Trash the Dress

There is a great wedding photography trend called “Trash the Dress”, also known as “Rock the Frock” or “Fearless Bridal”. This sharp, expressive, and breathtaking photo shoot is a fantastic way to capture the emotional life of someone’s wedding day. Conceived as a “Farewell to the Dress”, a newly married Bride gets a unique second chance to wear their wedding dress or other formal wear and have a fun-filled photo session. Usually shot in a high-fashion or glamour style, the photo session takes place in contrasting environments: on a beach, city streets, rooftops, abandoned industrial areas, or country fields. The most important aspect of the shoot is photographing the Bride and her dress in the most unconventional setting possible.

As the name suggests, a Bride is encouraged to “trash” her dress by getting it wet, dirty or going as far as tearing or destroying it without limits and boundaries. Gone are the days when a wedding dress is kept for years and passed to the next generation. This additional photo shoot is a declaration that the wedding is done and the dress will not be used again. If a Bride doesn’t wish to destroy her actual dress, she may choose to do the shoot in ball gown, prom dress, or a cheaper second hand wedding dress.

It is believed that the trend began in 2001 by Las Vegas wedding photographer John Michael Cooper, since then the trend has spread around the world with photographers shooting their unique ideas of Trash the Dress. Sparking a new industry for photographers worldwide, Trash the Dress sessions are a little more expensive than the usual wedding photo sessions because it includes more artistic, high fashion, distinctive photo shooting allowing the style of the photographer to be easy recognized.

Now go ahead, you know you want to. Put it on. Get it dirty. Get it wet. Roll around in the mud. Drench it in the ocean. Have fun and totally Trash the Dress!