Ok- so trashthedress.com has received over 10,000 hits by now. I just noticed a cool little feature that allows a blog owner to trackback to incoming links. I’ve read over a few articles and forums to see what people are saying about us. Check out a few of the miscellaneous quotes I pulled from different forums. I’d love to know your thoughts! Leave a comment, this should be fun…
What others are saying:
“I find it interesting that the site thinks the only options are to stuff it in plastic, or to trash it. I’m planning on selling mine. Some of those shots are really cool, but I’m not into disposable things. Don’t we create enough waste as it is?”
(It’s about the commitment, and the non-disposable memories- not a waste at all in my opinion)
“I would love to do it — definitely makes for a great picture — but I couldn’t do that to my parents, because they bought my dress. They would be REALLY upset.”
“I would never do that. I know that my daughter will never wear it, but I still might keep it.
If I don’t keep it, I’m going to sell it. *!~~, I’d even give it away before I destroyed it.”
“Ooh I love these, especially the Ophelia like quality of some of them. I’d have to do a shoot after the wedding though. I wouldn’t want to trash my dress on the wedding day.”
I like the comparison drawn in this comment:
“If I had money to burn or a dress I hated, then sure, why not! Otherwise, I think I’d cry after spending so much money on the dress… I think I’d rather just donate it for resale or something than trash it like that… sure you get the great pictures.. but… there are other ways of getting the great shots… it’s like those musicians who smash an expensive guitar during a concert… I sulk because they destroy those expensive instruments and here I am without one at all!”
“The photos are well-done, I’ll admit that … but that seems so incredibly wasteful to me.”
“Why destroy a perfectly nice (and probably very expensive) dress when you could donate it someplace and help others out? Maybe Brides Against Breast Cancer, for example – or send it to a thrift shop so that a less fortunate woman could possibly afford something nice for her wedding day.”
“Sometimes the “just throw it away” attitude in this country disgusts me.”
“Now I’m getting obsessed. The more I think about this, the more I want to do it.”
This comment cracks me up 
“1. Some of these look pornographic.
2. Yeah, it’s a great idea. Every bride should spend her money getting all gussied up for her groom so they can swim in pond feces after the ceremony.
3. Dumbest idea ever. I can’t believe people do this.
4. Thanks for posting the link!
”
“No…because I think the pictures are kind of weird!”
So what do you have to say ? Leave a comment
I love the idea… most of these dresses could still be cleaned (i.e. they’re not permanently ruined) so they could still be donated or saved. I mentioned this idea to my mom (who bought my dress) and she seemed ok with it. she actually suggested that I make something with the fabric of my dress (curtains, quilt, etc.) but I couldn’t come up with a good idea… maybe that could be another addition to “trash the dress”
You brides out the now very well that you will not be wearing the dress ever again. 1 out of 1 million dresses will be worn by your kids. You will not donate it. It will just be taking up a whole lot of space in your closet. Don’t get too attached to the dress it’s just a dress. Why not do somethin out of the ordinary and get it messed up. By the way you may send it to the drycleaners any ways.
I love the comments:
” … it’s like those musicians who smash an expensive guitar during a concert … ”
” … seems so incredibly wasteful … ”
” … you could donate it … a less fortunate woman could possibly afford something nice for her wedding day.”
” … the “just throw it away” attitude in this country disgusts me.”
What these people haven’t grasped is that the dress really IS disposable. It’s NOT like an expensive guitar because no bride wants to wear somebody else’s. dress. After one wearing it has no value at all – nobody wants it. Anyone who doubts this should take a quick look at ebay – you’ll see literally hundreds of dresses for sale. Most don’t sell. Those that do often go for less than it costs to post them across the country!
If there is a shameful waste … it’s the fact so much money and beautiful haberdashery is put into a wear-only-once garment. What these photographers are doing is finding a way of recycling a hideously expensive disposable item to produce fabulous artwork.
Go for it folks – I think it’s fabulous!
