If you don’t consider getting scissors near your wedding dress a horrible act of mutilation, then we want to talk about wearing your wedding gown again.

A lot of brides have a hard time paying top-dollar for a gown that they are only going to be wearing once, and we’ve been thinking, who says you can’t wear that dress again? If you’re willing to make some alterations we have thought of a few ways to make your dress memorable and wearable.

One of the challenges of wearing your wedding dress again is that even though you have only ever worn it once, it’s the dress that you’ve been photographed in the most. There are millions of pictures of you, showing off every detail of that dress and cataloging every moment of the day when you wore it. In order to make your wedding dress wearable again you not only need to find a way to make it less formal but you need to make sure it doesn’t bring back memories of delicious cake. (Unless that’s your thing, and if so, we’re not judging.)

The easiest solution is cutting your dress. Raise that hemline, ladies! Go from puritanical to bikini, or at least the wedding gown version. For the chic and long of legs, imagine this dreamy Lazaro Aline as a tea-length party dress. The full skirt will reduce to a Sex and the City reminiscent tu-tu and the minimal bodice will make the dress less formal and ready for a fancy holiday party. To be more dramatic remember that cutting a dress can result in many different lengths and styles. Shorter can be sexier which is the opposite of many wedding dress, and adding funky hemlines like hi-low or asymmetrical will add a measure of couture that may have been too much for your wedding.

Another big problem for re-using your wedding dress is that the stark, stark white will always scream “Bride” with a capital “B”. For the daring, we suggest dyes! We’re not talking backyard tie-dye (although we have to admit, we are a little curious). Professionals can dye dresses into totally different colors that are bolder, brighter and less likely to say wedding. This Liv Harris full skirt suffers from major “wedding gown syndrome”. If after you’ve given it a strategic chop, it still only reminds you of a cake topper then we suggest teal, mint and turquoise! Dip that dress and suddenly, it’s cocktail party ready! When it comes to dyes, there are again many options. Dip-dyes or gradients can add watercolor effects or pretty patterns. If you’re going to make the important move, know that you have many options so you don’t have to settle.

We know. It gives us chills too to think of attacking our gorgeous dresses, but remember to leave it to the professionals. Your wedding gown is precious (and expensive!) but altering your dress can help you get your money’s worth if you want to wear your gown again and again.