A few brave couples choose to undertake a "trash the dress" session during which they are photographed, after the wedding, with the bride in her wedding gown and the groom perhaps in casual attire, but more in the style of a fashion shoot. Although the name suggests that the wedding gown is ruined in the process, this is not normally the case. It may be just the casual style of the session which distinguishes it from other wedding photographs. However the most daring brides may opt to throw caution to the wind and run into the sea or roll around on the sand with her new husband. Others will stand under a waterfall, jump off walls or small cliffs etc etc.

With an appropriate couple, this type of session can be very rewarding and productive. However, it is also vital to have an interesting location. Many photographers use a beach or river bank and aim to persuade the couple in to the water at some stage. In warm conditions the bride and groom can be photographed walking or running along the sand or in the shallow water. They can also sit at the water's edge and let the waves wash around them, or lie on the sand in a romantic embrace as the waves engulf them.

Where no beach is available, the session will inevitably have a quite different feeling dictated to a large extent by the environment. Some couples are photographed amid derelict buildings or wading in to rivers or lakes. Such sessions are limited only by the imaginations of the subjects and the photographer. The dress may, or may not, end up ruined! But what would it have been used for otherwise? Sold on Ebay? - possibly. Kept hanging in a wardrobe for 25 years? - depressing! Converted in to an evening dress? - never really satisfactory! Passed on to a future daughter? - you must be joking! So why not?