I didn't have a wedding dress so don't have to worry about this. :-)
But I have a similar dilemma so will follow this thread and see what I can learn. I have a wedding kimono that I brought back from Japan many years ago. Beautiful white kimono with iridescent threads running through it. I was going to cut it up and make a jacket out of it then saw one for sale at $400 and got scared to cut it. So it is still packed away. I just get it out and look at it every now and then. If I ever get the nerve up to cut, all of my scraps will go into a crazy quilt.