Trashing her dress...irresponsible? It's about creation, not destruction.

I recently read an article in the paper writtten by a misinformed Woodbury, Minnesota woman who stated that it was "shocking" to see that brides would do "such a thing". To any bride to be, mother or grandmother of a bride to be: Please understand that "Trash the dress" is not (usually) literal. One of my brides has "trashed her dress" 3 times. Trash the dress-is a fun term used to describe a post-wedding photo session that involves portraits of a bride or high school senior in their wedding or prom dress after the event. They no longer have to worry about keeping it clean, because the event is over. They can do anything beautiful-some photographers specialize in underwater portraits-which can be amazing. None of the "Trash the dress" photo sessions that I have done have actually resulted in a ruined dress. In fact, most damage that I have seen in my 20 years of photographing weddings occurs on the wedding day! I will say, it is a liberating experience for the bride and the photographer. Take a look at the images before being so judgmental. Why is it o.k. for someone to have a photo shoot in a $250 out fit consisting of jeans and a sweater, but it's not o.k. for a bride who spent $250 on her wedding dress to do the same fun things that result in the most amazing images of herself that she may possibly ever have to memorialize that one time event dress?