trashed.

we met up with our wedding photographer a few days ago to do some additional pictures and to do my "trash the dress" shoot - in all honesty, trashing my dress is something i've gone back and forth on, and have had many reservations about (most of the reservations revolved around my mother murdering me for destroying my wedding gown) but i'm super glad that i went through with it (and mom actually seems okay with it as well!) - this was, hands down, the most fun i've ever had getting my picture taken, and i only wish that every bride i know had the ability to give herself (and her groom) the opportunity to just let loose like this - my wedding day was so hectic and stressful that i don't even think that if i'd HAD the time or opportunity to shoot something like these that i'd been in the right frame of mind - if you're getting married soon, i urge you to do this after your wedding - once the stress is gone and you can really just let it all go. i love ALL the pictures that were taken on my wedding day, but these just make my heart want to explode. in a good way, of course.

....it also helps to have an incredible photographer, so if you're in the market for one of those, you HAVE to call Kevin Barre. i can't emphasize his badassedness (he's so bad ass, that i just created the word badassedness for him) enough. not only is HE awesome, but now he's got Heidi who helps to style the shoots, and she is A-MA-ZING! we shot these on tuesday, and he's a busy guy, so i didn't expect to see any of them for a while, so when i woke up thursday morning to find them on facebook, it felt like christmas....picture if you will me, lying in bed next to my sleeping husband, checking facebook and trying to muffle my squeals every time i clicked on a picture of us. that totally happened, y'all.

Kevin posted 36 images from that day on facebook - i'm gonna post just a few here, and if you want to see them all, you can see them HERE at his blog.....


DISCLAIMER: before any of you who just saw me with shoulder length hair asks...NO, the hair you are about to see is not really all MY hair - the role of "really awesome hair" in the following images was played by euronext clip-in human hair extensions. Mrs. Melinda Wilson at Hair Happenings (who also did my hair on our wedding day) worked some magic and did an incredible job getting these things in my hair and making it look beyond fabulous! I highly recommend them AND her!!!!

okay, you can look at them now....

these two are some of my favorites of us EVER....these were taken on the staircase inside my grandparents' house - i feel like if my grandmother were alive, these are the ones she'd have blown up to gargantuan proportions, all picturesaurus rex, and hung up in the most frequented room in her house. no, actually, she'd build them their OWN room. that would be SO mary jo.

taken in front of my grandparents' house - so cute, it makes puppies seem ugly

taken in the gazebo - the place that i was originally supposed to get married - i think this is SO fun!

our wedding shoes. this picture makes me smile

love, love, love this, and it seems to be a favorite amongst friends as well - i've gotten a lot of comments on this one in particular

they told us they wanted us to run across the field. i remember thinking "run? i don't do that..." - but i was willing to do anything they asked of me - it looks like i'm running, but really, gene is just pulling me, and i'm praying i don't fall. regardless, i love this picture, and love them for coming up with the idea!

this is how i "trashed" my dress - in my parents' pond in front of their house - the water was FREEZING, and there were catfish popping up all over the place - i expected the water to be chilly, but it was seriously take-the-breath-out-of-you cold - once we got a little acclimated, it got easier, and honestly, it was SO much fun. never EVER thought i'd be in pond water rolling around in mud in a wedding gown, but now i can't imagine NOT doing it.

we had SO much fun, and, for the record, my dress is clean, alive (as alive as a dress can be, anyway) and well at my parents' house - mom took a chance (what more could have possibly happened to it, right?), tossed in the washer on the gentle cycle, and to everyones surprise it came out looking like new (if anyone from Woolite is reading this, i'll totally do a commercial for a small fee, and maybe a large supply of your product).....i guess you can take the dress out of the wedding, but you can't take the wedding out of the dress.....


much love and thanks to our incredible photographer, Kevin Barre (and to Heidi!) for these incredible pictures, and for such a FUN day! (and for making our "what pictures should we order" decisions MUCH harder! ha!)