Jeff Cooke Photography » Rock The Dress

The Following Day …

Jeff Cooke — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:47:04 +0000

Alyssa and Chris travelled from Calgary for their wedding set on a perfect day at Chris’s home along the shores of the beautiful St. Margarets Bay in Nova Scotia. We had a blast, and I’m excited to share a few of the images from their special day, but this post isn’t specifically about their actual wedding day. A few months ago, Alyssa mentioned that she’d like to get a few creative photos taken within the city, and since we were unable to make into Halifax on their wedding day, we met up following day for a sort of trash the dress / rock the dress creative session. And besides, a wedding day shouldn’t be the only time a bride gets to wear her dress…right? Here are a few of my favourites from our session set in the beautiful city of Halifax … more to come.

And I have to give credit to Jenn … she’s worked with me enough to know how my brain works and came up with an idea that totally rocked. The result was this next shot (Jenn was the one who actually pushed the button). It’s another example of why I love having her on board …

Trash the Dress + Boudoir

Jeff Cooke — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:02:54 +0000

Annica wanted to do something fun and creative with the dress she wore to her wedding in 2006. She researched Trash the Dress photography and fell in love with the idea of creating artistic, fashion-inspired images of a bride in her gown. She had also just lost an astounding 65 pounds and felt it was the perfect time to celebrate this major accomplishment. While reading about TTD sessions, Annica came across my site and after a few emails, traveled from Boston to Halifax for our trash the dress session. Of course we spent a lot of time planning and brainstorming before the shoot – beaches, swamps, barns had all been done, and we both wanted to do something a little different. We decided on a late night shoot around downtown Halifax – I loved the unique look the city offers after dark and thought it would perfectly compliment this style of photography. We didn’t want to ruin the dress, but definitely wanted a bit of edge to the shoot, so we threw in a little “boudoir” with a black corset for some of the shots. Annica brought a friend (and her favorite guitar), I brought my talented assistant, Jenn, and we all had an amazing evening together – until 3 am in fact! I always love how in the end, with hair and make-up combined with a very cool concept, even the shy or more reserved clients always seem to eventually let loose and “work it” in front of the camera. And doesn’t every woman deserve to rock a photo shoot after a little pampering every once in a while?

A big thanks to our amazing hair stylist Keagan Coolen, and the talented makeup artistry of Naphtali Carlton … both did an incredible job of bringing out Annica’s best features and adding a little bit of edginess to her look.

THE Dress … with a Wedding Teaser

Jeff Cooke — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:26:10 +0000

I wanted to share a few photos of Brett who just tied the knot this past week-end. You always hear brides talking about finding the perfect dress – THE dress, and Brett definitely found hers – an incredible dress by Demetrios – at Felicity Bridal. I stopped by in the weeks leading up to her big day to snap a few shots as Christa, Mickey and the rest of the staff were helping with her fitting.

I’ve had a couple of chances to work with Brett and Andrew in the months leading up to their wedding, including a chilly engagement session earlier this winter. This helped me to get a feel for the couple’s personalities and style before their big day which made for a fun, friendly dynamic with the couple when it finally came time to say their “I DOs”.

There will definitely be more to come on Brett & Andrews nuptials – the wonderfully talented Avril Mulholland of Update Events transformed the St. Mary’s Boat Club into Halifax’s hottest spot for the night and the music of the Mellowtones definitely kept the party alive. More to come …

Felicity Bridal is located at 5150 Salter Street, in downtown Halifax.
(902) 420-8888

Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress PEI Part 4 – Charlottetown

Jeff Cooke — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:57:47 +0000

When we first started planning our trip, I couldn’t believe so many of the Island’s amazing artists offered to help us pull things together, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to feature a few of these talented local artists. On top of trooping through the weather and helping us with such a long day, we were treated to a scrumptious home-cooked corn chowder, live music from some of P.E.I.’s finest and just all-around great company. P.E.I. sure knows how to make you feel welcome – thanks guys! After leaving Summerside for our next round of shoots in Charlottetown, we ended up in a location almost all the way back in Summerside (logistics can be challenging). Down one photographer, snow falling, freezing temperatures and daylight behind us, Liam and I quickly improvised and ended up shooting our easy-going brides inside the loft of a very cool, very old barn …

It was fun to once again collaborate with Liam of Applehead Studio, and although Heather was missed, I loved that two wedding photographers can come together under tough conditions to create something great … with a little help from our friends. More to come.

Makeup: Savannah Belsher-MacLean
Wedding Dresses: Felicity Bridal
Custom Jewelery: Gail Hodder
Hair Pieces / Millinery: Love Charlie
Hair: Amila Topic
And of course our brides: Aleshia, Leslie & Ghislaine

Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress PEI Part 3 – Katharina

Jeff Cooke — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:28:45 +0000

Meet Katharina. She’s the owner of Katharina’s Bridal Boutique in Summerside, PEI, so obviously she’s an expert on how to rock a wedding dress. Katharnia opened her boutique to ensure brides have a joyful and memorable experience while searching for that perfect dress, so her shop was the perfect setting for her to rock the dress. It was an absolute pleasure working with Katharina and her wonderful best friends (along with Liam and Heather) – thanks for hosting us crazy wedding photographers, allowing us to rearrange all of the furniture your shop … and burning a wedding dress. More to come!

Be sure to check out Liam’s recent post featuring Katharina.

Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress PEI Part 2 – Griffen

Jeff Cooke — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:26:29 +0000

We met up with Griffen in Summerside, Prince Edward Island for her “Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress” shoot – and due to some nasty Maritime weather, we decided to do things inside of Katharina’s Bridal Boutique. Griffen is a tattoo artist, so Liam from Applehead came up with a great idea involving her husband and a little ink. I’m actually happy the weather forced us indoors because Katharina’s twas a fantastic setting for the shoot. Griffen rocked an amazing black wedding dress … and shortly after, her original white dress went up in flames.

