For wedding photos to remember, trash the dress

By Pauline Askin

SYDNEY, July 24 (Reuters Life!) - The perfect dress a perfect wedding makes but an Australian photographer is advising brides to destroy their prized gowns for nuptial pictures to remember.

Seeking to stand out from the hundreds of studios vying for a slice of the lucrative wedding business, Sydney-based Adam Cavanagh snaps stylish, fashion-magazine-like shots of brides in dresses that have been soaked, splattered with paint or muddied.

While several studios in the United States and other parts of the world offer "trash-the-dress" photographs, Cavanagh says the popularity of the service is just gaining ground in Australia.

"In the U.S., there's a photo of a bride on fire, well not really on fire, but it looked a bit Joan of Arc, it was the shock value," Cavanagh told Reuters.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 100,000 marriages take place each year.

Cavanagh said he wanted to give Australian brides an opportunity to be creative and daring in what many couples consider to be the most lasting, and often expensive, memento of their wedding.

Packages, ranging in price from A$2,950 to A$5,500 (around $2,800 to $5,300), include pictures shot in scenic locations such as waterfalls, windswept beaches at sunset, building facades and wooden boardwalks.

But to ensure brides look beautiful on the big day, with their dress intact, the "trashing" photographs are taken after the couple have returned from their honeymoon.