What to do with your wedding dress after the big day

Option 1 – pay to have it cleaned, boxed and stored like a museum artifact.

Option 2 – open the cupboard once every five years, stare at it, close the cupboard again.

Option 3 – actually do something with it.

I vote option 3.

That dress cost a small fortune. It had one glorious day. Since then? Darkness. Maybe a plastic box. Maybe your spare room cupboard next to the Christmas decorations.

Meanwhile, your daughter is five and obsessed with anything that looks remotely princess-like.

Take it out. Let her try it on.

Yes, it will drag on the floor. Yes, you will need about 14 safety pins. No, it will not zip. That is not the point.

The point is watching her attempt a serious “bride walk” and then dissolving into giggles because the train won’t cooperate.

You don’t need to cut it up. You don’t need to redesign it into throw pillows. You don’t need to make a dramatic decision about its future.

Just use it for an afternoon.

Let it see daylight. Let it be part of your life now, not just who you were then.

And bonus – you get photos of your little girl swimming in lace, which is far more fun than a sealed preservation box at the top of a cupboard.