Are you a sustainable bride?

I was recently doing a wardrobe clear out and came across my wedding dress and accessories.

While it was a gorgeous trip down memory lane - so lovely in fact that after a glass of vino, I had to try the whole lot on again and while I absolutely loved my bridal look, I couldn’t help feeling a little sad that these items wouldn’t be worn again.

It’s mad really when you think about it. When do we ever spend so much money on a dress and shoes that we more than likely won’t wear again?

My dress came in 2 parts and I am going to try wearing the top part with a simple slip underneath and refashion it as a boho mini dress.

However, while I loved the shoes on the day, they are just not the type of shoe that goes with anything in my wardrobe.

If I had my time back again, I feel like I wouldn’t have spent half as much on shoes and definitely would have chosen a pair that I would wear again.

I love to see a bride with a unique style and I recently came across The Sustainable Bride, a vintage dress rental business set up by Sarah arising from her own quest to find the perfect vintage and sustainable wedding dress for her own big day.

Sarah herself went for a vintage linen 1960/’70s dress by a New York designer called Murray Hamburger.

She now has 4 such dresses collected, each as beautiful, different and as ornate as each other and available to rent.

Now more than ever we are conscious of being sustainable and renting a wedding dress is a great way of doing so.

Sarah’s aim is to offer a sustainable dress first and foremost.

It might be one of a kind, vintage, pre-owned, second-hand, handmade, never used, locally made or sold, made with sustainable materials, sustainably made, or simply was not a wedding dress or product to begin with.

There can be no better way to use a sustainable dress and be a sustainable bride than to rent!

Renting is a great way of saving money too as we all know getting married can be incredibly expensive.

Grooms can rent their suits so it makes sense that brides should have that option too.

As Sarah said: “Re-use, re-purpose, re-home, rent and recycle are the best starting points to maintaining this beautiful and diverse world we live in and will make our stay here more beneficial to the next generation. I really want these beautiful and different dresses and accessories to have another go at life and not to be hidden away.

“They need to have more memories and help make many more brides make many more memories.

“They are all so beautifully made with so much love and care, with so many made and even worn over 50 years ago, my own dress included. I also aim to include as much sustainable information as possible in this website to help and guide the Sustainable Bride in the right direction.”

Visit thesustainablebride.ie to see the beautiful dresses available for rent and return with a great selection to suit any person’s bridal style.