Pay it forward by donating items from your wedding. You can make another bride’s dream day come true or help out a good cause.

Wedding Gown Donations

Adorned in Grace
“Adorned in Grace Bridal and Formal wear Shops sell new and gently used wedding gowns, formals, petticoats, veils, and accessories. All proceeds are used to promote awareness and prevention of sex trafficking as well as crisis prevention for trafficked victims.”

Click here for more info on donating. Email: in**@ad************.org

Brides Across America
“Brides Across America (BAA) is a non-profit committed to loving one another by gifting weddings and wedding gowns to our military & first responders.”

Brides Across America accepts gowns that are less than five years old and in good condition. To donate, submit a “Tell us About Your Gown” form. They will let you know if your gown can be of help and will provide shipping instructions. Upon acceptance of the gown, a receipt will be provided for your tax-deductible donation. Email: in**@br*****************.com

Brides for a Cause
“Brides for a Cause is more than a bridal store – it’s a bridal store to raise funds for charity! We collect and resell wedding dresses to raise funds for charity!”.

Visit the donation page for instructions on shipping your dress (Seattle/Portland area). They can be contacted at po******@br*************.com with any questions.

Emma & Evan Foundation
“We support families who have lost the littlest of souls far too soon. Donated wedding dresses are transformed into beautiful infant burial gowns, also called Angel Gowns.  These gowns along with thoughtfully filled memory boxes are offered to hospitals, birthing centers, funeral homes and directly to grieving families completely free of charge.”

Contact email: em**************@gm***.com

FairyTale Brides on a Shoestring
“At Fairytale Brides on a Shoestring, your dress is also someone else’s fairytale ending. ​Help us Empower Women One Dress at a Time.”

The dress must be less than five years old, no tears, stains or rips and all beading/appliques in place. To donate, fill out the donation form and mail the gown to a Rockville, MD address (see website for more details). Fill out their Contact Form to request more info.

Bridesmaid Dress Donations

Becca’s CLOSET
“Becca’s Closet is a national, non-profit organization that donates formal dresses to high school girls cannot afford to purchase them. Becca’s Closet also awards scholarships to deserving high school seniors who have demonstrated exemplary service to their communities. In the spring of 2003, Becca single handedly collected and distributed over 250 prom dresses to needy girls in South Florida so that they could attend their high school proms.”

See their dress donation page and follow the prompts. For more information call (954) 424-9999.

If you need a dress, fill out this Contact Form.

Operation Prom
“Established in 2005, Operation PROM is a national nonprofit organization that helps low-income students attend their Proms by providing free Prom dresses and tuxedos. Operation PROM provides resources, opportunity and mentoring to at-risk teens,those who are homeless, sick, or disabled.”

“Operation PROM has helped thousands of students across the U.S. attend their Prom at little or no cost. To request a free Prom dress or tuxedo, students must be recommended by their guidance counselor and meet the requirements such as a financial need, and the student should be passing all of their classes.”

Donations are accepted during prom season at drop-off locations in Connecticut, Georgia, New Jersey, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina and Texas. To start the donation process, click Donate an Item.

Project G.L.A.M.
“Project G.L.A.M. provides economically underprivileged young women with prom dresses, makeup, and accessories so they have everything they need to feel confident, proud and beautiful at their senior prom. As the largest prom dress giveaway in the country, with over 7,000 gowns in stock, our goal is to ensure that every young woman in need across New York City has the opportunity to attend her senior prom.

To date, WGIRLS Inc. has outfitted over 14,000 young women in need for prom. In the 2018-2019 school year, Project G.L.A.M also granted academic award scholarships to two deserving young women in need.”

Donations are only accepted via mail: WGIRLS INC C/O Project G.L.A.M 33 Largo Lane Clark N.J.  07066. Check here for their donation FAQ’s.

Floral Donations

Check with local hospitals, foster homes and nursing homes for options to donate flowers. Designate a few guests to collect the fresh flowers after the event and drop off at your place of choice, or multiple. How sweet to make the day of someone less fortunate. Picture the big smile on an ill child or elderly woman. Please, please consider doing this. I think this donation is by far more touching than the others. Just think how getting flowers brightens your whole day. Passing along joy is priceless.

Here are some businesses that will make that happen:

Random Acts of Flowers: Several locations around the country
Petals With Purpose: Southern Florida-based charity
Floranthropy: Texas-based charity
Flower Angels USA: Massachusetts-based charity

Here are a few additional resources that can help you find local organizations that may be willing to take your flowers—but a quick search online is sure to turn up other great options nearby!

Women’s Shelters: Find a local shelter for women
Children’s Hospitals: Find a local children’s hospital
Nursing Homes: Find a local nursing home

Food Donations

These donations are not as straight forward as the material ones. Food and health regulations vary per state. Check with your local homeless shelters and soup kitchens. The food needs to be packaged specifically for donation purposes which you will need to work with your caterer on. If that isn’t feasible, provide to-go boxes to guests or have the caterer put smaller portions out for late night snacks.

Another idea is to donate the leftover scraps to a local farm for composting. Ask the farm if they can pick up the leftovers so you are not responsible for this as that wouldn’t be a pleasant task right after your wedding for you or any guest. If there is not a composting service near you, check with a guest who is an avid gardener. This stuff is called “black gold” for a reason for fertilizer.

Here are some resources to get you started:

* Feeding America (U.S. food bank finder)
* Homeless Shelter Directory (U.S.-based homeless shelter finder)
* Great Non-Profits (U.S.-based homeless & housing shelter finder)
* Humane Society (U.S.-based animal rescue finder)
* ASPCA (U.S.-based animal rescue finder)
* CompostNow – compost pickup services
* How to Compost with a Pick-Up Service – article in Litterless.com
* The BioCycle portal – find a composter

Decorations and Other Items

Just about everything else can be donated in a variety of ways. Leftover favors, signs, card boxes, and other items can get used again by another couple rather than sitting in the basement. The easiest is to drop-off items at a local Salvation Army, GoodWill, Savers, or thrift stores. To help out more specifically, create a Facebook Marketplace post. Take pictures of leftover items and state that everything is free. Just a safety note, meet at the police department or somewhere public. Mention that in the post so you don’t have a bunch of crazies wanting to come to your house.