Everyone knows that weddings are the perfect excuse to have a good old party, but what about if that marriage comes to the end? Well, that's exactly what one woman from Illinois did when she hosted her own divorce party, complete with a fiery photo shoot.
Katlynn McKee looked like a real-life Disney princess on her wedding day in a pristine white gown and delicate veil, but when her marriage ended, she decided to switch it up and trail the very same wedding dress through thick mud before stripping down to her underwear and burning the gown.
The couple were together for 10 years before going their separate ways last summer, which is when gutsy Katlynn enlisted the help of her original wedding snapper to photograph the final chapter. The 25-year-old said the divorce photo shoot set her 'free' after four tough years of marriage.
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She said: "My relationship wasn't a good one, so it was a relief to finally be free.
"We'd been together since I was 16 and married for four years. We grew apart."
Katlynn, who has a six-year-old daughter called Faith, researched Trash The Dress for inspiration, before hatching a plan to burn her gown while downing a bottle of wine.
She said: "I did a bit of research but all the ideas were my own and it was exactly the way I wanted to do it. It was like my rebellion against the marriage, my way of saying I'm free.
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"We went out to this little area with mud and water and I had a bottle of wine and a gas canister in a basket. I got into the water in my dress so it was really dirty, then started ripping it up. I cracked open the wine, took it off and then set it on fire. I watched it burn while I drank the wine."
Katlynn, who works as a hairdresser, said she was 'empowered' by the shoot which helped her to rebuild her confidence.
The mum-of-one said: "It was very liberating, exciting and empowering. It actually ended up being quite sexy because I stripped down to my underwear."
Katlynn even told her ex that she was planning on doing it, and he volunteered to be in it.
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She said: "He was surprised that I was going to do it because I'm not really like that.
"He joked that he should be in it and I could punch him or something, but I wanted it to be just me.
"My friends thought it was awesome and I had loads of people getting in touch saying they wish they'd done the same thing.
Katylnn said: "I was really happy with it all and I loved the way it turned out. I don't have any of display at the minute but I'm planning on it.
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"I'm now happily in a new relationship and he really likes the pictures."
Featured Image Credit: CatersTopics: Life News, Real, Sex & Relationships, Wedding