Crazy ideas sometimes emerge as amazing projects. Trash the Dress PEI is one of those crazy ideas.
We need to clear the air here first. I’ve been to a few wedding shows and Trash the Dress discussions usually start with a gasp and end with a No Way. Perhaps this is because I show people a photo of Cheryl standing next to her wedding dress, engulfed in flames. like this:
It doesn’t have to be this way. I swear.
I saw an image from John Michael Cooper a few years ago (here). It was this discovery that made me realize I could try a few things differently during weddings and maybe it would be ok. Maybe some people would like it.
Trash the Dress is perhaps a misleading name (although I love it) because these kind of shoots are merely an opportunity for me, as a photographer, to try and create incredible images for you in your wedding dress without the constraints of a wedding day timeline. It doesn’t have to burned to nothing more than a zipper. You don’t have to sit in mud up to your neck. Trash the Dress is simply a bridal photo shoot where you don’t have to worry about getting a little dirt on your dress. It’s a shoot where you are surrounded by all kinds of people who can’t wait to make you look beautiful. Hair + makeup artists, stylists, assistants and photographers all crowded around in an effort to create images that will blow your mind. Passers by will stop and watching. Cars will pull to the side of the road to see whats going on and sometimes you get VIP access to things you could never imagine…like a private train ride in the skycart around the Halifax peninsula. Your dress will not be ruined…unless you ask!
So what?
So, sitting with Jeff Cooke one day over coffee, dogs, babies and light stands we said how fun it would be to go to PEI (his sister lives there) and shoot some of her friends in a Trash the Dress (Jeff calls it Rock the Dress) type theme. Old barns, farms, red mud etc. 30 seconds later we had Heather Crosby-Gionet convinced to go and the details have fallen into place.
April 18-19 and we are going to be in Prince Edward Island for a Trash the Dress project. We have a few pre arranged plans but we decided to open this up to anyone who wanted to shoot with us. So far, the response has been overwhelming. We’ve got shoots planned in a tattoo shop as the bride inks her husband, a TTD shoot in a horse stable, a run down old church and I’m still holding out for another fire shoot. You can trust me…I used to own a fireplace shop!
There are a lot of very creative mind in PEI and I’m looking forward to working with them. Katharina’s Bridal Boutique is helping us out with some details and both Kathrina and Julia are pulling out their own wedding dresses for a shoot.
Trash the dress wouldn’t be complete without a Felicity Bridal dress. So, while Christa is away in Florida for the week I’m sneaking in to grab a few dresses I’ve been eyeing for a while.
So, I dont often try to sell you anything on this blog, nor do I encourage you to sign up because time is limited or spaces are going fast….BUT, this is going to be incredible. If you’re even CONSIDERING a shoot like this, drop me a line. Let’s just talk about it before we set you on fire.
If you’re in PEI and you want to get in on this shoot, here’s the email address: trashthedressPEI@gmail.com
Want to see more work from myself, Jeff and Heather? check out the Facebook group
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4 Comments
Burning your dress and sitting in mud may be optional however I highly recommend them – it’s fun as HELL!
[…] Cooke, Liam Hennessey et Moi are traveling to do a TTD (trash the dress) shoot in PEI! We started it off as a just for […]
Liam my dear, if you need a volunteer to burn a dress…spit on it, throw food at it, watch it get run over y a dump truck…..I shal sacrifice mine for your cause. seriously…..If you want it let me know……I’ll make it happen.
