Alicia's "Trash the Dress" Session

Last weekend I was thrilled to photograph Alicia trashing her wedding dress - except it's not her real dress, and she's not married yet. She contacted me to do some pre-wedding Trash the Dress bridals with a wedding dress she got on ebay! I love it!



We went out to Sugarloaf Ridge Park off Highway 12 near Kenwood and Sonoma. I had never been before, so it was a fun exploration together. We were lucky enough to have a gorgeous, sunny crisp winter day, and we hiked down a dark, leafy trail to a small creek and waterfall. Alicia was amazingly game for all kinds of odd poses, including laying in a bit of mud, traversing a fallen tree, letting her dress drag in the waterfall, and even doing a backbend!

This shot was taken with a Vintage, 1920s 4x5" camera that I have, on Type 55 Polaroid film - so cool! This was one of the first shots I tried and that's when I knew we were in for a wonderful portrait session.



I mean, seriously, look at this gorgeous woman!



Although we obviously want to trash the dress (hence the name), when I do one of these shoots, that's not so much the goal - it's just that we went to collaborate on getting gorgeous bridal portraits without worrying about making her uncomfortable, dirty, or tearing the gown. I am still really careful to make sure the subject is comfortable, warm enough, having fun... but it's just amazing when I have a bride who's willing to do things like balance sideways on a stone wall in the winter.



Another 4x5 Polaroid shot that I adore:



One of my favorite images:



My kooky idea - since I couldn't make her cartwheel down a steep, slippery hiking path, why not try a backbend?



Alicia has absolutely gorgeous skin:



And loved lying in the mud! Anything for the shot! :)









Some of these remind me of the Cure song "A Forest":





Some of the aftermath (it got even dirtier after our steep hike back up):



Alicia, you made a fabulously gorgeous model for this shoot, and was so much fun to get to know and work with. Thank you so much!

PS Alicia wrote me:
"Wow you are quick! I triple puffy heart these :-) These are so cool, exactly the style I was looking for! They look way better than I thought they ever could...you are amazing!!! Thank you so much! I can't wait to see the rest but these are so great!!!! Thank you, thank you!! The waterfall ones are my favorites :-) (although the back bend is pretty funny :-)"

Edited: Slideshow has been removed, 10/16/2008.