Bride Whose Fiance Called Off Wedding Trashes Dress With Paint and Glitter

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1/26 Shelby Swink, 23, refused to let heartbreak get the best of her and was determined to celebrate her new beginning in life.
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2/26 The college graduate asked her bridesmaids to help her trash her dress using an array of brightly-colored feathers and paint.
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3/26 Shelby was worried that her parents, who paid for her dress, would be against the idea of trashing it, but to her delight, they were thrilled.
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4/26 The jilted bride didn't want to be the girl that 'everybody was tiptoeing around'.
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5/26 The 'trash the dress' shoot took place on what would have been Shelby's wedding day.
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6/26 Mr Swink brought along cigars and Champagne, so that the group could toast their unique celebration.
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7/26 Both of Shelby's parents embraced the idea of the shoot with great enthusiasm.
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8/26 Everyone couldn't wait to get stuck into the task of destroying Shelby's dress.
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9/26 Shelby's wedding photographer Elizabeth Hoard was the mastermind behind the shoot.
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10/26 “I poured my heart and soul into the wedding plans, because I wanted the day that would celebrate our love and commitment for each other to be absolutely amazing,” Swink told BuzzFeed News. Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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11/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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12/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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13/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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14/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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15/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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16/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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17/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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18/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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19/26 “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends.” Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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20/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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21/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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22/26 “Instead of lying down and letting life trample over me, I decided to get up and face it head-on.” Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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23/26 Photo: Elizabeth Hoard Photography
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24/26 Shelby donated her once-pristine wedding dress to a local bridal shop in Memphis.
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25/26 The 23-year-old says that she feels no resentment towards her former fiancee.
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26/26 The Barefoot Bride is donating a portion of the proceeds from each dress bought while it is on display to a local nonprofit organization.
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A woman whose fiancee called off their wedding, just days before it was due to take place, destroyed her once-pristine dress by covering it in paint, glitter and feathers in celebration of her 'new beginning'.

Despite her heartache following the shock split from her fiancee, Shelby Swink, from Memphis, Tennessee, was determined that she wouldn't 'that girl who everyone had to tiptoe round'.

'[Six days before the ceremony], my ex-fiancé kind of sat me down and told me he was contemplating calling off the wedding.'

'The next day came and he sat me down and was like, "You know, I'm just not in love with you and I don't want to marry you, I don't want to spend the rest of my life with you."

'[But] I didn't want to be that girl that everybody was tiptoeing around.'

So when her wedding photographer suggested that they organize a 'trash the dress' shoot Shelby embraced the idea.

'First I thought it was crazy because it is an expensive dress and I didn't really want to ruin it,' Shelby said of the shoot - which was booked on what would have been her wedding day.

'[But] I didn't want to just spend my would-be wedding day sitting at home alone eating ice cream and watching Netflix.

'I would rather be doing something fun with friends and family which is what we did.'

'I can’t even describe how liberating and cathartic the experience was for me,' Shelby explained to Buzzfeed.

'The moment the first bit of paint hit my dress I was free.'

Source: dailymail, elizabethhoardphotography.com

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