TTD stands for Trash The Dress!!!

As a way to become friends with other photographers, build a tight knit networking community and also advance my own business and technical skills, I am part of an online forum of photographers around the world.

Last week there was a conference/seminar being held in Atlantic City, NJ. On Tuesday night, 11 brides and around 50 photographers gathered for a new trend called "Trash The Dress"

Some people are now thinking..."you do what to the dress!?"
The idea behind this type of shoot: To go out, after the wedding, and take some really cool looking images with out worrying if the dress will get a little dirty or not. Some photographers/brides take it to even more extremes by submerging themselves into water, mud, climbing up trees and all sorts. Also, you would be surprised what actually does wash out!
TTD may not be for eveyone. But for those that who want to get some very unique images, and don't want to just leave the dress in a box in the back of a closet, Thats who these are for.

The group I was placed with was working with Jessica, who's wedding was earlier this year. She was great to work with and super energetic through the whole shoot.

Jessica and us decided to end the session early after we got kicked out of the restuarant! So I met up with a few other photographers whom I've come to know, Mark G. and Stacie (I 2nd shot with her a few months back in a wedding at the Philadelphia Zoo!)
Their model was also great to work with and very accepting of another camera being pointed at her.

For those interested you can check out the official TTD site at Trashthedress.com.
...why trash the dress: (from the TTD site)

"Go ahead, you know you want to. Trash it. Get it dirty. Get it wet. Roll around in the mud. Drench it in the ocean. Totally trash it.

Why? … Why not? You’ve made a commitment to your husband. He’s your one and only true love, right? Then you’ll never need the dress again. And no, your daughter won’t wear it in 20-30 years. So you have two choices:

1) Suffocate it in plastic and throw it in a closet
2) Show your husband how committed you are by trashing the dress, and get some great fun pictures while you do it"<

Melissa and Justin 7-7-07

This past weekend an estimated 65,000 weddings were scheduled to be taking place across the country. (20,000 on the east coast alone!).
I had the chance to photograph Melissa and Justin, who had planned everything for the lucky day.

Their wedding was near their house in the Poconos. The weather was great, the couple looked wonderful and everyone had a great time.

While we were doing the portraits, we made stops at 3 different parks, and each time allowed us for some different types of pictures.
Here a few from the past weekend...Enjoy!

Thanks you two, and congratulations again!

Vera and Dan - Wedding

Not much time to write now... but here are some pictures from Vera and Dan's wedding this past weekend.

Ronell and Tony - Wedding

Ronell and Tony's came up last minute and I was more then happy to step in and help them out. Tony is also a photographer, and it is always nice to have one of your peers ask you to capture their special day. This day was a little different, however...there was a total of 23 people in the wedding party. Yes 23! Everyone was very nice and welcoming, and we all had a great time.

After the ceremony, we headed to the azalea gardens near the art museum. We missed the rain shower by literally seconds. But regardless of the rain we got some really good pictures.

Here are a few from that day.

Thanks again you two!

Steph and Lee - Wedding

Last weekend (5-12-07) was Steph and Lee's wedding. The day was hot, lots of people everywhere, and the bride and groom looked great! About a month ago, We had the chance to go into Philly for their engagement shoot. They both told me that they aren't photo people...but I don't believe it. We had a great time and they "loved" their pictures. Click here to see some from their engagement shoot.

The day of the wedding wasn't much different. Very relaxed in front of the camera.
Here are a few from the day

You two were great!..Thanks!