Even though wedding dress styles change and trends ebb and flow, one thing stays pretty consistent: They're only worn at weddings (unless you're Monica, Phoebe and Rachel, of course). There's so much hype surrounding wedding dresses, from about a dozen TLC shows about picking and judging them to the tradition of not letting the groom see it until the day of the ceremony, but really -- it's just a dress. And, at that, it's just a dress that a bride only wears for a day.
Sometimes, it's not even a full day. Lots of brides are choosing to get two or even more dresses for their wedding day and change when it's time to party at the reception. So, you're buying a gown for a pretty penny and then getting about four hours of actual wear out of it. Frugal.
Dawn Winfield-Hunt, though, is spearheading a changing tide. She told Today that she purchased her dress for about $364, which I'd say is on the lower end of the spectrum, but she's been wearing her gown out and about ever since her Aug. 3 wedding.
"I’ve been shopping, made dinner, painted the deck, carried out some carpentry work, done the [vacuuming] and been to an open-air festival," she said.
Winfield-Hunt, 54, said that she's been enjoying the joy wearing her wedding dress out gives the people around her.
"I realized how happy it made people," she said. "People love it! They are always so happy and smiley around me and always come to speak to me."
The Isle of Wight, England bride even went paddleboarding in her wedding gown, which she purchased at a local charity shop.
Winfield-Hunt is keeping a bucket list of sorts that includes places, events and activities she'd like to visit or do while wearing her gown: kayaking, horseback riding, baking a cake and visiting Buckingham Palace, to name a few. Perhaps she can get a photo op with a royal gown?
She's also worn it to do some home DIY...
...to the Shanklin Chine revine...
...and to Tesco!
When will the dress's tour end? Winfield-Hunt plans to hang it up for good on Aug. 2, just a day shy of her first anniversary, at a charity ball where guests would be encouraged to re-wear their own wedding attire.