Donating a Wedding Dress to an Angel Gown Group vs a thrift store

I recently came across a thought-provoking post in another Angel Gown group that highlighted the fate of wedding dresses donated to thrift shops. When a dress is given away to a thrift store, the donor is informed about where the proceeds will go—whether it be community services, rehabilitation programs, or simply store profit. However, it’s important to realize that the donated dress could end up in various ways:

A. Dyed and altered into a thigh-length gown

B. Repurposed as a Halloween costume with fake blood

C. Tragically discarded in a landfill, as over 50% of clothing ends up there

In contrast, donating your wedding dress to an Angel Gown sewing group ensures that it will be transformed into Angel Apparel, directly supporting families in need. As the stewards of these donations, we are committed to honouring that trust.

Every wedding dress we receive is treated with the utmost respect and care. Our goal is to photograph, clean, disassemble, reassemble, label, and distribute these dresses within a reasonable timeframe, ideally up to a year.

If you have a wedding dress or know someone who does, please reach out! I would be more than happy to coordinate with you to get the dress into the hands of our dedicated volunteers. Together, we can make a meaningful difference!