The idea of doing a trash the dress was never in the plans for this shoot, but walking through the Saratoga Spa State Park the night before our winter shoot I could not help but worry that if the forecasted snow does not arrive, or is late, that the entire purpose of our shoot is lost, we have nothing to shoot! It was then, standing in 3 inches of mud that the idea of a trash the dress in the mud occurred to me. I called up Jessica from Angela’s Bridal and asked the odd question, “do you have any dresses that might fit Sarah (our model) that you would be ok with never seeing again?” Her reply showed me that I had chosen the right bridal shop for this project… “HECK YES!”
Jessica and Janet (Angela’s Bridal) were fantastic, they found a dress that had been discontinued and that would be able to fit Sarah (with a few modifications). I was hoping that it would snow and that we would not have the need for the dress, but Jessica brought it to the shoot just in case.
On the day of the shoot our forecasted snow was nowhere to be seen. After Sarah got her hair and make-up done at Make Me Fabulous we made our way to the Hall of Springs and started our shoot in the Portico. After we finished up under the columns there was still not enough snow to shoot the winter scene I had in mind. At this point I went to Sarah and Jessica (from Make Me Fabulous) and told them of my idea of doing a trash the dress sequence. Sarah was all for it, so we loaded up the cars and made our way to the far side of the Spa State Park.
I live not far from the Spa State Park and during the winter I cross country ski on a path that goes right by this amazing house on the edge of the Saratoga Tree Farm property. I have shot there before and knew it would be the ideal location for my trash the dress shoot. Sarah, Jess, Jessica and the Bigler team trekked the 3/4 miles to our dilapidated, haunted house and started our shoot!
To be honest it was hard for me to ask Sarah to jump in the mud. For seven years I have shot weddings, doing everything I can to keep my brides as far from the mud as possible, now I am asking this beautiful girl to not just get dirty but strait-up play in the mud! As the pictures attest, Sarah did a fantastic job. – Dave Bigler
WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO
Thank you so very much to the following vendors for helping out with Bigler Productions’ Winter Bridal Spotlight shoot.
Angela’s Bridal – Providing three amazing gowns, one of which will never be worn again! Jessica also joined us throughout the shoot process to assist our model and ensure her dresses looked great (and that I didn’t trash the wrong dress)!
Make Me Fabulous – Hair and make-up the morning of the shoot as well as on site touchups throughout the day. Few companies could take a model from a trash the dress sequence in the mud and in less then an hour have her cleaned up ready for an evening shoot in the snow!
Mazzone Hospitality – Coordinating the Hall of Springs for us to use for our shoot and as a home base for hair, make-up and gown changes.
Renaissance Floral Design – For providing us with a lovely bridal bouquet to use throughout our shoot.