Christine McCabe and Tristan Norton's Friday the 13th wedding, this past January.Kate Voloshyna
I’ll say it up front: goth is not a phase. However, there’s no denying that the aesthetic, which has been an alt-mainstay for decades, has been creeping into the mainstream over the last year, furling its dark tendrils around runway models, down red carpets and even into the pastel heart of that most traditional of institutions: the wedding.
The highest-profile gothic-styled nuptials of 2022 were those of Kourtney Kardashian and musician Travis Barker, a concoction of dark Catholic imagery and moody Italiana. The bride took pre-wedding photos in a black minidress with a Virgin Mary emblem; changed from a white wedding dress to a post-ceremony black version complete with black veil; and at some point also found time to cinch into a black-corseted, long-gloved look with a red rose motif, all courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana.
A few months later, society pages swooned over British beauty editor Tish Weinstock’s “black tie gothic” marriage to stylist Tom Guinness, which took place in an 11th-century English castle on Halloween and saw the bride in an antique lace gown and long, black hair extensions inspired by Morticia Addams (who, portrayed by Catherine Zeta Jones, returned to screens late last year in Netflix’s hit series Wednesday, further fanning the flames of darkness).
Goth weddings themselves are not new – they’ve been around since the 1980s inception of modern goth subculture as we know it, and they’ve always embraced the allure of subversion. After all, what’s not to love about the symbolism of taking the darkness with the light – honouring both the joy and the suffering to be had before death does us part?
But whereas once goth weddings were most likely being thrown by couples fully committed to the alt lifestyle, today things are a little less black and white. High profile goth weddings are serving as an inspiration to a much larger swath of people. Their impact was certainly felt by Pinterest, which saw searches for “dark wedding ideas” rise 5,800 per cent and “goth wedding decorations” increase sixfold in the wake of the Kardashian-Barker celebration, suggesting enthusiasm for the look is widespread even among those who wouldn’t necessarily label themselves goths.
Decor at the McCabe-Norton wedding.Kate Voloshyna
Interest in darker weddings makes sense in the context of contemporary fashion, beauty and social media trends. For instance, TikTokers have named and elaborated on a number of dark aesthetic styles or “cores” like dark academia, witchcore and whimsygoth, and the hashtag “goth” itself has more than 15.8 billion views on the app.
Google reported that moody trends including dark lips and “crying makeup” were among the top beauty searches of 2022, and Pinterest named “dystopian” dressing a rising trend in their 2023 trend prediction report. Factor in the latest runway shows where Chloe, Hermès and Givenchy showed black looks aplenty, and events like the Met Gala, where celebrities including Karlie Kloss, Lenny Kravitz, Nicki Minaj and Bella Hadid all donned gauzy, goth-y looks, and it’s clear that popular aesthetics are in a romantically edgy era.
Yet if you find yourself inundated with wax-sealed invitations printed with a calligraphic font this year, you could also credibly chalk it up to weddings becoming more personal and less traditional. “I think there’s been a huge shift in weddings since the pandemic,” says Kat Williams, the founder and editor-in-chief of Rock N Roll Bride magazine.
In many cases, couples who intended to have weddings in 2020 or 2021 ended up getting legally married without a ceremony, and are now having celebratory parties with few, if any, traditional wedding elements. “There are also people who have decided life’s too short,” to bother with aspects of traditional wedding ceremonies that feel more obligatory than fun, “and that makes them do things a little more alternatively than maybe they would have otherwise,” Williams says. “It’s a lot more acceptable now than it once was” to challenge the feel and format of the customary wedding, she adds.
For some, doing things alternatively may look like eschewing the white dress. Cultural insights firm YPulse found the number of brides who wanted to wear white for their wedding dropped from 78 per cent in 2019 to 60 per cent in 2022. Or, it could mean embracing moody decor elements like dark floral arrangements and cakes, There are “even diamond engagement ring alternatives with black gemstones to make a real dark and dramatic statement,” says Etsy trend expert Dayna Isom Johnson.
Vancouver graphic designer Christine McCabe’s dark, Friday the 13th wedding in January required a bit of explaining to her family. “My mom was like, ‘Really is this a joke? Why do I have to wear black to your wedding?’ And I told her, ‘You can wear dark burgundy, I just don’t want you showing up in a pastel pink dress!’” says McCabe. While she doesn’t call herself “goth,” McCabe and her fiancé, Tristan Norton, knew that “all the whites and pastels”' they saw at friends’ weddings “just weren’t our vibe,” and opted for an intimate ceremony amid the tropical foliage of Vancouver’s Bloedel Conservatory, with dark floral arrangements and tables decorated with black lace and black candles in vintage, bronze holders for their reception at the Wedgewood Hotel.
Ms. McCabe and Mr. Norton's wedding fashions.Kate Voloshyna
“Pagan-y, earthy-y, goth-y” is how Halifax-based tattoo artist Tasha Tonks describes the wedding she and her partner, James Hiltz, are planning. “We’re looking for an outdoorsy vibe, bringing in things from nature that maybe wouldn’t be at a regular wedding.” She is looking at doing table runners with shedded snakeskin, and will be using dried flowers rather than fresh, she says.
Tonks plans to wear off-white on her wedding day, but would like her bridesmaids in black (Hiltz will be in black leather). Tonks selected her own engagement ring, a moonstone set in bird bones that have been cast in silver by Blood Milk Jewels. She is considering walking down the aisle to a “hyped up” entrance theme (“We both love 90s wrestling”). “We’ve even discussed doing some sort of blood ritual at our wedding,” she says. “So, very non-traditional.”
Nataleigh Ballantyne owns Love Shack Toronto, an event space and planning company that specializes in alternative weddings. She’s noticed goth-y weddings becoming “a little bit trendier, from an industry perspective,” and is expecting “lots of black cakes, lots of black candles, skulls and neon signs for all of 2023,” she says. “I’m very excited that more people are feeling empowered to have a bold impact on their day.”
For couples considering throwing a goth wedding, Ballantyne’s advice is to “pick one or two elements that are really your priority and kind of work everything around there. Maybe it’s just a few skull motifs and black candles – and work with that because you don’t need to have a skull cake, skull plates, skull everything. Just so it’s not too kitschy or dress-up,” she says. Additionally, remember that black clothing and decor can photograph flatly, so be sure to consult with your photographer about lighting, Ballantyne notes. And creating a mood board will help ensure your collaborators understand your complete vision, whether you’re dreaming of a full gothic extravaganza or you just want to infuse your nuptials with a hint of darkness.