Trash the Dress

Sofie Louca and Paul Karaolides tread into dangerous territory

There are also those who find the whole concept of trashing an expensive wedding dress either offensive or wasteful and reason that trashing the dress calls into question the values of marriage itself and shows a lack of respect or that a bridal gown is something that should be passed down to a daughter to be worn again. It’s highly debatable whether a dress will be worn again in 20 to 30 years' time, but far more importantly, TTD does not under-value marriage or the vows that have been taken. We view a TTD session as more of an ongoing celebration of a couple’s marriage, a great way for a bride to wear her dress again and an extra opportunity for a couple to express themselves, away from the stresses of the wedding day.

Earlier this year, www.trashthedress.com was also joined by a variety of official sister sites, the most recent of which was the Australian (www.trashthedressaustralia.com) site, as well as the introduction of a forum (www.trashthedress.com/ forum) for photographers, vendors and brides. Amorphia Photography (www.amorphiaphotography.com), currently based in the UK, has worked in conjunction with Mark Eric on other projects such as Don't Box Us In (www.dontboxusin. com) and he suggested we launch the European site (www. trashthedress.eu) and this went live during the summer and has already attracted a large number of visitors. It features some amazing work by photographers from all over Europe.

All the TTD sites spotlight photographers and images from their sessions and the aim is to promote creativity within the wedding photography field and to provide a site for brides and grooms in Europe to get ideas for their own session and even find themselves a professional photographer in their area who we’re satisfied to recommend in our referral list. We’re currently contacting photographers throughout Europe who we know have shot TTD sessions or are planning to, but just as importantly have a high standard of professional work and can be added to a referral list on the site. We’re also encouraging tasteful and artistic TTD sessions by featuring a range of images on the website from various photographers to which others can aspire.

One of our TTD sessions took place in Kent during the summer whilst another took place while we were in Cyprus with a bride, Sarah, who hadn’t been able to afford much photographic coverage on her wedding day a couple of years ago and wanted some creative bridal images as well as something in a more contemporary vein. You could call the session an 'epic”'TTD as it lasted a few hours. We started shooting in the town where we found an old, derelict factory and whilst driving to the mountains we spotted a couple of interesting and unconventional places along the way – so of course we had to stop! Once we reached the mountains we shot some images in an abandoned hotel and then got a little lost along some dirt roads, but finally ended up at a small waterfall to finish the day off. We were thrilled with the resulting images, as was our client.

Many photographers have embraced this concept and are creating images that have changed bridal photography. These photo shoots have become so popular with clients as it’s a great way for brides to wear their dresses again and create images that are memorable and out of the ordinary. Whether a bride wishes to trash her dress entirely or just get it a little dirty, the aim is to compose unforgettable images that are both exceptional and striking.

Trash the Dress pushes the boundaries and motivates photographers to create non-traditional images…it’s about creation not destruction.

Sofie Louca and Paul Karaolides run Amorphia Photography, currently based in the UK. Sadly for us they are moving to Cyprus in January 08. However, as they are joining our strong and growing contingent of photographers on the island we expect to be hearing about them in the future. We wish them every success with their move back to Paul's homeland. Trashing a dress is likely to be a lot warmer for their brides!

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Photo Quote: Photography for me is not looking, it's feeling. If you can't feel what you're looking at, then you're never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures. - Don McCullin