If you are lucky enough to have found a mate who is just as enamoured with all things Goth as you are, congratulations! Keep hold of that one, he (or she) is a good’un.
If you’ve really hit the jackpot and not managed to kill each other during the early stages of your relationship, have already established the status quo on whether the toilet seat should be left up or down, and think you might be looking at the next step in your relationship, even better. Love don’t come around every day and all that, and Auntie Mabel and co. are likely to be expecting you to pimp for a wedding or commitment ceremony sooner or later.
So if your thoughts are turning towards a wedding or civil ceremony with your Goth significant other, the chances are that you’re not exactly jumping out of your skin to get all dolled up in a white meringue, other than possibly ironically. But how can you Goth up your wedding, have yourself the perfect day, and ensure that you ride off into the eternal night of the rest of your lives with the best start possible? We’ve got some tips.
Do not do this.
How far do you want to take things?
One of the first considerations to bear in mind is precisely how committed you are to turning your wedding into a reflection of your Goth style. We are all of course multi-faceted creatures, and it is entirely possible that Goth is just one element of your life, along with, say, religious beliefs, favourite hobbies, family connections, and elements of your own personal style and ethos.
So, sit your significant other down well before you start getting the parentals involved and declaring open season for all of your maiden aunts’ opinions on what you should be doing, and suss out what exactly it is that you want. You may want to go the whole hog with a beginning to end Goth-themed wedding, or just tip your hat to your Goth style in ways that will be hugely meaningful to you, while also allowing you to express other facets of your personality, so sort that out at the get-go.
Inspiration
Weddings ain’t what they used to be, and really, that can only be a good thing. Today you can get married more or less anywhere you want to, wearing anything you want to, and say and do the legals in any way you want to as well. Offbeat Bride is a great website covering articles and information about non-traditional wedding ideas and executions, while this awesome Australian website is dedicated to Goth bridal style and Goth wedding ideas for your delectation.
Some nice touches
Planning a wedding can be stressful and complicated as well as good fun (the word “bridezilla” was invented for a reason, after all…) 
“What do you mean the flowers aren’t available in black?”
And without meaning to be hard, I’m not going to do all of the work for you! I’m certainly not going to even attempt to talk about Goth bridal dresses or what you might like to wear, because the possibilities are literally endless. But I will share with you a couple of my favourite finishing touches that you might want to incorporate into your festivities, or that may give you some ideas of your own.
Having your ring fingers tattoo’d as a symbol of your lurveeee is becoming ever more popular, as are very personal tattoo’s, such as matching pair (how twee!) of small tattoos that have particular meaning for you and your partner.
If you’re not totally sold on the tattoo idea (or are hedging your bets…) maybe matching piercings as well as the traditional rings could be the way to go, neatly reminding one and all that “love is pain.”
You might also like to go for a handfasting ceremony, either as a standalone or as part of a more traditional ceremony.
Black ribbon optional!
Finally, make sure that your wedding music reflects your personal style, totally rocks, and makes everyone smile (whether that be in recognition or confusion). If you can convince your bridal party or groomsmen to learn a simple dance and throw a kind of flashmob-style entrance too, all the better- oh, and I’ll be wanting an invite.
