New Wedding Photography Fad - Trash the Dress

Want to add a bit of pizazz to your wedding photos and you don't mind damaging your gown? If so, you might consider taking "trash the dress" photos. This is a new fad created by wedding photographers to create unique, once in a lifetime, photos. When a bride is willing to get her dress wet or dirty, she may be photographed wading in the ocean or a lake, jumping into a pool or lake, sitting on a mountainside or on the beach, riding a motorcycle, rolling in the mud, or in other unconventional situations or positions that can harm her dress.

This summer one of my brides was photographed playing in the fountain at the Grove Plaza in downtown Boise while wearing her gown, though she was careful not to get too wet. A photographer told me about shooting a bride who jumped into a swimming pool at a country club in her gown. The groom and several of the groomsmen then joined her. (If they were wearing rented tuxes, they now own them.) Another bride told me about her wedding in Montana. She jumped off a dock into the lake. The groom stripped to his boxers and jumped in as well.

Some brides choose to take "trash the dress" photos a week or two after the wedding, when they no longer need to keep the gown clean for the reception. This option costs more, since it requires another session with the photographer, but it allows more time to be creative.

Obviously, this fad isn't for everyone. If a bride wants to keep her gown, then she won't be interested in this fad. However, if the gown is not that important, a bride may be willing to sacrifice it for more unique photos. To each her own style!