Woman Burns Wedding Dress and Photos to Heal from Divorce: ‘Like a Phoenix Being Reborn’

After a “long and arduous” divorce, social worker Lindsay Hordal, soon turning 43, felt ready to leave behind an “unhealthy” marriage and embrace a fresh start. Inspired by dramatic “wreck the dress” ideas on Pinterest, she chose a bold symbolic act of healing — burning her wedding gown, ceremony photos, and marriage paperwork.

“The fire was really symbolic to me,” Hordal explains. “Burning the wedding dress felt like reclaiming my sense of self — relighting my inner flame after being with somebody who dimmed my light for so long.”

Photographer Christine Genevieve, 31, had never done a “torch the dress” shoot before, but instantly loved the empowering concept. Having endured a toxic relationship herself, she felt the significance deeply.

The one-hour shoot at Jamieson Creek in Kamloops, British Columbia, on Oct. 26 brought complex emotions — anger, sadness, peace, relief — but most of all, finality and pride in how far Hordal has come.

Genevieve brought a fire extinguisher to ensure safety and said watching Hordal rise through the flames was “almost like a phoenix being reborn.” At one point, they even noticed a phoenix-shaped flame in a photo — a poetic symbol of rebirth.

“It was absolutely incredible,” Genevieve recalls. “You could see her metamorphosis — shedding the old version and emerging stronger.”

Hordal says the moment marked the end of a painful chapter.
“I’m finally free… finally in a place of peace and joy and light that I deserve.”

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Leaving Behind Loneliness

Hordal married her ex-husband on Sept. 23, 2021. After five years together and less than two years married, she realized she had “never been so lonely.” A line from Untamed by Glennon Doyle — “Isn’t it supposed to be better than this?” — struck a nerve. She walked away before she “lost herself completely.”

“I knew that if I stayed, I would become a shell of who I am,” she says.

Her divorce was finalized on Jan. 31 of this year, her home sold in July — everything officially closed. Burning the wedding remnants felt like the final step.

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Support, Celebration and Future Hope

Friends celebrated her strength with a red flags-themed divorce party and fully supported the fiery photo shoot. Despite the emotional goodbye, Hordal still believes in love and hopes to marry again someday — “with the right person.”

Genevieve posted the photos not only because they looked stunning, but to empower other women.

“Maybe someone in a toxic or abusive relationship will see this and choose herself,” she says. “Divorce isn’t failure. It’s recognizing when something no longer serves your happiness.”

She adds that women are often unfairly judged in divorce:
“It’s never just one person. And you never know what she survived.”

Since sharing the images, they’ve gone viral — gaining over 165,000 likes — and Genevieve now receives requests worldwide for similar shoots. Some call the idea “dark,” but she insists it’s about rebirth:

“Sometimes you don’t just close a chapter — you set it on fire and dance in the glow.”

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A Message to Others Healing

Hordal hopes women on similar journeys will commit to deep self-reflection:

“Look within. Do the inner work. Because what we put out is what we get back. If you heal, you won’t repeat the same pain again.”