THE dilemma of what to do with the single most expensive gown you will ever buy once the big day is over was solved recently by close friends from Wroughton who took part in a Trash The Dress photo shoot.

Most of the time, post-wedding, brides tend to pack their dress away at the back of the wardrobe under a mound of mothballs, only airing it on the occasional wistful trip down memory lane.

Some have been known to lounge in full tulle and taffeta around the house to get their money’s worth.

But sentiment went out of the window for Genia Roberts, Charlotte Mason, Jen Taphouse and Gemma Drury who decided to just wreck their gorgeous gowns and have a little fun in the process.

The friends travelled to Cornwall with wedding photographers Colin Norwood and Glenn Stanley of Your Digital Memories and proceeded to dive headfirst into the sea in full regalia for the photo shoot.

“The water was a lot warmer than I expected,” said 33-year-old Genia, who got married nearly eight years ago. “We were all a bit nervous because we didn’t really know what to expect but we just got in our dresses and went for it. We ran into the sea. You can’t do it half-heartedly.”

Genia admits she was not instantly convinced when Charlotte broached the idea but she soon hopped on board. It took far more coaxing however to persuade Gemma to join in.

“I initially thought, ‘You’re actually crazy,’ when Charlotte told me. But the more I thought about it the more I thought it would be a good opportunity to get excellent photos," said Gemma.

Charlotte turned Jen around but Gemma was a last-minute addition. She didn’t agree until just four or five weeks before the shoot.

The women returned home with their dresses thoroughly drenched and unscathed by their swimming expedition but none of them felt they had quite thrashed them enough.

“We were quite surprised at how they had come out. They weren’t particularly messy or dirty,” said Gemma.

So they decided to go back for round two. Last month they marched into Chiseldon House Hotel in all their finery with their daughters clad in flower girl dresses - and doused themselves in paint.

“It was an opportunity to do something a bit more extreme and make the most out of the dresses,” says Genia. “It was fun but also a little bit sad to know that was it, that we wouldn’t be able to wear them again. We did a good job. They are completely trashed now. Mine is in a bin bag.”