What do I do with all the wedding “stuff” after a divorce?

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What do I do with the ketubah? (Photo by Sunshine Charlie)
What do I do with the ketubah? (Photo by Sunshine Charlie)
I was married for less than a year, our wedding was even featured on Offbeat Bride. Long story short: I’m now divorced.

But what do I do with all the stuff — pictures, ketubah, cards, etc? There’s absolutely no reconciliation possible, so I feel like there’s no need to save it, but for the sake of my mental health, do I just box it up and throw the box off a cliff?

For the other divorcees out there, what have you done with all the “stuff” from your wedding? -Marley

Oof, that’s a toughie… but unfortunately, it’s not an uncommon situation. We’re throwing this to our offbeat divorcees: What did do you do with your wedding stuff after you got divorced?

Comments on What do I do with all the wedding “stuff” after a divorce?

  1. i havent been divorced nor married but i met a guy online and he recently got divorced. he’s going through a lot and i’m afraid i might be the rebound but in a way, i’m happy that he tells me things which bothers him so in a way, i am kind of helping him, even as a friend.

    he moved out and moved back with his parents coz the girl only liked the idea of getting married (blame Pinerest) but wasnt really into the commitment part. he left their house and only got his clothes. the girl packed his stuff and he’s expecting for the box to arrive anytime within this month, then it’ll be judgement day. for now, he’s saving to jumpstart his life again and i dont ask about the divorce but i hope he’ll make it through coz he’s a really great guy and i am kind of falling for him so it hurts seeing him hurt.

  2. My first marriage ended fairly badly after 7 years. I got rid of most of my things in general because I moved from a full house to a single room I rented from a friend. I kept a box of photos and a few mementos, like wedding favors. In order to purge some of my anger I sold the dress and the ring. I had just started dating the quintessential bad boy rebound that I knew would be terrible for me, so I used the money I got from my ring to take him to dinner. It felt really good to spend that money on drinks for some hot younger guy. The funny thing is, 7 years later that supposed rebound is my wonderful husband and we are pregnant with our first child. I’m glad I kept the photos,not because I ever look in that box, but because one day my kids might want to know what I was like during those 7 years. To throw away all of that would be to erase 7 years of my life.

  3. I burned everything. Literally. In my backyard fire pit. It was tedious and took hours, but I was steadfast in my dedication. Only thing I have left is the wedding dvd. I feel like I paid $350 for this one dvd and it was super important to me at the time and I just don’t know what to do with it.

  4. My first wedding was also featured on Offbeat Bride (it has since been taken down at my request), and we were married for just over two years before I left. It was messy, but stayed just this side of civil until it was all over. I do not speak with my ex, and have him blocked on every form of social media I can. We’re not on good terms, and I’m okay with that because there are very good reasons for it.

    When we split up, our stuff was stored with his mom and mine in different states and on a different continent from the one we were living on. The wedding decorations were given away or donated and as we had moved abroad a week after the wedding, there weren’t many gifts to worry about (nearly everyone had given us money, which we split 50/50 upon my moving out). My wedding outfit is in storage as it’s a Wai Ching custom set and I’m not really sure what to do with it. It’s beautiful, so I don’t feel right about trashing it. However, it’s custom-sized and brightly coloured so tough to sell on. Plus, with the bad mojo associated, I’m not sure anyone would want it, so it sits in limbo in a box. I sold my rings at the first opportunity. The photos live on in other people’s Facebook accounts, and that’s okay with me. No one comments on them anymore, so they don’t pop up or anything.

    I would recommend storing everything with a family member until the rawness of it all goes away. Once the heat was taken out of the situation, and it was all over and done with, it was a lot easier to sift through the boxes and make clear-headed decisions about what to do with everything. I didn’t keep much, but it wasn’t the fraught experience it could have been if I’d had to go through it all immediately after leaving. Leaving it for a year made it an easier task. No crying, no anger, far less stressful than trying to do it with all the emotion of a fresh divorce.

  5. I was married 22years. And I have two children (17)(12). It was a very bitter divorce. Now that I am moving, I don’t know what to do with my three totes worth of dating, engagement and wedding stuff.. I tried to look through it but it was too painful. Of course all the wedding gifts are gone but the memories are hard to just toss or burn. I asked my daughter if she wanted anything and she wants to keep it all. She wants to redo the dress for her wedding in the future. She was looking through the albums with excitement because back then we used to scrapbook everything and I detailed every event we went to. Any advice for a long term marriage that ended and now I’m left with a pile of dusty memories I want to forget??

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