Sep 26, 2024
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6 mins read

Wife Wears Her Wedding Dress Year After Year on Their Anniversary—Here’s Why You Should Too

Wife Wears Her Wedding Dress Year After Year on Their Anniversary—Here’s Why You Should Too

It gets to shine for one glorious day during its decades-long lifespan and then is shuttered away into a dusty closet forever after.

Your average American woman will spend in excess of 300,000 daytime hours in some attire or other during her life while clothes can get downright pricey. But the priciest (and prettiest) piece she may ever wear, she will grace for just one day.

Wedding gowns, on average, cost just under $2,000 and can ride as high as $10,000 (though a bride can get good deals online these days, ranging from a few hundred to $1,000). So donning it for one day isn’t exactly economical.

But maybe the one-day splurge makes it all the more special. A marriage is supposed to be forever, after all. Why make a habit of wearing a wedding dress? Would it still be special if she wore it every year?

Well, some ladies have tossed tradition to the curb, saying, “Why not?”

Case in point: California mom of three Chelsea Smith, 34, married Christopher after her first husband passed away of an overdose at the age of 27. Christopher was her now-passed husband’s best friend, who comforted her in grief. She and Christopher married, and ever since, she started getting much more mileage out of the dress she glitzed at their wedding.

It wasn’t her idea though.

(Left) Chelsea and Christopher Smith during their wedding; (Right) Chelsea wears her wedding dress on their first anniversary. (Courtesy of Chelsea Smith)
(Left) Chelsea and Christopher Smith during their wedding; (Right) Chelsea wears her wedding dress on their first anniversary. Courtesy of Chelsea Smith

“He first mentioned it about a week or two before our first anniversary,” Chelsea told The Epoch Times, speaking of a conversation with Christopher, who just assumed “that’s what people wore for anniversaries.”

“I about died laughing, then said I actually liked the idea! Why not?” she told the newspaper. “We went out to a fancy restaurant our first year, dressed all in our wedding clothes. I’m sure most people thought we had just come from our wedding.”

They had a few people congratulate them warmly in the parking lot as they walked, smiling, to the restaurant.

Since then, Chelsea has been binge-wearing her wedding dress, rolling it out every anniversary for the past six. Sometimes it follows them to dinner, and other times, it makes the photoshoot for the couple’s keepsakes.

The couple's second anniversary photo; (Inset) Their third anniversary photo. (Courtesy of Chelsea Smith)
The couple's second anniversary photo; (Inset) Their third anniversary photo. Courtesy of Chelsea Smith

In so doing, Chelsea may have hit upon one reason why wedding dresses get put away: “My dress was in the very last picture for our sixth anniversary where I was nine months pregnant,” she said. “So I had to have the dress completely open and unzipped in the back.”

Then again, all the more reason to wear it while it fits, right?

Word spread about their now cherished anniversary tradition with her wedding dress. When Chelsea decided to post about it on Instagram so others might have a ball with it, many wives and future wives noticed, and Chelsea realized she wasn’t alone.

“Who knew?” she said.

She received comments from couples of all ages saying they do the same, while some professed their desire to try on the novelty. It turns out, she learned, this novelty isn’t so new. If what some commented is true, the serial wearing of wedding dresses wasn’t always so strange but, rather, was the norm.

“Historically speaking, the idea of a wedding dress only being worn the once is a relatively new thing,” Leanne Desharnais wrote under Chelsea’s post. “Well into the roaring 20s, a newlywed bride was expected to wear her dress out for significant events throughout the first year or two of marriage, usually until she became pregnant.”

“Your wedding dress was your best dress,” she said. “Bring this tradition back to stay!”

(Left) The couple on their fourth anniversary; (Right) Chelsea wears her dress with the back open to accommodate her pregnant belly on their sixth anniversary. (Courtesy of Chelsea Smith)
(Left) The couple on their fourth anniversary; (Right) Chelsea wears her dress with the back open to accommodate her pregnant belly on their sixth anniversary. Courtesy of Chelsea Smith

Brides magazine contributor Samantha Burns, who is also a mental health counselor and dating consultant, does likewise, citing several benefits: “Getting your money’s worth” is only one; besides that, she cites, “Fitting into your wedding dress is the best fitness motivation,” and “It will rekindle your romance.”

“Anytime you do something new and adventurous, your brain’s reward system gets activated,” she writes, “and that burst of dopamine makes you feel excited, giddy, and even more connected.”

Lastly, she added: “You will create new memories.”

Chelsea’s family is making new memories. She wants the tradition to carry on into future generations. “Our kids think it’s fun that we put on our wedding attire every year,” she said, “especially my daughter, who is obsessed with all things fancy. I hope at least one of the kids continues the photo tradition with their future spouse.”

How wearing one simple outfit (albeit a special one) once a year has gathered so much attention! Chelsea said she never expected this but is joyful that it seems to be catching on.

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