What did you do with wedding items after the big day?

I would like to know too! Especially before I start buying stuff I may not need to lol

This is why I didn’t want to buy too many things or DIY anything lol. Most items we have purchased are very high quality and intend to keep them in the keepsake box that we are using for the card box or use them. Cake cutting set will come in handy for birthdays and holidays, our champagne flutes we’ll use to toast every anniversary and some other small things like the ring box, or getting ready Starbucks cup I can use whenever. I’m not overly sentimental so I wanted quality of quantity to hold on to.

We didn't buy a whole lot, but what we did buy, we've either put into a box of memories, or we're attempting to give away.

So, we've kept our cake toppers, my dress, one of our invitations, and stuff like that.

I gave away the chargers, and I'm trying to get rid of most of the fake flowers, and such.

Some other things, like leftover pieces from crafting, just get thrown away.

Saved some of it. Sold some of it. And donated some.

There were a lot of things i was able to keep to make use of for other things such as beverage dispensers i bought for our DIY social hour. i will say though that i did a bad job of clean up. i didn't hire anyone for the break down portion and i was tired so i left a lot of stuff that in hindsight i should have just kept but instead kind of "Trashed" [i just left it there and didn't bother taking them]

I kept a lot of my stuff. Some of the decor and table centerpieces I bought are now being used as home decor pieces so I viewed it as an investment for the future home when I bought them. Some centerpieces I did give away to my bridesmaids because I had a lot of. Picture frames used for wedding signs are now being used for actual wedding photos. Cake topper and wedding favors will go in a shadow box for display. Candles and candle holders will be placed around the house for a nice ambience and decor. I haven’t decided but may shorten my dress to calf-length to be able to rewear again.

We tried to purchase as little as possible, borrowing or renting what we could, and the things we did buy or make we tried to keep general enough that they could be repurposed or reused after. We didn't label everything with our names or initials and the wedding date for that reason. So our card box and table numbers for example could easily be repurposed for another event or someone else's wedding, and something like our guest book alternative could be used as decor in our house. There are a few larger pieces we made that really have no current purpose, but they were created out of scrap items we already had, so no big loss if they just live in the basement for a while because that's pretty much what they were doing before.

I am keeping my ceremony dress, but debating selling my reception dress. My wedding dress is stunning and it was such a good deal I would just prefer to keep it. I feel less attached to my reception dress, but it is something I might be able to wear again more easily in the future. I would also absolutely gift it to someone. I like it, but don't love it the way I love my wedding dress and would be less heartbroken to see it go.

We did go around doing a "flower drop" to giveaway most of the flowers we purchased for our table decor, since we were going on vacation after our wedding and probably wouldn't enjoy them before they all wilted. I dried a few flowers to use in future craft projects, but didn't try to preserve my bouquet or anything.

In general we tried to waste as little as possible and be sustainable where we could. We didn't worry too much about making money back on the wedding - we treated everything as a purchase for our event, not an investment that we could recoup money on. If we do sell, donate, or repurpose items, good for us. I just don't want to trash anything we don't have to.

It depends on the wedding theme and decor you got. For our December wedding we're utilizing red and gold (our colors!) as decorations through ornaments; I already had sparkling gold tea light holders so we're using them for tables; wrapping the lanterns the venue provides for us in pine/garland/holly can be reutilized for Christmas decorations; we aren't having a cake topper since our cake will be decorated with red roses; no signage since it's pretty self explanatory due to how the venue is set up; 100% keeping my dress for a 5 year anniversary renewal of vows; I'd like to press my flowers/use them in a wedding shadow box. And the Beauty and the Beast decorations are already around our house in bookshelves and on desks...so no problems there!

We're keeping our welcome sign well because it has our faces on it. But signage (tables, seating chart, vows sign) we will be getting rid of those. Its been a week and we just got our house in order. lol