“After one wearing it has no value at all – nobody wants it. Anyone who doubts this should take a quick look at ebay – you’ll see literally hundreds of dresses for sale. Most don’t sell. ”
The dress I wore for the pictures by Priscilla Rathbone (above) was bought on ebay and I wore it three times. Afterward, we took it to the drycleaner. The dresses may be used for modeling if they’re sold, and can easily be cleaned.
Ok, I really love how these brides are so waste-conscious about a dress that they had no problem spending $1000s of dollars for one day. I mean, how about we talk about the wastefulness of buying thousands of dollars on flowers that are only for one day? Or ‘wasting’ 10 bucks on a flower girl dress because by summer she will outgrow it and only wear it once. Or hey, those invitations are only going to get thrown away by your guests, so why don’t you ’save’ a tree and just send out an email? Why don’t you haters just admit that you are haters and don’t like this style of art? It’s ok if it is not your cup of tea, but don’t you dare start being all uppity about this being ‘wasteful.’ Cuz if you want to be a hippie about it, the whole wedding day is a big waste of your money to begin with. So take THAT and smoke it! (btw, I like the whole trashing idea. It’s different, it’s new, life is short, why not?)
When I looked at the forums referring to trashthedress.com, I was surprised at the number who said they wouldn’t do it with their actual dress (because it was too expensive etc) but they would buy a “cheap” NEW dress to trash. I’m all in favour of “trash the dress” but buying a new dress with the sole intention of destroying it really does seem wasteful! The “useful life” of most wedding dresses is just one wedding plus the associated photos. It’s the ultimate in built-in obsolesence. If you’re going to buy one for trashing, what’s wrong with second hand ones?
I think this is really cool! I don’t think it’d ever be anything that I would do because I’m too much of a sentimental schmuck, but if it’s your perogative, go for it! Those pictures are amazing – some of them seem like you’re in a dream! I love it!
i love the idea of it, but i would never do it to my dress after having saved so long to get the gown i wanted. i would, however, go buy a cheap white party dress and trash that after the wedding since some of the pics (esp ocean ones) look amazing!
The pictures are amazing. I would do it =D And I agree whole heartedly with Kim’s witty comment, heehee…
Oh, BIG PHOTO LOVE! What a fab idea…I love it! And as for the others who think dress trashing is somehow “wasteful” or that they could “never do that to their parents”; um, people: ever heard of a Dry Cleaner??
See, you altruistic souls can still trash your dress, then clean it and give it away.
I spent $99 on my wedding dress from ebay, and now that I’ve seen this site, I fully intend on getting my money’s worth! I’ll be submitting my pics come July.
These are great comments everyone-
Keep them coming.
I love love love this idea. I’m a photographer myself and I love the emotions that each picture captures. I’m a bride with a wedding in April. I spent many hours researching for a decent price for my dress, I think it should see my money profit in such beautiful pictures.
I love the photos. They are absolutely gorgeous. I’m just one of those “wasteful” brides I guess. I’m wasteful for the fact that I bought a second dress to “trash”.
After spending over $7,000 on the Reem Acra gown I’d drooled over for months, I can’t bring myself to “trash” it. I know my daughter won’t wear it. I’m not going to sell it. I am going to donate it to Brides Against Breast Cancer. (And I really will donate it, contrary to a comment made that “you will never donate it”).
My second dress is an informal “gauzy” dress by Carmela Sutera. I bought it from BABC for only $799, a full $4000 less than retail. I don’t feel *too* bad about trashing it.
The Reem is a totally different story
~Mia~
The real problem here is not whether or not to ‘trash the dress’ — though there is no doubt that it strikes me as wasteful — but rather the insane heights of self-absorption and narcissism that brides and grooms climb to in relation to their weddings. The real waste is spending money on a dress that you’ll only wear once; on spending many thousands of dollars on one day; on hours of planning for a mere few hours. And then the presumption that the whole world actually does, or rightfully should, give a damn, particularly when logic tells us that half of all marriages end in divorce anyway. Over-indulgent brides and grooms: get over yourselves. Try to find something — anything — in this world that actually matters more than a grandiose celebration of yourselves. I promise you that it won’t be that difficult.
