My wedding review will follow, but I really felt our experience with Dean during our Trash the Dress deserved it's own review! 

I went back and forth during the planning process on paying for a TTD and it ended up being one of the best decisions I made for my destination wedding!  My now husband is not a huge fan of getting his picture taken (a common theme with most guys I think).  But I knew if I didn't take advantage of fun and playful photos during a once in a lifetime trip I would regret it. And now my husband completely agrees too. 

I couldn't convince my husband to take underwater pics (which are amazing if you look at Dean's blog) - so we decided to go to a local beach bright and early a couple days after our wedding.  I LOVE all of the unique backgrounds that this photo shoot provided us with. Standing by palm trees, abandoned buildings, logs, and playing in the ocean.  During the 2 hour time frame we took some of our favorite pictures of the entire wedding week and I think there are many reasons for this...

First - the wedding day flies by and you tend to be preoccupied with staying on a schedule and worrying about a million other details.  The TTD is a time to relax and have fun together.  Without friends/family watching.  I think it allows Dean to capture more natural and playful photos of you as a couple.  My husband ended up having a blast as well (something he never thought he would say)!  

Second - Dean is patient and waits until he gets the right shot.  You may get tired of hearing him say things like "look at each other... look in the distance.... now kiss" - but TRUST HIM.  The pics will end up looking fantastic.

Third - my mom was not thrilled with the idea of "trashing my dress".  please take my word that my dress ended up being more clean than it was after the wedding (thanks to an after-wedding trip to the resort disco that left the bottom of my dress black)!  I simply rinsed it a few times in the bathtub at the resort and it's in tip top shape. 

Forth - some photographers tend to be overly directive on how they want you to pose.... this is the complete opposite of Dean.  He simply says "do what feels natural" and this was a huge plus for my husband and his guys.  I think he helps make them feel comfortable and as a result captures casual and natural shots.  The only reason I have this as a con is that some people might prefer a more hands on approach.  

Overall Dean is fun and great to work with.  If you are going back and forth with doing a TTD, I can't recommend the experience more.   

p.s. A few tips for pre-TTD:

• bring a change of clothes (which we did remember) but also a TOWEL because you will go in the water.
• bring a garbage bag to put your wet clothes in after the shoot
• i am a low maintenance bride and don't use hairspray on a regular basis (or waterproof mascara) - if you aren't getting your hair done at the resort spa, you'll want hairspray to help with the wind issue on the beach.  static guard does not work well!  i also had to skip the mascara day of since mine wasn't waterproof
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