Bride tragically dies after getting married while doing the ‘trash the dress’ trend
It was supposed to be the happiest day of Maria Pantazopoulos' life but it descended into tragedy for the bride
A bride tragically lost her life just weeks after her wedding after taking part in a wedding dress trend.
Maria Pantazopoulos tied the knot with her husband in June 2012 and the following month decided to have a photoshoot to take part in the popular 'trash the dress' trend.
Some see the unique trend that sees a bride destroy her wedding dress as a way of celebrating their relationship in a fun and daring way all while making for some great photographs, but Maria's photoshoot ended in tragedy.
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Maria had gone down to Dorwin Falls in Rawdon, Quebec, for her shoot and got into the water as a way of ruining her dress.
But the water made Maria's gown increasingly heavy and then a current pulled the 30-year-old newlywed to the bottom of an eight-meter-deep section of the lake, CTV News reported at the time.
Recalling the devastating ordeal, photographer Louis Pagakis said: "She had her wedding dress on and she said, 'Take some pictures of me while I swim a little bit in the lake'. She went in and her dress got heavy, I tried everything I could to save her."
He added: "I jumped in, I was screaming and yelling. We tried our best."
Some hours after the incident, Maria's body was pulled from the water by rescue teams.
Following Maria's untimely passing, another photographer spoke to the news outlet and shared their similar experience at Dorwin Falls.
Mario Michaud told CTV Montreal he had visited the beauty spot a couple of months before Maria's death and the person he was photographing had a similar mishap.
Fortunately the person who was in the water went on to be saved and survived the ordeal, but in hindsight Michaud realized that the taking photographs at the falls was quite dangerous.
Photographers have since tried to deter brides from doing such shoots that may put them at risk - particularly in water.
Rhiannon D'Averc penned in a lengthly blog dating back to 2022 that some of the main risks of shooting in water include getting swept away; damaging the photographer's equipment; water-borne diseases and wildlife/sealife.
"There are plenty of animals and fish living in free flowing waterways and lakes, and they will not be pleased to see you," wrote D'Averc.
"Catfish have sharp spines which can penetrate human flesh, and though in most cases you will just end up with a sore cut, getting one in the wrong place could be very dangerous.
"Stings can also be toxic, making them itchy and sore for days."
Niamh Shackleton