My wife and i had a non-traditional marriage. I bought my self a nice suit (not a tux) that i would be able to wear again, and she bought a really nice non-wedding dress that she can wear again to other important occasions.
As for those who hang onto their big white wedding dresses, no-one seems to have mentioned the sheer practicality of doing so. With over 50% or marriages ending in divorce, plenty of people might have occasion to use them again.
My grandmother saved her dress and gave it to me. I treasure it. It is a beatuful silk satin princess cut gown from about 1940. I also have my aunt’s wedding dress from 1983. I wore it for Halloween once when I was a teenager.
I definetly plan on keeping my wedding dress. For one, I plan to design it and make it myself. How could you get rid of such a treasured garment? Shit, I still have my prom and homecoming dresses from high school. I bet my future kids will get a kick out of those!
My wife kept hers for over twenty years. It was circa 1978 nylon or such and was pretty much along the lines of Princess Lea’s costume from Star Wars. Wasn’t much to get excited about back then, and the style didn’t fair well with the passing of time. She had bought it on sale from a local department store’s bargain basement during her senior year of college.
We were in a cleaning and reorganizing mood one day, and she was going through the closet sorting out things that may be worth keeping, or of use to others. Well, at least it burned well.