When you've spent weeks or months hunting down the perfect dress, and a fortune paying for it, the idea of a photoshoot a few weeks after the wedding where the dress gets dirty and perhaps even damaged probably sounds like madness!

But it's a trend in the States which is just beginning to take off here because most wedding dresses go back into the box and is then put into the attic, never to see the light of day again. When this is its likely fate, why not have some fun with it and have some great photos to show for it? In this case, in a fountain ...

Or perhaps a paddle in the Thames (which is now so clean the steps have been opened up so that kids can paddle in the river at low tide):

A ride on a Boris Bike?

(Which did turn out to be the riskiest endeavour: the chainguard doesn't work too well with a wedding dress ...)

If you're still wincing at the thought of your own dress being exposed to the Thames, to bike oil and fountains, the tamer version of the concept is Cherish The Dress. Here you just go out and have a relaxed shoot with none of the time pressures of bridal portraits on the day.

It's great fun, and it's amazing how cooperative the world can be when you're in your wedding gown. :-)

A huge thanks to Emma for being such a great sport, and to David for rather damp assisting duties!

Trash The Dress or Cherish The Dress shoots typically take place a few weeks after the wedding, giving the option of including some of the shots in the album. But it can also be done years later if you have that dress sitting unloved in the attic ...

To discuss a shoot, just give me a call or drop me an email: 07711-423103 or weddings@beautifullytold.com.

Ben

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