Bride tragically dies just weeks after getting married trying ‘trash the dress’ trend
A bride tragically died just weeks after the ceremony, having taken part in a viral wedding trend.
For Maria Pantazopoulos, the happiest time of her life quickly turned into a nightmare that nobody was prepared for.
Weddings are full of old traditions, but also new trends that make the occasion really unique.
Not too long ago, a bride would have stored her dress carefully away forever, keeping it preserved.
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But some modern brides decide to take on a different method, which involves completely trashing their stunning - and most of the time ridiculously expensive - white dress.
Whether it's rolling around in mud, or being splashed with paint, 'trashing' your wedding dress became really trendy and a way of getting some fun pictures after the big day.
Maria, 30, from Canada, got married to her husband Billy on 9 June, 2012.
A few weeks after the ceremony, she decided to go with a photographer, Louis Pagakis, to get some 'trash the dress' pictures.
They went to the picturesque location of Ouareau River near Dorwin Falls in Rawdon, Montreal, in August that year.
The aim was to soak the dress - basically destroying it - and to get some good snaps in the process.
But the heartbreaking reality of what happened left Maria's new husband and family completely crushed.
Wedding dresses aren't notoriously light, so when her gown began to get heavy, she was pulled to the bottom of the water, which was said to be around eight metres deep.
In an attempt to save Maria, the photographer dived in but the dress made her too heavy to pull out.
Talking about the tragic moment in an interview with CTV News, Louis 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.
"I jumped in, I was screaming and yelling, we tried our best."
According to the photographer, her final heartbreaking words were: "I can't anymore, it's too heavy."
The incident took place at around 2pm that day, and Maria's body was later recovered some hours later.
In a statement, her family spoke about their tragic loss.
They said: "One thing we are certain about is that our Maria would have never put her life at risk.
"She trusted Mr. Louis Pagakis' recommendation for the location and felt safe enough to attend the photo shoot alone with the photographers.
"The family asks the municipal council of Rawdon to work on putting in place stronger security measures to avoid any future tragedies."
Sgt. Ronald McInnis, of Quebec provincial police, also couldn't believe the loss.
He said: "This is the first time I've heard of a story like that.
"I told my partner, this is a story that is going to go all around the world."
Topics: Wedding, Sex and Relationships, World News
Mia Williams