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To sell or not to sell, that is the question.

We're talking about my wedding dress.

Let me give you a little back story here. I coveted any gown by designer Monique L'huillier, even before I was engaged [shame on me for looking at gowns before my engagement!] But her designer prices were a little too hard to swallow so I steered myself away from them.

I bought a different dress (not M.L.), but when it arrived it was 1. Too short, 2. The wrong color, 3. Extremely ill fitting to the point that alterations were going to be very pricey. So what did I do? I started researching. Here is a picture of my first dress, but this was the sample that I actually liked. The dress that arrived looked a lot different. It's a long story:I found my DREAM dress, "Miranda" by Monique L'huillier for sale on preowned weddingdresses.com. It was in my size and the owner was close to my height. The owner only wore the gown for a few hours during her Mexico ceremony and wore a different gown for her at home reception.

Here is knottie jewellk, real name Mindi. And that is my dress!
We emailed back and forth quite a bit. I was unsure about buying a gown pre-owned but there was no way I could afford a new ML gown. Just for reference, the gown retails for $3900 [gulp]. It's 100% French Alencon lace which is apparently quite expensive. And divine. It's the prettiest lace I've ever seen.

So I sold my first dress online and purchased my dream gown for $2300 [still a gulp, but not as severe]. I loved my gown and it was worth every penny. Here are a few pictures of it in all it's glory:So here is my dilemma: my gorgeous dress is just hanging in my closet, still dirty from the wedding day. I'm not Catholic and won't need a christening gown for my children. I highly doubt that my future daughter would actually wear my dress in 30 years. It would be so nice to have the extra cash [I'm sure I could get $1000 pretty easily, if not more] and the extra closet space.

On the other hand, it obviously holds sentimental value. And as I stated before, the lace is to die for....maybe I could use the fabric in other crafty ways [you know me!].

So I made a list of pros and cons to selling it and I need your input.

Reasons to SELL:
  1. We could use the $1000 to buy our wedding photo DVD that I so desperately want.
  2. It would free up some closet space.
  3. I probably won't wear it ever again [unless I have some serious issues letting go of the wedding.]
  4. I doubt our future kids will wear it, except for dress up.
  5. I have the pictures to remember the dress, I don't really need it hanging in my closet.
Reasons to KEEP:
  1. Sentiment. I love the dress and it's full of memories, obviously.
  2. Maybe our kids WOULD like to see my dress and play with it?
  3. I could probably make a really cool photo album cover with the lace.
  4. I wouldn't have to get it cleaned. If I sell it, I would need to invest in a good dry clean job for sure.
  5. I may regret it someday if I sell.
One more thing: Mindi, the original owner of my dress, emailed me shortly after our wedding. She said she was thinking of me and hoping the wedding went well. Turns out she just had a baby girl and sort of regretted selling the gown, because she liked the idea of having it for her daughter. She said if I DID decide to sell it, she'd love to buy it back from me. I've also had a few girls on The Knot want to buy it as well.

So should I take that as a sign to sell it back to her....or as a sign that if I let go of the gown, I may regret it?

Anyway....opinions? What should I do? Any married ladies have advice for me? I'm stuck here.


5 comments:

  1. Hi Julia,
    Love your blog! :) As for the dress... obviously I'm not married yet, but I cannot imagine selling my dress, especially this quickly after the wedding. I would think, if you're having any doubts, you're not ready to sell! I say keep it, maybe make your photo album cover or a table runner, and have no regrets. It was a stunning dress by the way. :)

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  2. OK...BONER!!! John Mayer music, the boner song from the concert when we went. Love the music! I am officially obsessed with checking your blog throughout my day and I am kinda considering doing one myself, except life is boring in Kansas. I think you should sell your dress and purchase the DVD. In the long run, I think you will appreciate the DVD more plus the money would be good. Also, love the christmas cards, definitely a Jules original. Can't wait to get mine. Reading your blog is great. It makes me miss you lots. K

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  3. I totally understand your dilemma! Before the wedding, I swore up and down I was going to sell my dress on preownedweddingdresses.com. Now that the wedding is over, I couldn't be happier...except I miss my dress!! Of all the things to miss, that is the last thing I expected, but it really is the only thing I'm sad about - I want to wear it again! So unfortunately, I have no advice for you. But, you better blog when you make a decision!

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  4. Okay, this is uncharacteristic of me, since I normally don't consider myself very sentimental. BUT, you loved your dress SO much and it really was gorgeous. Plus, it really is timeless, and you never know... if your daughter is anything like you she quite possibly may want wear it one day at her own wedding. (Mark's cousin is actually having her mom's dress altered a little to update it, but will be wearing it for her wedding, which I think is so cool.) I'd say have it dry-cleaned and hold onto it. (Plus, I think they'll wrap it up in a heroic box, so you'll still free up some closet space and just have to find some shelf (or under the bed) space for it!

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  5. Wow, what a tough decision. My initial reaction was for you to sell the dress back to the original bride instead of someone else who has no emotional ties to it. And then you would always be able to have contact with her and possbily "visit" the dress later on. I just don't know though... the other commenters made me remember how much you do love your dress and how fabulous of a dress it really is. What a tough decision!!! I agree though, if you are having doubts you probably aren't ready to part with it... at least not yet.

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