This is an awesome website and I applaud those brides who are brave enough to trash their dresses! The pictures are amazing and those people leaving the negative comments, seriously…get your panties out of a bunch! So this is weird or stupid cause they ‘trash’ their dress, rather than make money off of it by re-selling it? Get over yourselves!
“make money off of it by re-selling it?”
Does anybody really make money by selling it? I don’t know about the US, but in the UK the cost of cleaning is usually more than the resale value of the dress!
I spent a lot of money on my wedding dress, thousands of dollars in fact. Would I “trash my dress”? In a second! And I plan on it! First off, you could get these “trashing” pictures taken and than easily send your dress to a gown preserver and cleaner and it would still end up the same as if you never “trashed” it. And realistically, weddings cost a lot of money, most of the things we purchase for a wedding are for one-day use only and will never be used again. Flowers, decorations, invitations….none of these items are likely to be reused. So, why not enjoy your wedding day in your fabulous dress, while you try so hard not to spill anything on it and get it dirty, and then go crazy and HAVE FUN the next day and not worry about a little grass stain or mud. Your dress is not the key to a long and happy marriage, your love and compassion for each other is. If trashing this dress seems “wasteful” to you, just look at what you do in your everyday life and then we’ll discuss how wasteful people really are.
Finally, a brilliant idea. Why didn’t I think of it? I am getting married Aug 06 and I will be trashing both my gown and my reception gown. I have been totally inspired by the photos posted on this site. Like the pp’s said, the whole wedding is wasteful so you might as well go out with a bang. I’m just thinking of how nice a photo thank you card this will be. I too planned on donating my gowns and will still do that but only after I trash it and clean it. Can’t wait to share my photos. Until then, trash on ladies, trash on!
what a great idea, i think i might have to contact my photographer friend and pull out my (already stained, never cleaned, space waster) dress.
My best friends and I are both photographers and we are totally doing this with each other!! I’ll be sending in pics as soon as we take them!
Love the idea…Especially the video concept. Awesome idea! I wish this would of been an option when I got married.
I think it’s a great idea and many of the pictures are stunning. I’d love to do something like that for my wedding. A couple of pictures like that in our home would make such good conversation pieces.
There are a couple of things I wonder about though:
1. Where are the grooms ?? I I’ll get pictures like that taken after our wedding I’d like my husband to be in them as well (perhaps the whole wedding party for some pictures), not just me! I see there are some pictures like that here (like e.g. the great one Sol Talmargo took of the couple letting the waves roll over them). I’m sure we could both have a great time goofing off a bit after our wedding.
2. Why are all the brides barefoot ? I can see it for the beach brides, as they were quite likely married barefoot as well, but for the rest ? If it’s me I think I’d keep my heels and everything else on, whatever we’d do. Of course on some of the pictures you can’t tell, then it doesn’t matter. Practical concerns ? Well I guess if you climb a mountain or something it could be unsafe, otherwise no problem. Will they get ruined ? Probably not, but even so , why worry about some $ 50-100 shoes if you’re not worried about a $ 1000 dress…plus that if they’re wedding shoes it’s same as with the dress, you’ll never use them again…
I had wanted to trash the dress on my wedding day, but everyone told me “don’t do it – you’ll regret it” so the most rebellious portraiture I got was getting pictures in a cemetery (”till death do us part” right?). I will be celebrating my 5 year anniversary this August, and I think this year is the perfect time for my husband and I to TRASH THE DRESS! I will probably have to have a seamstress friend of mine remove the zipper and put in a “lace up the back” feature so I can fit into it again (it’s too small in the bust area and I love my post-wedding curves)
I’m so looking forward to running around my grandma’s 84 acre parcel of farmland and taking pictures in the golden grass and forests and streams. My husband and I live on the coast, and I hope we’re able to find a photographer who is as excited about getting “down and dirty” with us in the waves.
Anyone on the Oregon Coast/Portland Metro Area want to take some Dress Trashing pictures of us? We’re still in school so a college student friendly price is most appreciated. Email me: spinninbee@yahoo.com our anniversary is August 31st 2007 (a Friday) and we could do it anytime that weekend.
LOL! I sent Ms. Ashley a link, and she posted right above me.
