There’s no rule that says a wedding has to look like lace and champagne flutes. If your life is already lived through a scene, style, or subculture, why should your wedding day be any different? Forget toning it down for the sake of tradition. This is your chance to turn the volume up.

If you’re anarcho-punk, it could be patches stitched across your suit jacket, vows shouted over feedback, or a reception playlist that rages against the wedding industry machine. If BDSM is part of your world, you might swap rings for collars, keep the guestlist tight to those who understand your community, or use leather and chains as décor that actually means something to you.

Cyberpunks might lean into neon lighting, glitchy visuals, or a Blade Runner-worthy city backdrop. Cosplayers can blur the line between performance and ceremony, bringing favourite characters or worlds into the day, and LARPers could turn their day into a quest, with guests in armour and goblets raised in the feast hall.

Goths have been rewriting wedding aesthetics for decades – black lace, candlelit ceremonies, cemetery photo shoots – and dark academia lovers might find their altar in a library, with handwritten vows on parchment and candle-filled halls.

Is emo more your style? Its time to double down on the checkerboard print, wear your favourite Vans and put your wedding party in band tees. And if you’re a gamer, this is your opportunity to set up your very own arcade to keep your guests entertained,

Not to be a cliché, but only limit if your imagination! Don’t water down your identity into a token detail that fits neatly on Instagram or is palatable to the other people. Your wedding should feel like an extension of the life you already live. Whether that means spikes and studs, pixelated graphics, or incense and protest banners, your wedding doesn’t have to be a costume change. It can be the truest version of you.

But what about the people who don’t “get it”?

Some guests simply won’t understand why you’re dressed in latex, fairy wings, or corpse paint. That’s their problem, not yours. You’re not staging a performance for approval. You’re inviting them into your world for a day. If they love you, they’ll respect that, even if they don’t fully get it. If they can’t handle it, they don’t have to attend and that says more about them than it does about you.

Worried it might be “too much”?

There’s no such thing. The only thing that’s “too much” is doing a watered-down version of yourself to make other people comfortable. If you’re hesitating, ask yourself: will I look back and regret not going harder? Chances are, you’ll wish you’d been braver, louder, and more unapologetic.

The wedding industry will try to pull you back in

Glossy adverts, Pinterest boards, and endless “must-haves” will whisper that you need to look a certain way or spend a certain amount to make it count. Remember, the industry profits when you feel insecure and when you believe your own ideas aren’t enough. Close the tabs. Step away from the trends. Trust your gut over the algorithm.

A subculture wedding isn’t about being weird for weird’s sake. It’s about honouring who you are, who you love, and the community you’re part of. Whether you’re howling at the moon in black velvet, staging a boss battle in the park, or saying vows under UV lights, this is your reminder: your wedding doesn’t have to look like theirs. It only has to look like yours.