Trash the Dress 10th Wedding Anniversary Photos

Our wedding day was colorful, casual and attended by friends and family who knew us best. Just 20 years old, we planned our wedding as best we could right out of college; on a budget with a simple cake and decorations, a lovely dress from a bridal shop liquidation sale, flower bouquets I made myself, and my hairstyle, makeup and photos done by friends. Our wedding was perfect for our stage in life — and even more importantly, initiated our marriage which we’ve enjoyed for almost 10 years. In May 2018 we will celebrate our 10th anniversary and I can say with confidence that while our wedding was pretty, our marriage and family life have been even more lovely and meaningful. I feel very blessed. To celebrate our 10th anniversary milestone we thought it would be fun to use my budget-friendly wedding dress (which still fits after 3 babies!) and take Trash the Dress photos! This glamour style photoshoot turned out gorgeously with the fall colors around our home!

Trash the Dress is a creative fashion style of photography which features formal attire in an unexpected setting. I decided to use colorful paint to temporarily alter the look of my wedding dress and give it some artistic accents! I love how my dress style turned out with colorful swirls, jewel colors and peacock-inspired designs.

See how I trashed my wedding dress with painted designs, without actually ruining it!

I selected my gorgeous artificial flowers from the wide variety of options in Michaels floral department. I love the colorful artificial blooms accented by greenery and feathers in my bouquet. Artificial flower bouquets have become increasingly popular for brides, which I think is a great idea because real flowers are expensive. Fresh flower bouquets can’t be made too far in advance and fresh flowers can even wilt prematurely on the wedding day from exposure to heat or unforeseen weather. Temperatures reached 90+ degrees on our wedding day which made the flower bouquets wilt pretty quickly. A gorgeous artificial flower bouquet can be designed in advance and even accented with feathers, rhinestone accents and all sorts of floral details.

I feel so blessed to have been married to my wonderful husband Andy for almost 10 years. During our marriage, we’ve encountered several career transitions, we’ve lived in 3 different states and we’ve had 3 children. We’ve grown together in our hobbies and interests. Our life in Seattle before kids allowed us to explore the city and try out different restaurants. We regularly hosted dinner parties with friends, worked part time at a Seattle area convention center helping with fancy events and we served in our church’s College & Career group. We also shared an interest in exploring Washington’s beautiful landscape and gorgeous vineyards on our motorcycles. Our transition to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho brought us close to family and we’ve focused on raising our own family of 3 kiddos, enjoying each new stage and working through new challenges together.

Whether you are single, planning your own wedding or experiencing married life already, life offers a variety of paths to choose. Some choices may be easier than others, but everyone receives a different combination of successes, hardships, challenges and memories. I’m thankful for my life and experiences that have taught me perseverance and contentment. I pray for grace to be faithful with the treasures God has given me. It’s been a wonderful 10 years!