Jess and Carla’s January wedding drew aesthetic inspiration from gothic baroque influences: black, deep red, mauve… and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A wedding wasn’t actually in their plans. Carla entered a raffle without reading the fine print and ended up winning a wedding. So they went with it! There wasn’t years of preparation, just two people who love each other, a date in the calendar, and a ‘Til Death theme.

“We both have a very deep love for the macabre, dark and spooky”, Jess began. “So our wedding had to be just that. I wore a black dress and we had a coffin arch in-place of a traditional wedding arch. Our guests were also under the impression it was merely an engagement party, so it took so much of the formality out of it too.”

The ceremony itself was very low-key, with only their closest family present. “We performed a handfasting ceremony in addition to the ring-swapping, and it made the vows so much more intimate and special”, she continued. “We had a photo booth that we utilised between the ceremony and ‘reception party’ that we and our wedding guests absolutely loved, passing the time and sharing laughs.”

Jess organised the entire thing and used savethedate.com to keep track of guests, checklists, timelines, and RSVPs. Their Save the Dates were DIY magnets and the decorations came from dollar stores and thrift shops – except the coffin arch which they had made especially and is now a bookcase in their home. Instead of splurging on things they knew wouldn’t matter to them (limos, cake, extra flowers), they prioritised what they’d actually remember.

But there were a few things they’d change if they could do it all again. They’d hired a photographer for the ceremony but not the party, and they do wish they had more photos of that. “We wish we hadn’t relied so heavily on guests for photos of the party,” they admit. “Its something we thought we would be fine with – everyone has their phones out these days snapping photos and videos, but BOY was it like pulling teeth getting those photos and videos from people!”

Planning an alternative wedding came with challenges. There were unsolicited opinions and some pushback from guests who didn’t like the plan. “You’ll upset some people,” Jess said. “And you’ll have a harder time organising things because the whole wedding planning business is based around very traditional values and preconceived ideas of what a wedding should look like. My biggest pet peeve when planning a wedding was ‘Oh the bride and groom’ Like no? There’s me and my fiancée, my life partner. There was so little room in planning when it came to wedding supplies that didn’t have “Mr and Mrs” tacked onto it.”

Still, they don’t regret going off-book because they didn’t want their wedding to look like anyone else’s. “You can’t please everyone,” Carla concluded. “And it’s your day. Factor in 10 minutes just the two of you. I promise you, it’s a beautiful moment you’ll be so grateful for when the night is over.”