Chelsea | Trash the Dress

I've discovered that my favourite type of photo session is a Trash the Dress or, as some like to call it, "Rock the Dress" session. Imagine spending several uninterrupted hours in your amazing wedding gown, experimenting and going nuts with all kinds of wild ideas you'd never risk on your wedding day--either because of time constraints or the possibility of getting your dress dirty before the reception. (Which I'll just tell you, wedding dresses getting dirty before the reception is just an unfortunate fact of life anyway.) Take away all of the time pressures and other stresses that come with your wedding day, and just have FUN in that magical dress that made you feel like a princess. Or take your look to a whole different level--try going from "fairy tale princess" to "jungle queen" or some other powerful image that gives you an entirely different look! ("Jungle Queen" might be a little much, but hey--it's fun! ;)

This is the first Trash the Dress session I've been able to post more than a sneak peek of, and I'm SO excited to share these... some of my favourites ever! (And no, not JUST because Chelsea's one of my favourite people in the world. ;) She and CJ were married just over a year ago, and we did her TTD session almost a year to the day after their wedding. We revisited one of their photo locations from the wedding day, then tried some other spots for variety. Chelsea was completely fearless, climbing enormously high trees that were already on high sloped hills, and totally up for whatever I wanted to try! I have to say, I don't think I would have been quite that brave... and can I also comment (for those of you who are skeptical of this type of session or afraid of completely ruining your gown) that her dress came out sparkly clean after one wash?? Awesome!

A HUGE thanks to Chelsea (for SO many things!!) and her mom and uncle for all of their help that day! This would not have been possible without all of you!