Does spray paint come out of white taffeta? No, it does not. {New Braunfels Trash the Dress Photography}

Today we gather around the computer to mourn the loss of a special friend. This friend has been with me through mud and high water, through grime and slime, it's touched sand, grit and paint and even grazed a dead opossum -- eww! It's traveled with me across Texas and into the Caribbean, but now it hangs on the shower curtain rod in my bathtub, a victim of it's own gosh darn usefullness. We mourn the passing of a once beautiful wedding gown.

My history with this gown spans back a couple of years. A lovely lady used it for her own wedding but did not want it any more. She was clearing out her closet and saw no need to hang onto it so she posted it on Freecycle -- a yahoo group Jayme and I belong to where people can post items they're trying to get rid of or claim items someone else hopes to get rid of, for free. She said she didn't want to give it to just anyone, only those with worthy causes need respond and she would decide to whom she would pass on her beloved wedding gown. We responded with photos of some of our other trash the dress sessions and assured her that this dress would be loved and enjoyed. She loved the idea and gave us her gown.

The lovely gown you see in the photos here is that gown. The trash the dress concept is not new. It's been around a few years and many of the brides I meet love the idea. They'd love to express themselves by posing in their gown in favorite places and doing favorite pastimes, but many of them are a bit squeamish about using their real gowns. Never fear, that's where I step in with my handy supply of wedding gowns. I'm a thrift store fiend. I can sniff out gorgeous gowns like a bloodhound on bologna. I have a closet full. Most of them can be used over and over. Trash the dress doesn't usually mean totally destroy it. Not usually that is. But nothing gets out spray paint. Every now and then an idea like this is simply too good to pass up. I agree to sacrifice some of these gowns and take them down paths from which they can not return. It's not the first gown to be lost to the cause and it won't be the last.

There are others. There will be more trash the dress shoots in our future. Jayme thinks we can tie dye this one and still have fun with it. I agree, but it will no longer be the pristine white wedding gown it once was. It will be reincarnated as another dress that's special in it's own way. And maybe we'll take it with us to the Grand Canyon this summer.




Lisa On Location Photography