A woman in Quebec died recently due to a mishap involving her wedding photos. While taking pictures in a river, her wedding dress got water-logged and dragged her in, drowning her. This particular photo shoot was said to be part of a trend called "trash the dress," where brides, after the wedding is done, do a photo shoot in their wedding dress in places where wedding dresses might not be appropriate.
I can see the appeal of this, and in some cases can even support such an endeavor. Wedding photos have come a long way from people just standing around in a line with their wedding party, happy couples and photographers are constantly trying to outdo each other in coming up with unique and creative ways to capture a wedding. While there are undoubtedly dull people out there who think some standard wedding pictures are fine and these dress-wrecking adventure photos are wasteful, I can't say I agree. It's kind of interesting, and at least you get something a bit extra out of that normally one-use garment.
I say that, of course, but this incident is a reminder that a good idea means nothing if it's not handled properly. In this case, it's a wedding dress in a river, and wedding dresses weren't designed to go in rivers. This is an already heavy garment, and now it's being made heavier with the addition of water, which as a rule is not a good combination when you're in a river with any sort of current. That's what lead to the woman's death, and which is a reminder that fun ideas aren't always safe.
This incident illustrates that a fun idea is not always a safe idea, and unfortunately that is something that is necessary on occasion. Everyone has done something very stupid because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Most survive and have an anecdote to share afterwards, some don't, but the general theme is that you're not thinking of the risks beforehand. This is either something done on impulse or something like this photo shoot, which was planned in advance. The magic of the idea is something that overrides all other thought until something goes wrong and you suddenly remember all that stuff you should have been considering before.
It's a difficult thing to consider, since some ideas that are risky can turn into fantastic overall experiences, and others which seem safe can end with damage, injury and even death. It's also often the one thing that you didn't consider is the one thing that proves to be the undoing of the entire operation. I'm sure that a wet dress wasn't the first thing on the minds of anyone at this shoot, because the behavior of fabric in water is rarely at the forefront of your thinking when you're trying to do something different and creative.
I do hope that this one incident doesn't prompt an end to creative wedding photos, though rivers should naturally be off limits. I just hope that people take a step back, consider what they're doing, and whether or not the magical idea is actually one that works. A small reality check is all that's required, a moment where we think a little more about what we're doing and the potential dangers in that situation. I'm sure it won't be the last fun idea to go awry, but it's a reminder that we must always remember that not all things that seem like good ideas actually are.
