Interesting “how to” page
Or recognize that there is no way in hell your dress will still be in fashion in 25+ years, and thus the liklihood that a future hypothetical daughter will wear it is low, and donate it to:
Brides Against Breast Cancer.
Is there really “in fashion” when it comes to wedding dresses? I thought it was considered kind of retro-keen to get married in an heirloom dress.
A retro dress? Sure. Your mom’s retro dress in particular? unlikely. Dresses from the 40s & 50s are much more popular than the 20-30 year old dresses of the 70s & 80s.
In the 70s the empire waist was popular (aka the “oopsie I’m preggers wedding dress”). And the 80s. Oy. The poofy sleeves! The butt bows! Remember Princess Di’s wedding dress? The ugly… it burns us.
You could always have it made over. (Take the big ruffles and sleeves off of a dress like Diana’s, make them into a stole, etc.)
I’d love to have my paternal grandmother’s dress. Unfortunately, she borrowed it from someone. 
I have the yarmulke my father was married in. Happily, all it needs is to be kept in a drawer with my other yarmulkes. (yes, I read that bit about wood acid).
True. But then you’re not wearing your mother’s dress, you wearing a dress made from your mother’s dress. And, let’s say, 40 year old dacron (my mom was not wealthy) is not the fabric I’d choose to work with if I was up for extensive customizing.
Hey do whatever you like with it I am just saying that there are waaaaaay more dresses in a box than will actually ever be worn by daughters. By donating it you can do some good right here right now and, as a bonus, spare your unborn child the awkward future duty of refusing your “heirloom dress” (which is actually insanely dated) that you’ve been saving for her all this time.
Donating is big, and take a gander at all the used dresses available online. Very few folks are into spending hundreds to preserve a dress for no good reason anymore.
Thing is though, if you and I don’t want to wear those butt-ugly dresses, why would any one less fortunate either? (Isn’t that what always happens? You only find the ugly crappy stuff in the Good Will boxes?)
Let’s face it: people talk about what good they do by donating, but a lot of them only donate shit. (I’m not saying anyone here is, mind you)
Guin, I don’t think you get it, you donate it NOW while it is new and fashionable. In the 80s, people actually wanted a hideous Princess Di dress, god bless 'em, if you had a knockoff to donate a charity would get good value for it. If my mom had donated her hippy-ass dress back in 1968, someone definitely would have wanted it. Now? Not so much.
Also, Brides Against Breast Cancer is not a generic Goodwill type charity. They take wedding dresses, they sell wedding dresses. That’s it.
But don’t forget Goodwill! What would they stock the Halloween aisle with if not for 10-20 year old wedding and bridesmaid dresses? 
Seriously, I can imagine that relatively few women donate their dresses right after the wedding. It’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever owned and to give it up right away would be to admit that you’ve spent thousands on a dress that you wore for twelve hours. I like to think that I would be sensible and buy a used dress and even redonate it, but I suspect I might have some hidden magpie instincts that would compel me to hold on to the shiny.
I sold mine on eBay the week after the honeymoon. I have pictures and precious little space. I never even considered having it preserved.
It’ a lot easier, emotionally, if you only ever spent $159 on it, I assure you.