Woman Drowns In Wedding Photo Shoot, Posing In Her Wedding Dress In A Waterfall

A woman from Quebec has drowned while taking her wedding pictures, and authorities say she was overcome by the strength of currents after soaking the hem of her dress in a waterfall.

The 30-year-old woman who drowned in her wedding dress near Rawdon in Quebec has not been named by police, but some details of the case have been confirmed.

The victim, who had been married June 9, was engaging in what is known as a “trash the dress” photoshoot, one that commonly occurs after the wedding has taken place and festivities are over and involves pictures taken while wearing and destroying a wedding gown. According to provincial police spokesman Sgt. Ronald McInnis, the woman was intentionally wetting the dress as part of the shoot when she was pulled under by the water.

Per the Montreal Gazette, the currents weren’t “particularly deep or turbulent,” but the dress soon became far too heavy for the woman to manage and she was overcome by the weight of the soaking wet garment. McInnis says the victim was soon carried away by a current as she struggled to stay above water, and the photographer and another witness were unable to save her:

Ouareau River.

“The photographer put down his equipment and tried to save her. He grabbed her with his hands … ([One witness] tried to help, but they couldn’t save her … The dress was too heavy.”

In describing the tragedy, McInnis emphasized that the area in which the woman drowned in her wedding dress wasn’t known for danger or strong currents, and that the dampened frock seemed to be the factor that led to the woman’s unfortunate death.

A scuba diver responding to the scene found the woman who drowned in her wedding dress at the bottom of a nearby pool.