Part art show, part ceremony, part fever dream. Von and Marc turned their love story into a full-scale immersive performance, complete with fake electrocutions, bleeding cake, and a Viking sacrifice! The wedding took place over two days. This one certainly isn’t for everyone, but if you’ve been looking for some proper hardcore alt wedding inspiration, look no further!

Day one featured the legal ceremony and an intimate dinner for twenty-five of their closest friends. Day two blew the walls off what a wedding could look like. They took over The Box in Soho and transformed it into a surreal playground of performance, sound, and ritual. “We went all out,” Von told us. “We had over thirty performers, with immersive performances running from 7pm until 2am. The evening unfolded through a series of ritualistic shows, culminating in a cake that bled when cut and a dramatic Viking sacrifice ceremony to close the night.”

The atmosphere was quite simply electric. As guests entered the venue, they were hit by a curated soundscape of haunting noises and medical beeps. Performers drifted through scenes like living sculptures. There was a shibari-tied bunny, a pig-masked butcher, a man in a hospital gown handing out fake semen shots and bloody bags filled with spicy Bloody Marys.

“Every part of the venue told a story,” Von said. “The signage, the sound, the performances, the transitions – it was all choreographed. We built a full soundtrack that moved from cabaret to chaos to these moments of metal-fuelled beauty.”

Von has worked in events for over twenty years. She’s seen everything. So for her own wedding, the brief was to make it unforgettable. The concept became Shock and Awe – a night designed to overwhelm, provoke and mesmerise. “We went through a few themes and venues before settling on that idea,” she explained. “We wanted to celebrate the incredible talents within our circle of friends while telling the story of how we came together – me as a fire performer, Marc as a stage manager, and all the adventures we’ve shared along the way.”

“We pretty much skipped every tradition and did things entirely our own way,” Von said. The first day gave a nod to formality – her father walking her down the aisle and a dinner surrounded by friends – but by the time they reached The Box, all conventions were gone.

Von’s entrance was designed like a ritual. Her closest friends, faces hidden beneath black veils, wept dramatically and scattered petals, mourning “the death of her single life.” Marc’s entrance was equally unholy. “He was introduced by dancers ‘charging’ him for his past crimes as a single man before being fake electrocuted while his sins were read aloud!” Von explained. Their chosen ‘hymn’ was Closer by Nine Inch Nails.

Then came an interruption. “A performer, the brilliant Mouse, burst into the ceremony screaming an objection!” Von laughed. “She pulled bunting out of her, well, you can imagine…. reading ‘I GIVE IT SIX MONTHS!’ It was the perfect. We wanted guests to feel slightly uncomfortable, to experience that repetitive dread you feel at conventional weddings, so we flipped the script completely.”

They said simple vows, and then their officiant burned them. They then went straight into a fire show performed by two of their best friends who were there when they first met.

The night climaxed with the cake ceremony. “Marc has always hated how the cake gets forgotten at weddings,” Von continued. “So we made it a spectacle.” Ten performers and an aerialist in Marie Antoinette-inspired costumes wheeled out a massive cake to Sugar by Sleep Token. When they sliced into it, the centre bled red. It triggered the final act, a mock blood-sacrifice orgy representing submission and domination. As you do.

The audience screamed, laughed, and gasped. Von and Marc stood hand in hand, grinning like kids. “It was the wildest thing we’ve ever done,” she said. “People were talking about it for weeks afterwards – honestly, they still are.”

And just when everyone thought it was over, two friends surprised the room with an impromptu striptease after forgetting their final costume layers. It wasn’t planned, but it fit perfectly. “The energy was insane. The whole room was in awe.”

Phones were banned for the entire night. Stickers covered every camera lens except the official photographers’. They wanted everyone to be really present. “It made the night feel even more intimate. No one was watching through a screen. Everyone was there, fully in it.”

Behind the scenes, Von and Marc made almost everything themselves. “Everything felt like a DIY project,” Von said. “I made costumes, designed all of the music with one of my closest friends, Oscar, who’s an incredible sound designer. We even recorded bespoke voiceovers. Marc and I crafted all the shows together. Every single element had meaning, even if people didn’t pick up on it at the time. It was so us. I even made a ‘Book of Secrets’ which really messed with people haha! I made a Google Sheet for people to input a secret about us or someone going to the party that we periodically read out loud at the night to see if anyone could guess them. A little nod to how Marc and I know everything about each other AND a way to spook people out who had some gruesome secrets!”

When asked what advice she’d give other couples, Von had some great thoughts for anyone doing anything really out there: “You will get people trying to tell you your nuts. A LOT. Just ignore it – NEVER listen to anyone else as it will really end up bothering you! Also invite who you want! I didn’t listen to my husband on a few people that did inevitably end up causing problems on our actual wedding day. Go with your gut, as you will never be able to do it again. Be selfish, as you will remember the little moments when you weren’t!”

And as for the wedding industry? “It can feel very formulaic,” she concluded. “There’s so much pressure to follow traditions, to book the same venues, to tick the same boxes. I wish it celebrated individuality more. There’s so much beauty in chaos, humour, imperfection, and personality. That’s where the real magic happens.”