I made my dress, and my husband and I want to do a “trashy” photoshoot this summer for our 1 year. Wonder what these, “omg! waste!” people would say about that!
I would totally do it, and I am going to!
If you are so wasteful that you would spend thousands of dollars on a dress you wear for mere hours than your an idiot. That is more wasteful than anyting.
It’s just a dress. Have fun with it and make memories.
Well I have an quite expensive gown but I hope that doesn’t make me an idiot…even if the dress is expensive it is still a fairly small portion of the total cost for the whole affair. Of course one can argue that having big weddings is wasteful but as long as you can afford it (I can’t understand people who take loans for it though !!), why not ? But even though I’ve an expensive gown I still think this idea is so great – I’d love to do something like that. Perhaps even right at the wedding or right after – it would be fun to do stuff like that at the end or afterwards, but I guess it would be hard for the photographer to get any good pictures if it’s at night ?
If one is worried about damaging the real dress it seems to me that a full length white slip or nightgown and a cheap veil would give almost the same effect for far less cost. Obviously the photos wouldn’t match the main wedding ones but is that a problem ?
Hi – what a great new idea! Quite radical as it sounds, but then the arguments do make good sense, you won’t need your dress again and you could as well have a bit extra fun with it. My guess would be that 99 % of the dresses would survive this sort of a thing but you will probably get better pictures and a more relaxed mode if your mind is ok with that it gets ruined and then it’s just a bonus if it survives sort of, unless of course you specifically want to ruin it, which should not be very hard in such a case.
I think that the same thing goes for most formal dresses, not just your wedding gown. Prom dresses, bridesmaids dresses, evening gowns – they are normally just used once, so if you want to trash them and have a bit fun why not ? Most women don’t want to be seen twice in the same dress anyhow. I go to quite many formal events and I’ve got lots of formal gowns in my closet, maybe I should have a bit fun with them ! Or do something crazy the next time that I’m that dressed up
I love the whole concept of “Trashing the Dress”. I can’t think of anything else I would rather do with my wedding dress. I think photos like this would be a much better keepsake than just the dress alone. I also think that these photos capture who the couple “really” is together. That alone is pricelss.
I find these comments all really interesting – when planning my wedding i was determined not to spend so much on my dress that keeping it clean preoccupied my mind on the day. i bought one off the peg for £150 and it looked fabulous.
one of the staff at the venue even said to me on the day that i had a mark on the train and i told her then – it really doesn’t matter – i’m only wearing it for another few hours!
i am looking for someone in the UK who would be interested in doing a TTD photo shoot – any takers?
Victoria, check out this website:
http://www.amorphiaphotography.com , I know she would love to work with you- and she is a very talented photographer.
I absolutely love the idea!
I’m not married, nor will I be any time in the near (or far) future (hooray for gay “rights” in the US)… but I’ve been looking to do a colaboration with a friend of mine who’s a photographer (I’m a fashion designer) that would be both creative and original. I’m now thinking that I’m probably going to make a big gorgeous dress (probably bright turquoise!) just so we can beat the hell out of it and get some amazing, dirty, crazy shots! I’m so excited!
I am doing my TTD pictures on August 13th, along with coquettes. My dress was not expensive, nor am I emotionally attached to it. Therefore, I will give the photographer full reign to do what she pleases. The more risk involved, the more we’ll love it (husband included!)
For those who believe this is wasteful, that there are so many things that we could do with our dress instead of this (See above comment: Over-indulgent brides and grooms: get over yourselves. Try to find something — anything — in this world that actually matters more than a grandiose celebration of yourselves. I promise you that it won’t be that difficult.) Many of our lives will change, we will start families, our bodies will change as we get older. Why is it so selfish to have our couple hours of fun? Can we not still go volunteer at the local shelter, build houses with our co-workers, or support our kids and still do this without being judged by those we have not met? Why not celebrate our lives and our love and have those pictures for our future children? Just my thoughts.
I think it’s a great idea. This dress can be professionally cleaned afterwards, so what’s the big deal? It’s your day…so why not have fun and go a little crazy.