Becky and Ran refused to hand their wedding over to anyone else’s version of “how it should be”. The bride knew she wanted to wear black, DIY as much as possible and to not spend a fortune on the things they didn’t care about. Almost everything was made by them or by the people who know them best. The décor, the flowers and the stationery were all put together by the couple, and the cake was a sheet cake from Costo which cost just £15!

“First and foremost, our biggest inspiration was metal music”, Becky said. “It’s the strongest passion we both share. We wanted to ensure that, if we were going to put in all the effort, stress and expense of a wedding, it would be done exactly as we wanted, without worrying about being ‘conventional’. Our theme was gothic, with black as our primary colour and dark emerald green as the secondary. The phrases we used for the day was ‘Til Death’ and ‘A Match Made in Metal’.  We aimed for a romantic, gothic atmosphere that reflected our passion for metal music. Our goal was for the day to feel like a lively celebration, a big party rather than a highly formal event.”

The ceremony opened with moment of emo nostalgia as Becky walked down the aisle to a piano version of My Chemical Romance’s Helena. Dark red and black petals covered the aisle and the guests gasped as they first saw her black gown. “I was living my ultimate emo teenage dream,” she said. “I always wanted my dad to walk me down the aisle as I couldn’t imagine doing it without him, therefore this was a tradition we wanted to keep.” They chose to exchange their vows privately in the woods afterwards, where they could speak to each other freely, and without an audience.

The reception then flipped the day into party mode. Their favourite metal music took over the sound system. Slayer, Slipknot and Rage Against the Machine turned the dancefloor into a mosh pit. Friends whipped around the room with cardboard cut-outs of the couple’s cats, Hector and Osirah.

Their décor was where they really let their theme and creativity shine. They worked with Wonderland Florals who supplied the faux flowers and Ruffle & Rose who did the chair covers and lighting. Everything else they made our put together themselves. Their friend Ben built a coffin-shaped aisle arch and a skeleton in a top hat greeted guests at the entrance beside the welcome sign. A flag reading “a match made in metal” overlooked the top table. They had records as the table plan, bat-shaped place settings, black candles, and shot bottles as favours labelled ‘Til Death’.

“If you want a wedding with heavy music, dark and moody décor, and a black dress, then go for it!”, Becky concluded. “And if you plan to DIY, buy a Cricut because it was one of our best investments.”