Jeff Cooke Photography » trash the dress

The Anniversary

Jeff Cooke — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:46:22 +0000

When it comes to planning a shoot, I’m always up for something that’s a little different than traditional portraiture. One thing I’ve learned is that photography doesn’t have to always be about posing the family for the perfect portrait, or a couple holding each other in an “epic” scene. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting those shots, but I jump at the chance to do something that’s different and a little more creative. When I meet with clients, I love to learn about the things they like to do, what they’re in to, their hobbies, interests, jobs, personalities, how they met, their family dynamics, favourite movies or music … because it’s all information that I use to help create a shoot and tell a story that’s completely unique to them. A perfect example is Bri + Greg. For their one year anniversary, they dusted off her wedding dress and cleaned up for an intimate dinner in the woods next to their charming new home in the Valley. In the process, they took their creative shoot to new “depths” …

Shoot the Bride

Jeff Cooke — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:37:29 +0000

It’s no secret that I enjoy collaborating with Liam Hennessey and Heather Crosby – we’ve become good friends and are equally passionate about our jobs and our clients. Last winter we packed our gear up and headed to PEI for a creative collaboration that, months later, caught the attention of the crew from Arcadia Entertainment. They invited us into their offices to chat about the creative side of wedding photography, and after a few meetings, we got together to film a pitch for a tv series …

A big thanks to John Wesley Chisholm and the entire crew at Arcadia Entertainment for the opportunity to get together and shoot the bride.

Shoot The Bride from Matt Trecartin
Christa and the girls at Felicity Bridal
Makeup: Vicky Mina and Naphtali Carleton
Hair: Cara MacInnis

Beach Day

Jeff Cooke — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:11:53 +0000

After a recent wedding, I met up with Liam Hennessy to unwind and chat about the day, which basically meant very little conversation and a whole lot of scrolling through images on the backs of our cameras. Liam just finished photographing Adam and Sarah’s wedding and mentioned that he has a trash the dress session booked with them the next day. They were excited about the idea of a collaborative shoot with the two of us, so another Cooked Apples project was born. Adam + Sarah were total rockstars, from splashing in the waves to rolling around in a bed of seaweed, they had a blast … I always love an “up for anything” attitude. By the way, there wasn’t a drop of the champagne left … how much of it actually ended up in their glasses, I don’t know.

A big thanks to Liam, Adam & Sarah for letting me tag along for their post-wedding beach day. Congrats guys.

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.

Trash 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 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!

Trash 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 PEI Part One

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

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”.

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”.

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!

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 up for anything, which is perfect for this type of photography. Check out the images yourselves!

Paint it Black

Jeff Cooke — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:57:37 +0000

While visiting Charleston, South Carolina, I met up with Connie for crazy fun bridal session … and this wasn’t your typical session as she literally wanted to trash her wedding dress. She ended up doing a pretty good job of it – complete with a fresh coat of black paint. There sure was lot of energy, passion and emotion throughout the afternoon, and Connie totally rocked it. I loved everything about this shoot.

Meet Shelby – Creative Bridal

Jeff Cooke — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:47:53 +0000

When Shelby asked me about doing a bridal / trash the dress session – I jumped at the opportunity. I knew this would be a fun shoot, but when we came across a knight in shining armor – it set the stage for a phenomenal afternoon. She is an absolute knockout and looked stunning in her bridal gown … and she totally rocked it!

The Old Barn- Creative Bridal

Jeff Cooke — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:30:38 +0000

Mike and Jenn (and Shelby) rocked their photos – I loved everything they went for. I especially loved the location which happened to be an old barn that appeared in the movie Days of Thunder. I could’ve spent more than hours here …