Melissa - Trash the Dress...kind of...

While you don't really trash the dress on a "trash the dress" photo shoot, you do act a little bit more careless with it.  In October, Ashley and I photographed Melissa and Andre's wedding.  Shortly after she contacted us and wanted to setup a trash the dress shoot(TTD).  Ashley and I love TTD shoots because they allows us a unique creative opportunity.  They aren't senior photos, they aren't engagement shoots, and the aren't family photos.  They are more like magazine/model shoots. 

For Melissa's shoot she was pretty open to where we went and what we did.  She just required her favorite cowgirl boots.  We headed to downtown Ames and walked through the alley's, a construction site, and across the train tracks.  We also headed to a near by park that provided some great backdrops for photos.  Ashley and I ran off a 1,000 shots between the two of us.  We easily could have taken more, but at some point you just have to stop.  Below are a few of our favorites and all the photos can be seen here.

 

 

Andrea and Tommy

On Sunday Ashley and I got an amazing opportunity.  Andrea and Tommy, whom Ashley and I have known for a long time, like elementary school and before, wanted to do a day after/Trash the Dress shoot.  Trash the Dress shoots are not as bad as they sound.  The idea is that on the day of your wedding you want to get some formal photos and some fun ones as well, but don't take any risks with the dress or tux.  By doing a TTD shoot you get the opportunity to take some shots in locations you normally wouldn't.  It is a great opportunity for us to get pretty creative and take some fun photos.  Andrea and Tommy were married just over a year ago at the Rose Garden in Des Moines.  We started out there.  Sunday at the Rose Garden in the fall....tons of family photos sessions.  We weaved through the mounds of people and found some great locations.  The sun was shining, but under the shade of the trees the sun lit the leaves with a golden glow every where we looked.  Taking good photos here was EASY.  Andrea and Tommy were great the entire time.  After leaving the Rose Garden we headed over to an empty and abandoned building on the south side of downtown.  It is a location we've shot at once before.  Lastly, we stopped at a barn that Ashley and I have always wanted to photograph at.  We'd seen it many times as we drove out to Saylorville Lake, but it is on private property.  Ashley ran up to the house to get permission and it was granted.  We had a great time.  Below are a few of our favorites.