Last week, I got carried away by all the pretty new wedding dresses. To temper my enthusiasm this week, I’ve found a couple of Trash-the-Dress posts…I’m not sure when this started, but it makes me think of old John Cougar Mellenkamp videos. The concept is the brides (or brides and grooms) put on their wedding duds and pose for a wedding photographer, just like the day of the ceremony, except this time it’s okay to get the dress muddy/wet/torn/whatever. Like I said, old rock videos begin playing from the depths of my brain.

Nov 9: In Trashing the Dress is really just an excuse to wear your dress again,  HONEY BEE WEDDINGS posts a link to a slideshow of some beautiful shots of couples having fun…now that the need has passed to keep their white dresses white.

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Feb 2, 2009: There are older posts about the Trash the Dress “vice” by photographers themselves. Here is a great article from CAPTURE THE LOVE’s Michael Soo looking at the practice through the lens of the photographer…including a cute, must-see, behind-the-scenes video.

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Oct 6, 2009: Sean and Mel of MCLELLANBLOG.COM had an image featured on television in Trash the Dress (and one of our images!) on the Today Show.

Actually, I have mixed feelings about this. The photos of happy couples in lakes, muddy barnyards and the Desert Southwest are beautiful and share their sense of humor. But some of the photos start to look like crime scene photos from CSI, and I just can’t shake that creepy feeling. Searching key phrase “Trash the Dress” on OmniBride.com, I see lots of bridal bloggers have opinions about this too. What do you think?

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Surprise…from CONTESTS + GIVEAWAYS

Nov 9: Of course, with popularity of a trend comes the contest offering brides the service: ROCKNROLLBRIDE announced a contest in  Win * Free Trash the Dress with Erica Berger!. The entries have to be received by Nov. 22. Here is an example of a Berger Trash-the-Dress shot:

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Nov 11: Newlyweds Chandra and Derrick featured in WEDDING NOUVEAU.COM decided to get married on the lawn of her grandparents’ Texas estate. The beautiful surroundings, the groom’s suit color, and the use of the tree swings (Clever!) helped create a relaxing feeling for their very romantic wedding ceremony.

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Nov 9: INTIMATEWEDDINGS.COM reposted a project developed by Emmy at The Natural Beauty Workshop for Handmade Recipe Books as Wedding Favors.  A creative DIY-type bridesmaid probably could use the same techniques to build a shower or reception photo album for the bride. Any takers?

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Nov 8: AUSTIN WEDDING BLOG offers a tutorial for the cake-cutting ceremony. Now, if any skill in life has come naturally for me, it’s been cake cutting. This shows how to cut popular shapes of wedding cakes, and also explains a few basic rules of cake ceremony etiquette that may not be so basic.

The one part of getting married we all hate: the Paperwork!

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SOONTOBEKOO walks us through the excruciating multi-step process to change to her married name on her social security card, driver’s license and other forms. Though some of her information applies only to Changing Names in Chiiicago, I think the Illinois checklist she links to has useful information for any bride, anywhere.

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And now, a word from the groom’s point-of-view, or at least some posts that might interest the groom…

GROOMSADVICE.COM posts some hilarious and frighteningly true news about ceremonies gone wrong, or those that were never right to begin with. They also post a very good Pros & Cons of Wedding Bands vs DJs at the reception.