How I Trashed My Wedding Dress with Color

Some of my favorite skills include creative thinking and innovation. I enjoy coming up with new angles for accomplishing a creative task. I wanted to do a color-inspired Trash the Dress photoshoot to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary but I didn’t want to actually ruin my wedding dress. After a few tries, I came up with a creative way to paint my wedding dress without actually destroying it. Here are the steps I took to trash my wedding dress with color.

Splashes of Colored Paint

The first step to trash my wedding dress was to pick out some colored paint. I choose fall hues and vibrant colors; jewel tones, deep reds and oranges and contrasting blues and rich purples. I found most of my art supplies at Michaels and I selected a collection of bright craft paint along with colorful artificial flowers and floral accents to make a bouquet. I used the craft paint to create artistic swirls and peacock-inspired designs on a length of white fabric.

Artsy Swirls Wedding Dress Design

Once I picked my paint colors, I created a swirly pattern on a length of white fabric. I didn’t want the design to look too perfect but I tried to create an impressionistic design rather than a colorful mess. Part of the design reminded me of a peacock, so I added a few more peacock-inspired elements to my colorful Trash the Dress design. I also tried to make the colors flow into each other like a twisting ribbon.  The fun thing about painting is that you can make a project entirely your own and try again if you mess up!

Designing a Painted Dress

Flowers, leaves, swirls, peacocks, colorful twisting ribbons and jewel tones all inspired my artsy Trash the Dress design. I created several different sizes of colorful designs that I could cut out of the white fabric. Once dry, I cut out different sections of the painted white fabric and pinned it onto my dress. The pins and edges of the fabric aren’t readily visible in the photos and the colorful painted design really stands out!

You can see all the gorgeous photos from our Trash the Dress photoshoot here!

Finish with a Fun Photoshoot

I loved working with my friend Heather to take our colorful fall wedding-inspired fashion photos! Any excuse is great to hang out with friends.

I hope my colorful Trash the Dress project inspires you to trash your own wedding dress! You could easily customize this project with your favorite colors and decorating accents. Our Trash the Dress photos created a fun memory and “trashing” my dress was so easy!

Katie Wallace

Hi, I’m Katie! I live with my husband and 4 kids in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I love Jesus, coffee, creative projects, photography, and traveling. I’ve previously worked as a web designer, journalist, and barista. I hope you enjoy our creative projects and family adventures!