ONCE the bride’s pride and joy, most wedding dresses finish their days hanging redundantly in the loft, carefully packed in tissue paper and zipped into a storage bag never to be worn again.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

An increasing number of brides are choosing to liberate their wedding dresses in the most surprising way – by destroying them completely and capturing the moment on camera.

The trend began in 2000 when Las Vegas photographer John Michael Cooper started taking what he called “anti bridal”

pictures showing brides dirtying their gowns in burntdown fields and disused buildings.

His dramatic images captured women’s imagination and soon, American brides and their photographers were clamouring to post their own dress-wrecking images online.

‘Trashing the Dress’ has now become a worldwide phenomenon.

There may be something mildly disturbing about deliberately destroying a hugely expensive – and slightly sacred – wedding dress, but the resulting images of muddied, sodden and even paint-spattered brides can be simply stunning.

SOUTHAMPTON bride Nicky Burke had no hesitation in trashing her wedding dress by striding into the sea and rolling in the sand with husband Dan.

The couple, from Millbrook, married in June 2007, but were disappointed with the official wedding photos after heavy rain forced them to abandon the shoot early and head inside for cover.

“We really regretted that decision,” says Nicky, 24, “so when I saw a piece on TV about this new craze from America I thought it sounded fun and decided to find someone here who would do it.”

Nicky approached Solent Studios and photographer Rob Dunning jumped at the chance.

A few weeks later she and Dan found themselves back in their wedding best, sprawled on the sand at Bournemouth beach and drenched in chilly sea water.

“We didn’t know what we would be doing until the day,” remembers debt collector Nicky. “The photographer asked how far I was willing to Trash the Dress and I said I didn’t mind trashing it completely. He even talked about taking us to the Itchen bridge and ruining the dress with spray paint.”

“Some girls on the beach were egging us on to go in the water – they couldn’t believe it when we did,” remembers Nicky, who had to convince an initially reluctant Dan to go along with the shoot.

“Everyone watching just gasped when we went in. The water was so cold it took our breath away.

“The dress was drenched and really heavy. It was twirling around my legs and made me trip up and dunk right under the water. Loads of people were watching and congratulating us.”

Nicky also posed for photos lying on the sand and riding a carousel, still wearing her £400 dress from Tiffany Bridal.

“I think we brought half of Bournemouth beach back with us that day,” she laughs. “If someone had told me when I brought that dress that I would be rolling around in the sea and ruining it I would have been shocked."

NEWLYWED Mandy Foster, 39, had a love hate relationship with her ill-fitting wedding dress. So when her New Forest based photographer suggested a Trash the Dress shoot she jumped at the chance.

“After the wedding my photographer sent a news email, mentioning a Trash the Dress shoot.

“I thought it sounded like fun. After all, the dress isn’t what the day is about. It’s about the occasion and the person you are marrying. I’d had quite a lot of problems with the fitting of the dress. It really upset me and took the excitement out of the build up to my wedding so it felt great to be trashing it – a sort of closure, I suppose.

I did the shoot in my garden out of the public eye. The neighbours definitely thought I’d gone mad!

“Originally I thought my two little girls could throw mud at me but the night before the shoot it snowed and the children wouldn’t throw anything as they didn’t want to spoil my dress! So bubbles and snow came to the rescue creating many moments of laughter and lots of captured memories.

“It was just lovely to relax in my dress and not worry about anyone treading on the train or getting it dirty. I just threw caution to the wind and enjoyed it.

“I love the finished photos – the photographer really captured my mood.

“My friends and family all thought it was a bit strange.

They couldn’t believe that I was going to get my beautiful dress dirty!

“Trashing the Dress is fun and ver y liberating.”