A week ago, my sweet friend and photography mentor, Liza, came out all the way from Buffalo, NY to visit.?? What a treat that was for me!?? Not only to spend time with my friend who I love, but also to talk shop for four days and get to play together.?? I have learned so much from Liza over the last year and a half and am so grateful for her.?? SO grateful!?? She brought her darling little girls, Charlotte and Grace and they were so sweet and fun.

I wanted to do a fun shoot while she was here so we decided to do a Trash the Dress session with Brooke.?? Brooke had talked to me when she was early in her pregnancy with Cozy about doing this shoot but since I knew Brooke wanted to stand on her horse, we decided to wait until after baby was born.

I am a big fan of Trash the Dress sessions and hope to do more in the future.???? There is something about that denim and diamonds flavor that just captures me.?? The pictures speak “celebration of womanhood” to me. ?? I love that my sisters are confident and comfortable being ultra feminine and then all boots and dirty jeans too.?? They dress to the nines when the situation calls for it, but you can find these gals on the backside of the mountain with their husbands bow hunting too.?? Brooke is a rancher and loves to be outside more than inside.?????? She gardens, feeds livestock, cleans out duck ponds (I still can’t get over that), and even sells her eggs to a local farmer’s market.

Why the wedding dress??? Because it’s big, beautiful, white, and a contrast to the outdoor elements we had her in.???? A friend of ours donated the dress for our outdoor fun.?? Prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses work well to.?? I have only post processed a few of them but am anxious for Brooke to see at least a little sneak peek.?????? Without further ado…

Liza was my second shooter.?? She was shooting with a longer lens which gave a completely different perspective.?? She gave me the raw files so that I could process the pictures consistently as one batch.?? The following picture was shot by Liza.?? See the way the mountain outlines Brooke instead of the clouds?

More will be coming (but it may take a bit…)

I must admit that I was a bit nervous for Brooke to STAND on her horse in a large bridal gown but she assured me that she had two backup plans for mishaps.?? She had to use both.?? Hee hee.?? They both worked like a charm – just like she said.?? What do I know??? 🙂

P.S.?? You will be happy to know that Brooke and Daniel have been married for 12 years – happily married.?? In no way is this trash the dress a visual comment on marriage.?? Their lives give testimony to that.?? If you ask me, a wedding gown is not the sacred cow.?? Clearly Brooke agrees.?? 😉