Anyone ever heard of a "Trash the Wedding Dress Party"

[myfatherslily]

When I saw this thread, I thought for sure it was about trashing dresses after divorce, and I thought, "Hey, that sounds like fun!!"

 

*sigh* I'm disappointed. ;)

[caroljenn]

Haha! I thought this was a "burn the dress because I'm getting divorced" type of thing!

 

Wow- why would you do this to a perfectly good dress? If you don't want it, give it to someone in need instead of destroying it.

 

Wasteful. So many people can't afford nice things- donate it to Goodwill, for Goodness' sake!

[I.Dup.]

I think it's a really cool thing to do! I wish we had put more effort/money into our photos when we got married. I would have totally done this at the time. It's just been sitting in my closet for 11 years now, and I don't want my dd to wear this dress (we mainly got it because it fit me and was flattering- I was 5 months pregnant). It also wasn't terribly expensive, just a couple hundred dollars. Maybe if we spent thousands on it I would feel differently but I think well-done trash the dress photos are really cool. :001_smile:

[TravelingChris]

It is an incredible waste. I can't see doing this. I donated my wedding dress after keeping it a number of years.

[staceyobu]

I just don't get the wasteful comments. Weddings are wasteful in their essence. Money spent for flowers that die... for bridesmaids dresses people never wear again... for photos that will get shelved away.

 

I think people living in a house over 2000 square feet is a waste of money and resources.

 

I think driving a large SUV if you have less than 6 people in your family is a waste.

 

I think going out to eat is a waste.

 

Taking vacations is a waste.

 

Buying expensive curriculum or books you could check out from the library is a waste.

 

My dress was $300. I would have loved to get some awesome trash the dress photos if such had existed at the time of my wedding. In the grand scheme of how much money the average American wastes, trashing a $300 wedding dress is nothing.

 

(Which I actually sorta have a trash the dress photo... we went ice skating in our wedding clothes! It's my favorite picture ever! I would have loved to do it with a "real" photographer!)

[AdventureMoms]

I just don't get the wasteful comments. Weddings are wasteful in their essence. Money spent for flowers that die... for bridesmaids dresses people never wear again... for photos that will get shelved away.

 

I think people living in a house over 2000 square feet is a waste of money and resources.

 

I think driving a large SUV if you have less than 6 people in your family is a waste.

 

I think going out to eat is a waste.

 

Taking vacations is a waste.

 

Buying expensive curriculum or books you could check out from the library is a waste.

 

My dress was $300. I would have loved to get some awesome trash the dress photos if such had existed at the time of my wedding. In the grand scheme of how much money the average American wastes, trashing a $300 wedding dress is nothing.

 

(Which I actually sorta have a trash the dress photo... we went ice skating in our wedding clothes! It's my favorite picture ever! I would have loved to do it with a "real" photographer!)

 

:iagree: I don't get how taking pictures that mess up your dress are any more wasteful than anything else wedding related. I particularly don't see how it is more wasteful than wasting a bunch of cleaners to clean the dress up and storage materials to pack it then space to store it for decades, only to pull it out to show your grandchildren (who likely won't want to wear it).

 

Donating it may get it another use, but probably as a halloween costume. I don't see how that is so incredibly more valuable than using it to get cool pics.

 

And yes, it's tragic that people have died taking those photos. Shall we count up the number of people who have died on their honeymoons? Is that less tragic because they're wearing regular clothes?

[learningmama]

Strange. I just looked this up on the internet. I understand wanting the unique pictures and don't care what they do with the dress, but seeing a nice white dress (no matter what the cost) destroyed is rough for me. I think it appeals to a new youthful generation that has no respect for marriage/money/traditions. I read it did start with a Las Vegas photographer so go figure.

[AdventureMoms]

Strange. I just looked this up on the internet. I understand wanting the unique pictures and don't care what they do with the dress, but seeing a nice white dress (no matter what the cost) destroyed is rough for me. I think it appeals to a new youthful generation that has no respect for marriage/money/traditions. I read it did start with a Las Vegas photographer so go figure.

 

Wow. So destroying a dress shows a lack of respect for marriage, money, and traditions? Hyperbole much?

[the4Rs]

Marriage should be about more than a dress.

 

Who cares what people do with their dress. Now if someone bought the dress for the bride the least she could do would be to ask permission first.

 

But we spent 4 years in the "wealthy" wedding venue as professional videographers. We filmed some extravagent weddings. I have found that the trend has moved to lavish wasteful weddings period... people spend so much on weddings it is making families go broke in the process.

 

But honestly, is it not their money to spend? They are paying a photographer with their own money to trash a dress they paid for with their own money. What does it matter to you what someone does with a dress. It is an article of clothing. It is not like they are taking their wedding bands and lighting them on fire or taking the marriage certificate and burying it in mud.

