There is a crazy new trend that has taken hold in bridal photography known as "trashing the dress". It is hard to imagine a bride that searched so hard and spent so much to get her dream gown would decide to trash it after the wedding, but that is just what this trend involves. Read more about this surprising phenomenon, and see if it even might be right for you!
Okay, the idea behind the trashing the gown movement is not actually to cause the intentional destruction of the wedding dress. The concept is to try to get really modern and unique wedding photos, without being precious about protecting the gown. Photographers who practice this style of imagery believe that it is far more important to get memorable and cool pictures than it is to keep your wedding gown from being damaged. What's a little water and dirt in the name of art, right?
Traditional wedding photography is posed and stiff, and it does not necessarily reflect the personalities or lifestyle of the bride and groom. The trash the dress trend aims to reverse that. The idea is that after the ceremony, the bride and groom slip off to a special location of their choosing to have really unique photos taken. The results can truly be breathtaking.
It seems like the most popular sites for trash the dress photography involve water. If you are getting married by a beach, river, or even a big fountain, you can take advantage of it for great photo ops. Many of the pictures involve the bride or bride and groom frolicking in the surf, splashing in a fountain, or even laying on the sand while the waves lap over them. All this is done while the bride is still wearing her entire wedding ensemble, including the gown,wedding jewelry, and even her veil. The only thing usually removed for these wet photos are the bride and groom's shoes.
There is no doubt that a talented photographer can take such a stunning natural backdrop and use it to capture some gorgeous pictures (in black and white, perhaps). An image of a joyful young bride cavorting in the ocean's edge in her bridal gown and wedding jewelry is certainly going to show some of the spirit of the day in a way that a posed portrait will not. One thing is for sure: these are not your mother's wedding pictures!
Natural settings are not the only popular choices for trash the dress photo sessions. Fun places like amusement parks and carnivals are other favorites of brides and their photographers. When having your photos taken on dry land, your gown is not likely to get quite so beat up, just really dirty. There are some wonderful shots that can be taken at these types of locations, such as the newlyweds screaming on a roller coaster, or perhaps sharing a slightly tamer ride around the carousel.
City brides often like the contrast of juxtaposing a fancy white dress with a gritty urban scene. Thus the rise of bridal portraits taken in sites like alleys or warehouses. These are not as fanciful as the amusement park pictures, but for those couples who feel like the City is a part of their romance, it can be the perfect backdrop. Certainly if you are having portraits taken in an alley, you can expect your gown to get absolutely filthy. The key to this style of photography is matching it to the personality of the bride. In other words, you need to be completely non-sentimental about your gown if you are going to be able to relax and get some really great images.
Ultimately, the trend of trashing the gown photography is not meant to show disregard for the bride's dress. Actually, some brides will confess to buying a second dress to wear for their photo shoot to preserve their original wedding gown. Other brides insist that the dry cleaner was able to restore their "trashed" gown without a problem. And some brides simply are not worried about permanently trashing their gowns, as long as they end up with some incredible artistic wedding photographs.
