What is a gothic wedding?

When people hear the words "gothic wedding", they often picture black wedding dresses, candlelit tables, ravens and velvet suits. And whilst those things can certainly be part of a gothic wedding, they aren't what makes a wedding gothic. After all, simply wearing a black dress doesn't automatically make a wedding gothic any more than wearing a flower crown automatically makes a wedding bohemian. The aesthetics are part of the story, but they aren't the whole story. In fact, one of the biggest misconceptions about gothic weddings is that they're defined by how they look rather than why they exist.

To understand what a gothic wedding really is, we need to look beyond the colour palette and into the ideas, emotions and culture that inspire it.