Holly Willoughby is going to be wearing her wedding dress this weekend - though the TV presenter is not getting remarried.
Willoughby will be digging her gown out of storage to watch the royal wedding at her sister’s 40th birthday party on Saturday 19 May - and she won’t be the only one turning up in white lace.
Speaking at This Morning Live, Holly told Alison Hammond: “This week on the old family WhatsApp group that we all have, my sister Kelly said, ‘I’ve got an amazing idea - for anyone that’s been married go and get your wedding dress and wear it to the party.’”
This may bring to mind that episode of ‘Friends’ when Monica, Rachel and Phoebe sit around drinking beer in their wedding dresses, but other than a royal wedding viewing party, in all seriousness, there are opportunities to get yours out of the back of your wardrobe.
After all, why should something so beautiful only see the light of say once?
OK, so you may feel a little overdressed turning up to an event in a floor-length white gown, but with some alterations your dress can be repurposed.
Helen Richardson, from Kent, dyed her Alice Temperley wedding dress black after being inspired by the Duchess of Cambridge.
“I took the white lace off the slip and took it to the dry cleaners and got them to dye it black after I saw Kate Middleton in the black version of the very same dress,” Helen told HuffPost UK.
“I did it because my wedding dress was expensive and the nicest thing I’ve ever owned and needed to keep it in use!”
Alternatively, you could have your dress shortened into a cocktail style or depending on the style of the skirt you could find a top to wear over it, a la Keira Knightley, who has repeatedly worn her wedding dress on the red carpet, with a sheer long sleeve topp.
Another option is to hold a #TrashTheDress shoot. This concept has taken off on social media in recent years and involves couples ruining their wedding dress or outfit as a message to say the material doesn’t matter.
Friends can also partake in #TrashTheDress shoots.
If you don’t feel like rewearing your wedding dress, donating it is another option that will give it a new lease of life. Cherish Gowns is a charity that turns wedding dresses into funeral clothing for stillborn babies. Or you could sell or donate your wedding dress to Brides Do Good, which will then sell it on and 30% of the profit will go to Plan International and Too Young To Wed, two charities that wish to eradicate potential child brides.