6 sisters and their mom went out to dinner in their wedding gowns because 'the most expensive dresses we own deserved to be worn'

• Terri Bonin, four of her daughters, and two of her daughters-in-law go out together once a month.
• In May, they decided to wear their wedding dresses and were met with "laughter and admiration."

A wedding dress can be a major expense, so why not get as much wear out of it as you can?

A group of six sisters and their mom decided to wear their wedding gowns for a night out on the town, and a video of their evening has gone viral, with more than 6.5 million views on Instagram as of Wednesday.

One of the sisters, Alexis Houston, posted the video and wrote, "We decided that the most expensive dresses we owned deserved to be worn & enjoyed for more than just one day in our lives."

"100/10 recommend doing this! Absolutely SO fun!!" she added.

Each month, Terri Bonin, four of her daughters — Madeleine, 28, Alexis, 25, Annalise, 23, and Kate, 18 — and two of her daughters-in-law — Hannah Joy, 30, and Sydnie, 25 — get together for a girls' night. They enjoy dinner at True Food Kitchen just outside of Houston, Texas, before getting dessert and coffee at another restaurant, the women told Insider.

Before their night out in May, Hannah Joy sent the others a link to a reel she'd seen on Instagram — in which a woman throws a wedding-dress party — and suggested they put their own dresses to use.

"We all responded in our sisters' group chat, 'We HAVE to do this!'" the Bonins said in an email. "We already had the date on the calendar so it was easy to pull together — the only difference was that this time we would wear our wedding dresses!"

Kate wanted to take part even though she isn't married. So just hours before the dinner, she found a dress at a thrift store, Style Encore in The Woodlands.

"It didn't fit properly so we had to pin it up a bit, but it worked out!" she said.

When the women stepped out of their car, there was an immediate reaction from passersby. People recorded videos of them, asked to take photos, and wanted to know what the occasion was.

They were met with "confusion, laughter, and admiration," they said. "We unknowingly picked the busiest night to go to Market Street, so we got a lot of reactions."

Hannah Joy said one of her favorite parts of the night was "people thinking we had just gotten married and were just out and about without our grooms."

For Sydnie, it was the chance to see some of the gowns for the first time.

"It was my first time seeing two of my sisters in their dresses because I married into the family after their weddings. I loved seeing all the dresses and styles," she said.

Mom Terri added, "My favorite part was just making a spectacle and being silly with my girls. We definitely made a memory that will last a lifetime."

The concept of recycling wedding dresses seemed to resonate with Instagram users who viewed Alexis' now-viral video. Some shared their own experiences and reasons for rewearing their wedding dresses, while others said they passed them on for other brides to wear.

"I wear mine every year on our anniversary — it's too expensive of a dress not to wear it!" one wrote.

The sisters hope others who see Alexis' video are inspired to rewear their own wedding dresses, too. The Bonins, for their part, plan to do it again. And while it was a big group — two of the brides also brought along their babies — next time there's another guest they'd like to invite.

"We would like to invite our grandmother!" the sisters said. "She has been married over 50 years and still has her wedding dress."