Bride Thrown From Horse During Romantic Wedding Photo Shoot

If you’re of the mind that wedding-related photography — be it proposal photos, engagement pics, or documentation of the big day — has gotten out of hand, this one’s for you.

Five weeks before her wedding, South Carolina’s Lauren Mahaffey decided she wanted photos of herself riding a horse on the beach while wearing her voluminous wedding gown and sparkly tiara (a totally natural scenario). Photographer Jarrett Hucks, however, wasn’t thrilled. He tells ABC News that he warned against posing with an unpredictable animal but obliged because “you only live once.” And also because more importantly, whatever the bride wants, the bride gets.

On his YouTube page, Hucks writes:

This had to be one of the craziest things to ever happen to me on a photo shoot. Here in Myrtle Beach, my client decided that since you only live once, she wanted to take a photo on top of a horse! I’m not much of a fan of large animals myself because of the unpredictability of them, but I agreed to take the photo if she wanted. What happened next was absolutely crazy! The bride was completely fine and not hurt other than a couple of bruises. Made for a fun story to tell at the wedding!

A couple of bruises. What a fun story! I mean, thank god she wasn’t hurt, but pre-wedding photoshoots really don’t benefit from the threat of physical danger. That’s not the sort of excitement we’re going for here. And if a bride-to-be is actually dreaming of starring on the cover of a Harlequin romance novel, maybe she needs to reevaluate her dreams.

Hucks believes the horse freaked because of the wedding dress itself. Horses tend not to be terribly familiar with satin, a-lines or crinoline.