Planning a themed wedding can mean a lot of ideas and inspiration to choose from but here is the perfect styled shoot to get the best gothic wedding ideas!
When you think of a gothic wedding or event you might think of deep colors, darker or black colored attire, candlelight, and things that work together to create a mysterious feel. If any of these things spark interest when thinking of your overall wedding vision, a gothic wedding might be for you.
Planning a Themed Wedding
Even if you’ve found plenty of inspiration and tips from online or print resources to plan a themed wedding, there can be so much you may not consider on your own. A wedding planner can bring together vendors they know and trust to get the perfect look you had envisioned for your wedding day.
The professional that helped coordinate this gothic-styled shoot, Cannizzo Events, shares her thoughts on creating it “My inspiration for this shoot was from so many different aspects of this year. This virus has given a gloom over the air that brings tension so thick you can feel it. I wanted this shoot to represent love and class in the midst of something dark and scary. We went with the gothic Victorian look for this couple, which they pulled off so well. I brought together a team I trusted, and they absolutely nailed it.”
Event planners are there to coordinate the wedding of your dreams and there are many professionals who already have experience with similarly styled events which can be helpful in finding those other vendors who are just as excited to be creative.
Gothic Floral Inspiration
Wedding floral design is something that can be so versatile, with many different feels and colors that a florist can create for your bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, or other decor areas. While most of the pictures you will find when searching for gothic floral inspiration will be colors such as deep red or black. Taking the time to talk to florists who see and create amazing florals every day can help you consider other unique colors and variations of flowers you may not see often when researching.
Hear from Southern Style Floral Design and their inspiration, “For this shoot, I was asked to do a dark and moody bouquet. I chose the deep purple roses and Hydrangeas to fit the theme. I also wanted to stick with the outdoor feel. I used pampas and wooden pods to bring the outdoors into the look. Together, it made a beautiful dark bouquet.”
Not only do you have to curate your wedding decor to feel gothic but also consider if there are other elements of style that are being included, such as the outdoor feel created by the venue, Bridlewood Ranch.
Alternative Gothic Attire
Attire for a themed event can be a complete alternative to more traditional wedding looks, which makes it so much fun shopping for a dress, tux, or stylist.
This allows you to make bold decisions, especially when it comes to the dress, using the color scheme you’ve decided on previously to add hints of darker colors to the dress or going full black.
However, this styled shoot is a great example, that having a gothic wedding gown doesn’t always mean bold colors, you can still choose a lighter colored gown that has a style to match. Looking for something with elements that stand out and a lot of lace can help to bring it together with your vision.
Shopping for a tux to fit your gothic wedding ideas can be much simpler with a classic sleek black or dark colored tuxedo or suit, like the one found in this shoot from Generation Tux. Make it even more interesting by exploring other fabric options such as velvet, silk, or satin, to enhance the groom’s look.
The best part about creating a look with makeup and hair is that the options almost seem endless to be able to perfectly fit your gothic wedding ideas and vision. Playing with the feel and look from the rest of your decor can help the stylist choose a color palette and style when creating a look, the same way Bridal Beauty by Nicole explains how she did for this shoot.
“My inspiration for the makeup was the deep purples and plums in the bouquet, I was looking to give the bride a sophisticated, moody look to play off the theme of the wedding. My inspiration for the hair was the textures of the nature surrounding the venue.”
Dramatic Cakes
The wedding professionals who make amazing cakes and desserts create masterpieces and decorate cakes for almost any occasion you could think of. There are a lot of variations in approaching the cake design with color, details, and added decoration. The vendor, Raechel from Le Petit Sweet, shares with us her approach to designing this special gothic-themed cake.
“I think it is so fun when couples approach weddings in an unconventional way and make it their own! I have always loved the dark and moody style for Halloween and really wanted the gothic elegance to transfer to the cake. Creating those modern and elegant designs is one of the things working at Le Petit Sweet has really helped and inspired me to do.”
**Wedding Venue Map Tip: Creating a more dramatic setup of your cake table, or even replacing the cake itself, can be as simple as including more similarly moody colored and decorated desserts that are you and your partner’s favorites.
Unique and Creative Portraits
You’ve spent so much time working with your partner and even a wedding planner, to bring your gothic wedding ideas to life. Be sure to let the photographer know to shoot detailed images of areas like place settings and table decor to capture those small details you’ve worked so hard to incorporate into the theme.
Along with details of decor, there are other elements that may be special to you to have photographs of for years to come, this could include details from the couple’s attire or even hairstyle.
Wedding photographs are an important part of capturing the day you created but it’s also just as valuable to make sure you find a photographer that is excited to shoot something unique and is ready to get creative.
Gothic wedding ideas don’t just come from the decor but also can be made with innovative portraits, the photographer should be excited to try new props like the smoke and candles from this styled shoot. The photographer, Robert McClory Photography, shares his thoughts about working on something out of the ordinary.
“In all my years photographing weddings, I havenever done a styled shoot. When Alyssa reached out to me, I jumped at the chance to do something fun and creative without the time and pressure of a wedding day. Alyssa’s vision and the work of an amazing team of professionals allowed us to create something that we are all incredibly proud of.”
Creating a themed event can be unique and fun for you as well as the wedding professionals you ask to help bring your vision to life. To find more inspiration for themed weddings you can always ask other local professionals to see similarly styled shoots they may have put together and made it fit your own style.
Special thanks to all of the vendors that participated in the shoot:
Planning & Design: Cannizzo Events @cannizzoeventsweddings
Photographer: Robert McClory Photography @robertmphotog
Venue: Bridlewood Ranch @bridlewoodranchweddings
Floral Designer: Southern Style Floral Design
Cake & Desserts: Le Petit Sweet @lepetit*weet
Hair & Makeup: Bridal Beauty by Nicole @nicolepacemua
Tux: Generation Tux @generationtux
