The day that you thought would never come is finally here: you are officially married. The presents are unwrapped, the pictures have been snapped, and your dress lies in a heap on your bed. Before you send it off to be preserved and then tossed in your closet for several years, consider donation. To donate a wedding dress is a selfless act that can help raise money for charity, provide a dress to an underprivileged bride, and offer a sense of hope to someone who is planning her big day with limited cash flow.

Donate Your Wedding Dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer

http://www.bridesagainstbreastcancer.org is an organization that receives bridal gown donations from designers, salon owners, and former brides. The dresses are taken on the road, where they are sold for bargain prices to brides. The proceeds go to fulfill the wishes of men and women who are losing their fight against breast cancer. Donated gowns must be from the year 2000 or later and in good condition.

Donate Your Wedding Dress to the Bridal Garden

http://bridalgarden.org accepts donations of dresses, veils and trains from recent brides. The money earned from selling the dresses is used to support the Sheltering Arms Children's Service, which offers education, foster care, and adoption services for New York City children.

Donate Your Wedding Dress to the Goodwill

If your dress is on the older side or a little too retro for the average bride, donate it to www.shopgoodwill.com. Goodwill has over two thousand resale stores across the nation, which means there's probably one located near your home. The mission of the Goodwill is simple: to help people with disabilities to find employment. Remember, if you donate to the Goodwill, pick up a tax receipt on your way out the door. Your charitable donation will actually prove useful to you once tax time rolls around.

Donate Your Wedding Dress to a Member of the Family

Start a tradition in your family that has your wedding dress worn in several ceremonies. Offer it up to the next bride-to-be in your clan and have her pass it on down the line. Set rules about how the dress can be altered if you want the dress to appear the same in all of the photos. If you're not so sentimental, give the dress to a cousin or a friend for "parts," allowing them to take the dress to a seamstress who will then take the material and create a new dress.