11.18.11 (my wedding day!) was one of the best days of my life and I will cherish the photos of my husband and I and our closest friends and family members for the rest of my life, but I never really loved my dress until I completely obliterated it ‘trash the dress’ style. That’s right, put it on 7 years after the big day (it still fit, yay!) and jumped into a swimming pool while a small crowd gasped. This is nothing new, trash the dress shoots have been going around Pinterest and YouTube for a while and I’ve always found them incredibly romantic when the couple does it together and in this case, surprisingly practical in an ‘I’m never going to wear this again so I might as well make a fun memory’ sort of way.
Then one day, my dear friend Rachael and I decided to make those memories and trash the dress! Our daughters are have known each other since preschool and it’s always fun to get them together, but this playdate goes down in the books because it’s truly unforgettable and I’m so happy she captured these photos so I can remember my dress forever. Growing up swimming, I feel pretty comfortable in the water, but it was tres difficult to swim around in a long and heavy gown. It must have weighed 40 lbs dripping wet and kept getting caught on my legs so I would have to swim with just my arms. I’d have to go back underwater and untangle myself before I ran out of breath, but try to look at peace ‘the struggle is real’ wasn’t the vibe I wanted for this. The struggle was real though!
By the time we shot these, we had been in the pool for about 2 hours. I wrote about my underwater makeup hacks in case you’re looking for tips. I have to admit, by this point, the foundation was mostly gone, but the lipstick and eyeliner were not giving up on me. Natural skin is more in line with my wedding day look anyway, so I am not bothered! Rachael did such a good job capturing the moments where I didn’t look like a drowning rat. I am so thrilled she took these and will cherish them forever because they remind me of our wedding and our vows. My dress is now at Santa Monica Goodwill and I secretly hope to see it as part of a ‘dead bride’ costume next year at Halloween.
Bethann Wagner: Underwater trash-the-dress photo shoot. Photos by Rachael Thompson