More to come …

Rock the Stable, Burn A Dress: Trash the Dress/Rock the Dress PEI Part One

Jeff Cooke — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:56:21 +0000

Well for the record, a ‘trash the dress/rock the dress’ photo shoot isn’t so much about trashing the dress as much as it is about creating artistic, fashion-inspired images of a bride in her gown, venturing into places where a bride may not normally feel comfortable or have the chance to visit on her wedding day, at least not without a box of Tide. Photographer Kyle Perison said it perfectly – “It’s never been about destruction – It’s always been about creation”.

This past week-end, partnering with Liam Hennessy of Applehead Studio and Heather Crosby-Gionet of This is Photography, we collaborated with many of the Island’s amazing artists, musicians and business owners – all of whom went above and beyond to not only make us feel at home, but help us bring our crazy little idea to life. A big thanks to everyone!

So meet Julia … it’s always nice when a bride isn’t worried about getting a little bit of PEI’s red dirt and barn on their dress. Julia grew up riding horses and wanted the feel of her shoot to be like a bride at the derby, so this was the perfect setting for her to “trash the dress/rock the dress”.

It seems that our photo shoot caused a little bit of a stir when a local PEI newspaper published an article talking about a bunch of Halifax wedding photographers trashing wedding dresses for art. We’ll let our images speak for themselves! More to come …

A big big thanks to Bay Breeze Stables in Summerside for letting us use their amazing facility (and Chico for being a charming model), and the wonderful “dream team” at Katharina’s Bridal Boutique. Hair was by Paige Ricketts (Whispers Hair Design), and make-up was by Michelle Cudmore

Kim Rocks The Dress

Jeff Cooke — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:53:44 +0000

Meet Kim again – this time sans Dan and totally rocking the dress in a trash the dress kinda setting.

This Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress session was a lot of fun because Kim was totally open to any possible shot I wanted to create … and I also had the opportunity to collaborate with Heather Crosby-Gionet of This is Photography. Heather is full of amazing ideas and is a wonderful wedding and boudoir photographer. I’m really looking forward to working with her again … next time with Liam Hennesey of Applehead Studio for our Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress PEI project (stay tuned for more). And of course, a big thanks to Kim for making it very easy for us … she is incredibly beautiful and was the perfect for this type of photography. Check out the images yourselves!

Trash the Dress / Rock The Dress … PEI Style

Jeff Cooke — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:54:14 +0000

I’ll be heading to PEI with 2 of Halifax’s most creative wedding photographers for a Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress weekend on April 18th and 19th. For information about these sessions, check out my recent post on Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress. So if you’re on the Island, planning a wedding and wanted to trash the dress / rock the dress with three creative halifax wedding photographers, or if you were recently married and wanted to try something quite different from your traditional wedding photography, contact me for information, pricing and scheduling. And we won’t ruin your dress … unless you ask. Grooms optional.

A big thanks to Felicity Bridal in Halifax and Katharina’s Bridal Boutique in Summerside for helping us out with this amazing project. And of course thanks to Liam Hennesey over at Applehead Studio and Heather Crosby-Gionet of This is Photography – they rock and I’m looking forward to working with them!

If you’re not going to be on the Island but would still love to trash the dress / rock the dress, you can contact me at any time … I’d love to set something up.

More to come …

Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress

Jeff Cooke — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:18:07 +0000

Trash the dress isn’t about trashing the dress as much as it is about creating artistic, fashion-inspired images of a bride in her gown. These sessions are usually done after the ceremony as an alternative to keeping and storing your dress that will most likely never be worn again. But if you want to torch your dress or jump into a lake or the ocean, I’m all for it! These sessions are typically designed to put “really pretty people in very ugly places” … think fashion photography. But if you’re not totally up for trashing your dress, you should definitely rock your dress. And you can rock your dress either before or after the wedding! Rocking the dress means having a fashion inspired concept, venturing into places where you might not normally feel comfortable or have the chance to visit on your wedding day, but still keeping it pretty clean and completely undamaged. Besides, you can get your dress cleaned! I like to add a little rock and roll to my shoots, creating gritty, romantic and uniquely sexy photos that are all about creativity, imagination and of course the bride … grooms optional.

The Cage Veil

Jeff Cooke — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:14:55 +0000

I met up with a few other wedding photographers for a little shooting in a dark and dusty basement in downtown Halifax … the concept was to come up with a few shots featuring a bride wearing a cage veil – and Deb totally rocked it …

I’ve read (and been told) that the cage veil is a popular trend for 2010 weddings and I sure do hope to see more of them this coming season.

DeAnna Rocks The Dress – Halifax Wedding Photographer

Jeff Cooke — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:00:27 +0000

Next weekend I’ll travel from Halifax to North Carolina to photograph DeAnna and Brad’s wedding and I’m really looking forward to sharing some of my favorites … but in the meantime I wanted to post a few shots that I’ve been sitting on for the past couple of months. I met with DeAnna earlier in the year for a “Rock the Dress” bridal session, but for obvious reasons didn’t want to share any of the photos until after their wedding.

Hello, Gorgeous

Jeff Cooke — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:24:52 +0000

Say hello to Holly … you may remember her from our engagement session a few weeks back. She’s a happy, creative, knock-your-socks-off kind of girl. She wasn’t thrilled with her original wedding photos (and yes, I wish that I could’ve been her photographer) … so she dusted off her dress, grabbed a bouquet from the local grocery store, and we headed out for a fabulous bridal session. I had a feeling Holly could really rock out in her wedding dress … you can be the judge, but all i’m saying is whoa …