I got married in October of 2009. To read all about the wedding hoopla click here.

My wedding dress was a Camille Le Vie from the Group USA Stores. I love my gown. I had decided early on that I was more of a spend-$500-or-less kind of bride. The thought of spending or making my parents spend thousands of dollars on a dress I was going to wear once made me sick! Don't get me wrong, I love watching "Say Yes to the Dress" and appreciating expensive couture gowns. I just don't want to spend money on one! So I was thrilled when my dad and stepmom took me to Group USA in Tempe, AZ to look at dresses. I found my perfect gown for around $400, including the slip! Quite the steal, I must admit.

That beautiful gown has been sitting in my closet for over a year. I keep looking at it wondering what to do with it. I thought about saving it for Jenna. But wedding dress shopping was the most fun part of my entire wedding planning experience. I really don't want to take that away from my daughter. I don't want her to feel like she has to wear my dress. Plus, by the time she gets married the styles will change and she'll probably think my dress is hideous! I thought about selling it...but that would require me to clean it thoroughly, post it, deal with inquiries, etc.

Last week I stumbled upon this charity, Brides Against Breast Cancer. It's an organization that collects wedding gown donations and sells them at special dress events across the country to raise money for breast cancer.

So I decided to donate my dress to a good cause. I mailed it off on Thursday! It felt good! You don't even have to clean it before you send it (you can opt to donate $40 and they take care of the cleaning for you). I know my dress is going to a great cause instead of just collecting dust in my closet. I did, however, save my wedding veil. I decided if Jenna wants something of her mom's for sentimental purposes, she can have my veil. She can use it for her wedding, make it into something, or just hold on to it.

So I encourage all the ladies out there to think about donating your dress to a great cause!