 

Marriage is about commitment, whether you are in an expensive couture dress you've preserved for 3 generations beyond you or in a sun dress you got on clearance at Target that goes to Goodwill immediately, or anything in between. Trashing the dress is an opportunity to let loose and have some fun without any worry about the dress. Who cares.

[LucyStoner]

Strange. I just looked this up on the internet. I understand wanting the unique pictures and don't care what they do with the dress, but seeing a nice white dress (no matter what the cost) destroyed is rough for me. I think it appeals to a new youthful generation that has no respect for marriage/money/traditions. I read it did start with a Las Vegas photographer so go figure.

 

I did not do a trash the dress photo shoot but I cared very little about my wedding dress. I bought it off the rack at the last minute (my husband had a huge employee discount at a department store with a bridal dress shop in it.). My dress and what I did or didn't do to it are irrelevant to my commitment to my marriage. Anyone whose respect for marriage is tied to a piece of white fabric is beyond my comprehension. I think you are overstating the implications of this more than a touch.

[skeeterbug]

Am I the only one who rented their wedding dress? I was able to wear a much nicer dress than we could have otherwise afforded. I didn't see the point of wearing it once and then storing it for decades. The bridal shop even ordered in the specific gown I wanted.

 

I'm in the camp that this has a bad name to it, the term trash the dress seems disrespectful to me, but it is just a name and now that I know more about it that doesn't bother me. It does seem wasteful to me, just like so, so, so many other things in our modern, civilised society.

 

Can you imagine doing this to a Vera Wang? Or to one you slaved over making by hand? Ack!

[PeacefulChaos]

My parents recently went on a cruise where they watched a bride & groom taking pictures on the beach. The wedding dress' train was messed up by the sand/water. I guess in the discussion of this, someone on the cruise mentioned it was okay, because now the big thing is to have a "trash the wedding dress party" a few days after the wedding. My parents were aghast at the thought.

 

Anybody ever heard of something like this? My guess is that if there is such a trend, the Hive will know about it.

 

Thanks

 

I've never heard of such a thing! :confused: The thought of it actually makes me kind of sad. :(

Kinda doesn't sound like a good idea, but whatever floats their boat I guess. I wouldn't do it (and, TBH, I wouldn't want Pink to, either).

 

ETA: Just saw that a) this thread has been resurrected. Oops. And b) that 'trashing the dress' doesn't necessarily entail actually trashing the dress. I'm not a huge fan of most of the pictures I saw, but that's just a taste thing, I think. I don't have a problem with the idea of 'action shots' in the dress, like someone mentioned earlier, because most likely the stains and whatever will come out.

I'm not sure how I feel about it regarding it being a huge waste, etc. I'm kind of meh about it. My dress is cleaned and in a box at my grandparent's house. But I don't really have any desire to get rid of it yet. It's still pretty, to me. I still have my veil and stuff, too.

I actually was just thinking, I'd kind of like to do one of those photo shoots with Pink, with her and my dress... beyond that, I'll probably still keep it, and if I change my mind someday, I do.

So I guess it just depends on the person. I didn't realize, though, that it had become the norm for the bride to buy her own dress? My grandparents bought mine, and that goes for everyone I know - the bride's parents pay for most of the wedding.

Edited November 6, 2012 by PeacefulChaos

[AdventureMoms]

I've never heard of such a thing! :confused: The thought of it actually makes me kind of sad. :(

Kinda doesn't sound like a good idea, but whatever floats their boat I guess. I wouldn't do it (and, TBH, I wouldn't want Pink to, either).

 

ETA: Just saw that a) this thread has been resurrected. Oops. And b) that 'trashing the dress' doesn't necessarily entail actually trashing the dress. I'm not a huge fan of most of the pictures I saw, but that's just a taste thing, I think. I don't have a problem with the idea of 'action shots' in the dress, like someone mentioned earlier, because most likely the stains and whatever will come out.

I'm not sure how I feel about it regarding it being a huge waste, etc. I'm kind of meh about it. My dress is cleaned and in a box at my grandparent's house. But I don't really have any desire to get rid of it yet. It's still pretty, to me. I still have my veil and stuff, too.

I actually was just thinking, I'd kind of like to do one of those photo shoots with Pink, with her and my dress... beyond that, I'll probably still keep it, and if I change my mind someday, I do.

So I guess it just depends on the person. I didn't realize, though, that it had become the norm for the bride to buy her own dress? My grandparents bought mine, and that goes for everyone I know - the bride's parents pay for most of the wedding.

 

The "tradition" is for the bride's family to pay, but it is becoming much more common for the couple to pay for many (often all) expenses themselves. Part of this is just logistics - couples often don't get married until later when they have established careers, and parents are often retired by then.