5 Ways to Give Back After Your Wedding

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.#WearLoveShare #CollectiveBias

Now that all the wedding hoopla has died down, I can hopefully help other brides-to-be plan their wedding or get through the big day without a meltdown. Weddings cost a lot of money, and at times it can seem like the whole event is just about you, the bride. And while technically, a wedding is all about you and your partner, I feel that there are small things you can do to “give back” to others during this time in your life.

Here are five ways you can give back after your wedding day.

Swap out favors for a donation to your favorite charity 

How many times have you been to a wedding only to forget to take the favor home with you? Or if you did end up taking that candle home with you, how often did you actually use it? Exactly. Instead of spending money buying a favor for each of our guests (that they ultimately would just throw away), we decided to choose to donate that money to two charity close to our hearts. A few weeks after we got married, we made our donations to our respected charities online (you could also mail a check in most cases).

Sell your wedding dress after the big day

I’m known to be a pretty sentimental person. Some would call it “fear of letting go of nostalgia” or “borderline hoarder”, but I prefer to chalk it up to wanting to keep all the items that I associate with good memories. But I live in a tiny apartment in New Jersey and don’t have the room to store all of these items, especially my huge, puffy wedding dress.

This is where PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com comes to the rescue. The easy-to-use website lets future brides buy a gorgeous dress at a discounted rate (many of these brides would never be able to afford a designer gown at full price). I feel so wasteful spending so much money on a dress to only wear once, so being able to sell it to another bride and make her dreams come true is awesome. It’s such a beautiful dress, and knowing that someone else can enjoy it without going over the budget is a nice feeling.

Interested in selling your dress? Sellers pay a one-time $25 listing fee — there are no other charges and no commission on the sale. This way, a seller can recoup much more than going to a consignment shop or fashion resale site. Dresses that sell the fastest are: well described, include quality images of the front, back and details, and has a reasonable asking price (the Wedding Dress Value Calculator can give an estimate).

I calculated my dress using their tool and received an estimated selling value. Here’s a screenshot of the calculator.

Deliver leftover food to a local food bank

I can’t tell you how many dishes I’ve seen practically untouched at wedding cocktail hours. I always wonder if they end up reusing it the next day at another event (who knows!) or if they have to trash it. While some venues or caterers have restrictions on the types of food that can be donated, it’s worth at least asking if they can donate it to a local food bank.

Opt for a non-traditional honeymoon

Some couples are fortunate enough to have already been on luxurious vacations with their significant other before they get married. In this case, you’ll sometimes see couples taking trips post-wedding where they visit countries solely to volunteer. Websites like Volunteer Match can help you find the perfect opportunity for you.

Use your floral arrangements to brighten someone’s day

I’ll tell you what I did with my bouquet after I got married — I threw it away. By the end of the night, a few of the flowers were starting to fall off and it was just a hassle to keep. We were going on our honeymoon right after the wedding and didn’t have time to save the flowers and try to make them last longer (although there are some cute ideas on Pinterest).

Instead, plan to have your wedding flowers donated to senior citizen centers, hospitals, or homeless shelters. It sounds like a simple gesture, but a pretty bouquet of roses can really brighten someone’s day.

Which of the above ideas do you plan on incorporating after your wedding as a way to “give back”? Take just a few minutes and head over to PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com to help another bride find her dream dress.