don’t have the money, to still splurge somehow and hire them for your photography-you won’t regret it.

    As for the Dress, I dont get the one time usage thing. What’s up with that? Why do brides spend that kind of money for something they where once and thats it? As for me I bought a tux and I already worn it like two other times. Now whenever I have another wedding to go to, thats what I wear and just dress it down with a regular tie. Any black tie event, I am set. No renting, no lame suit.

46. Posted by Sara - 07/09/2008

    My mom recently discovered her mother’s wedding dress at the bottom of her linen closet, where it had been hiding for 25 years. She took it to someone who specializes in reworking wedding dresses. They professionally cleaned it to get all the yellow out, then turned it into a christening dress, a table runner, a pocketbook, several pillows, and other items. We are excited to be able to “remember” my grandmother with a table runner at a family meal now rather than with a dress in a bag on the closet for (that noone remembered anyway).

47. Posted by Chamberlyn - 07/09/2008

    I just got married on June 28th. The day we got back from our mini honeymoon (that Tuesday), I took my wedding dress, slip, and veil in to a bridal shop, and they are selling them on consignment. The best part? Since I was so prompt, my dress is still being produced so I’ll be getting back all but $50 of what I payed since I got it on sale!

    I bought a photo storage box for all of the wedding cards and personalized mementos. I still have all of my wedding planning stuff since it’s been less than 2 weeks, I still need addresses for thank you notes (taking a break from writing them right now!), I have coupons for our registries, and my bag has details for our actual honeymoon coming up in a month.

    As far as other clutter, unfortunately my mother decided to bring up the (plastic) champagne flutes and cake cutter when she returned our kitties last week. I can’t bring myself to dump them yet because we actually could use them again (they don’t look wedding-ish), but they might show up at our pre-move yard sale in a few weeks.

    All in all, I think I’ve done well with wedding clutter. We had a small, cheap affair so a lot of the clutter like napkins, favors, and matchbooks were eliminated. We chose to use the money on grad school instead, and I couldn’t be happier with that decision!

48. Posted by MHB - 07/09/2008

    My wedding dress is very simple and, frankly, cheap: it was a white version of a bridesmaid dress. I can’t imagine that either my possible-someday-daughter or a lot of other brides would be interested in this dress, but this idea I just read about making christening clothes from the wedding dress fabric sounds perfect to me: repurpose the same fabric for the next big family religious ceremony! I love the continuity of that idea. Now the wedding dress is officially part of our sewing and craft clutter.

49. Posted by Deb - 07/09/2008

    I just celebrated my first anniversary. We had a minimum of ornamental things at the wedding, which was held on a steamboat.

    I had some flat stones on the table with words such as “Love” and “joy” on them. Guests were instructed to take them to the water’s edge and skip them out across the water to send our sentiments into nature. (People tell me they still have these rocks at home, however!)

    I made my own invitations and only had one sample leftover, which went into the scrapbook. There were no attendants, a cake with no ornamentation to save, and we had small metal buckets painted white to hold the Jordan almonds, and I use the buckets for pencils in my classroom. There were glass mosaic candleholders on the tables and I use them on the patio now, since the colors are all coordinated with the house.

    My dress was a cream colored skirt and separate lacy top, and they can be paired with other pieces to wear again. I had a headband of pearls, which I can give away. The purse and shoes I will use again since they were dressy but not “wedding-y”

    Hubby bought a lovely summer suit which he can use again.

    I made my bouquet from silk flowers and use it as a vase arrangement as was mentioned in a post above. A few smaller arrangements serve as mini-arrangements in some crystal that doesn’t show up in the china cabinet without some color.

    In all, I had a relaxed wedding, and our first anniversary was celebrated with a day at a local resort (summer rates very cheap in AZ) instead of with gifts, so no clutter and a nice de-stressed celebration!

50. Posted by DivaJean - 07/09/2008

    I was lucky enough to find a FreeCycle request looking for wedding items in my colors (purple and lavender). ALL wedding stuff gone- except for my dress. I periodically hack pieces of it off for sewing projects when I want white on white print fabric, like my dress.

51. Posted by Jackie - 07/10/2008

    I am just wondering what out of your stuff Matt that was thrown out. I can understand getting rid of most of the stuff but you could also recycle most of it. Like use the cake knife and the napkins. The dress is not negotiable. For petes sake the thing probably cost a fortune! She could possibly make a nice memory quilt out of it. Suck it up and buy the lady a sewing machine.
    By the way photos can be destroyed so taking a photo of a dress just isn’t the same.

52. Posted by molly - 07/11/2008

    Eloping is the best way to reduce wedding clutter! We eloped and had a great 2 week honeymoon.

53. Posted by Emily - 07/13/2008

    I donated my dress, shoes, veil, and petticoat to Brides Against Breast Cancer (http://bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/) part of the Making Memories Foundation. Having a “good cause” to donate it to made it easier to part with!

54. Posted by Kate - 08/28/2008

    Thanks to all the commentors for some great ideas. Keep them coming!

55. Posted by R.D. Hammond - 07/09/2009

    I understand the point of avoiding clutter, but I think this post goes way too far. Saving napkins and candles is goofy. eBaying your cake topper and knife raises eyebrows with me, and suggesting getting rid of a wedding dress is sheer insanity.

    I understand keeping clutter down to a minimum, but don’t discount the personal meaning a memento will have years down the road. A picture’s not as good as the real thing.

    I *do* agree the place to cut down on clutter is before the wedding, not after.

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