13 Keepsake Items You'll Want to Hold Onto After Your Wedding

Your wedding day will go by in a flash. Trust us, time will fly by! To make sure you have some physical reminders of the big day, here are thirteen keepsake items you'll want to hold onto after your "I dos." Photo by Amy Arrington Photography on Southern Weddings via Lover.ly 1. Your dress. We recommend having a preservation specialist preserve your gown, which basically means they give it a good cleaning and wrap it in a protective box. If you don't want the dress boxed up in the attic or sitting in your closet, we recommend using the fabric for something creative. Take a small snippet of your gown and frame it, or use the fabric to create a necklace, christening gown or lingerie! 2. Your bouquet. After the big day, consider hanging your bouquet upside down and letting it dry out. Once dry, you can box up the bouquet or do something unique with the petals! We love the idea of saving your petals and scattering them at the site of your ceremony on your one year anniversary. 3. His cufflinks. If your groom is rocking cufflinks on the big day, you'll definitely want to hold on to them as he can re-wear them on anniversaries or to black tie events. Consider having them engraved with your wedding date to make them extra special! 4. Your something old, something new and something blue. These small tokens are great keepsakes from your big day! Plus, you never know when you'll need to lend a "something borrowed" to a friend or family member. 5. A copy of your vows. If you wrote your own vows, be sure save a digital copy! You'll want to be able to reference your I Dos for years to come. 6. Your guest book. Although you might not look at it frequently, be sure to save your guest book. Years from now, you'll get a kick out of your guest's well wishes! 7. The champagne flutes. Save the champagne flutes used for your toasts throughout the evening. Put them in your china cabinet or wrap them up and pull them out on anniversaries and special occasions. 8. One of each of your paper products. Be sure to save your invitation suite, program, menu and table numbers! We recommend putting them in a scrapbook, adding them to a wedding shadow box, or just tucking them away for safekeeping. 9. The champagne cork. Keep the cork from the first bottle of champagne you drank as newlyweds. 10. One of the unopened bottles of the wine you served. If you're serving a special wine on your big day, be sure to snag one of the bottles. You can drink it your one year anniversary, or let it age and save it for your 25th. 11. The top tier of your cake. If you want to keep it traditional, save the top tier of your wedding cake to eat on your one year anniversary. Freeze the top tier immediately after leaving the reception to ensure it stays fresh. (ish!) Note: Today, many cake bakers will bake a new tier for you after year one. If your baker does this, there's no need to save the top tier of your cake on your wedding day. 12. Your cake topper. If you have a custom cake topper (or a traditional one!) make sure it doesn't get tossed on the big day. We love the idea of adding ribbon to the cake topper and using it as an ornament around the holiday season! 13. One of your favors. If your favors aren't perishable, make sure to keep one! Need more wedding ideas? 8 Really Good Reasons to Keep Your Wedding Guest List Small 7 Rules for Picking Your Bridesmaids Without Having a Breakdown You NEED to Answer These Questions Before You Start Planning Your Wedding