As garment that is designed for one special occasion, your wedding dress may have been collecting nothing but dust since your big day. This can be a great shame for what was likely an expensive item of clothing. Left uncleaned, it will discolour over time, and you won't be able to use it. More and more Australian women are re-purposing or upcycling their wedding dresses. Before commencing on any of these ideas, hire the services of a professional wedding dress cleaning company to ensure the frock is in mint condition. Even if you don't adapt it in any way, cleaning it will help to maintain it for a longer period, ready for when you want to wear it again.

Create a High Low Dress

Since many wedding dresses are akin to formal ball gowns, they can be adapted with relative ease into a high low dress that can be worn for special occasions. Have your dress dry cleaned prior to making alterations. If you want a new party frock, then you can alter the front of the skirt and hem it for something chic easier once it is freshened after cleaning. Anyone with some sewing skills can do this for themselves but professional seamstresses will be able to take on the job for you if you are not confident.

Dye Your Dress

Switching your white wedding dress to a sharp blue or a deep red will give it an entirely new personality. It is imperative that your garment is spotless before doing this, otherwise the dye will not take to the material evenly which could ruin it. Consult a dress cleaner who might also be able to carry out the dying process for you. Once it is in a new colour, you can wear it again and again.

Hold a Wedding Dress Party

If you know other brides who have only worn their wedding dress once, then what is to stop you from holding a gathering where you all wear them once more? A wedding dress party isn't just a fancy dress event. It will give you and your friends the chance to reminisce about your wedding days and to share some tender moments together. To make your dress sparkle like new, ensure it has been spot cleaned thoroughly to remove any stains it might have picked up on your wedding day.

Create a Christening Gown

A traditional method of recycling a wedding dress has always been to adapt it into a christening gown, especially for a first-born. This idea was popular a century ago and is making a comeback in many communities. Of course, the material the gown is made from will need to be refreshed with a professional spruce up, at least.