Saturday, November 24, 2007

Trash the Dress






I saw this story on the news a few days ago. Seems like the latest in self expression is to take your wedding dress and drag it through the water, snow and mud to create unique images of you and your dress. There is a blog dedicated to the art form, as well as many photographers and women joining the cause. No doubt these images are hauntingly beautiful but I still can't get past the circumstances of the dress. The thought behind doing it as explained on the blog is that since you will never wear the dress again, and your daughter most likely will wear her own - that this is the ultimate in commitment by showing your husband that you have no further need for a wedding dress.

I am certain mine will never be worn again but I like thinking that its in its box as prisitine as it was on our day. I have "visited" it only once in the last eleven years but for some reason it gives me comfort to know it's there. It's funny because although I take joy from my posessions I am not overly sentimental.

What do you think? If you are happily married have you "trashed your dress" or considered doing so in the name of art? To show your husband that you are totally committed? Or is this just another commentary on our disposable society. What are your thoughts?

9 comments:

MJ said...

I took my time to pick out my wedding dress. I put a lot of thought into it. With all that in mind, I could not see myself running through the mud with it. I love my dress, something I will treasure. Society, in my opinion, is disposable with everything. Money spent is of no loss. I guess it really does grow on trees.

OurBlueHeavenDesigns.com said...

For some, money may grow on trees but usually at some point in everyone's life autumn arrives when you least expect it and the money falls quick from the trees...it seems for some of us we don't find out what life is really all about until then. Although I have had two wedding dresses in my life neither would be dragged through the mud, bad enough my marriages were when I divorced, they are still precious and mean a lot. I have one daughter from each marriage so I decided to make a quilt out of them that included pictures of each wedding printed on the fabric. Although my divorces were part of the worst times of my life, my marriages were both, at their best, the Time Of My Life.

Mersea said...

I guess art is in the eye of the beholder. But I must admit all the photos but the one with the pumpkin really looked good!

Unknown said...

When my best friend from High School got married about 4 years ago she held her reception at the this lovely place on a rocky beach in Juneau AK. It was in the summer which meant it didn't get dark all evening. There were seals out that night and everyone was crawling around on the huge boulders, drinking wine and enjoying the beautiful nature scene. Tracy stayed in her dress the whole time, throwing a jacket over it when it got cool. My husband thought that it was the coolest thing he had ever scene - her traipsing around in her dress, enjoying her day with her friends and enjoying the wonderous place where she had lived all her life. I had to agree - if I had to do it over again I would have an outside wedding and not care about my dress so much either and instead enjoy it and enjoy being in it so much longer than few hours.
Every year I pull mine out and prance around my mothers house in it - even though I can't zip it all the way up anymore!lol!

Unknown said...

A really wasteful idea. I got my $110 wedding dress at JC Penney and it still means the world to me.

wanderlustnpixiedust said...

Maybe I'm just being old school but I think the whole idea is dreadful. I hated my wedding dress from my first unhappy marriage but I still would never drag it through the mud. I do agree that while some of these photos (I've seen others on tv) are quite beautiful, I'm sure that a talented photographer could take plenty of equally lovely photos with thrashing the dress. Ridiculous!

Jesse said...

I love the effect that these photographs have, but I think the idea of this being the ultimate commitment to your husband is silly, as I can't imagine that anyone would wear the same dress to their second wedding. It seems wedding photography has gone the way of the wedding industry-everything has to be a fantasy, bigger, better, more! My mother made my dress, it probably cost $100 in total, and my favorite pic from the wedding is a simple image of my husband and I smiling together-no special effects, just our happiness. To each his own, I suppose.

victorianrose said...

I spent some time trying to find the perfect dress and love the way it is. I think it's distasteful to drag it in the mud, who would want to ruin such a beautiful dress?! If you don't want it than try taking it to a second hand clothing store and trade it in or sell it on ebay. We have a retail shop here in town called "My Sister's Closet". Yes you guessed it. It was started by two sisters. Twice a year I model wedding gowns for
the local bridal fairs. Even though I am married and cannot fit into my dress I still have so much fun prancing around like I was a part of a fairy tale wedding.

Bristol said...

My cousin, just got married and September. We were looking at her photos on line. She had a trash the dress section. It fit her personality. She has great pics around Chicago, trashing her dress. After 11 years of marriage mine is still sitting in my closet at my parents house:) Enjoyed your site.
Bristol