There was certainly a time

      There was certainly a time when a bride who was not wearing the expected white floor length wedding gown was stared at not with wonder or admiration, but by guests who were appalled that she could break away from tradition so easily. We are much luckier these days because many brides exercise their freedom to wear what they want to wear, not what others expect of them. They show their own uniqueness and their independent natures which makes them happier, more radiant brides than ever before. Thankfully today brides wear all kinds of wedding dresses. Gothic wedding dresses are just one unique type of gown you will see at a modern wedding. Today brides wear short wedding dress, colored wedding dresses or white wedding dress with color, informal wedding gowns, and beach wedding dresses, Celtic, medieval, pagan or other wedding gowns to celebrate heritage or religious choices and freedoms. So what does a gothic wedding dress mean exactly? Well, even though certain images may come to mind it all depends on who is thinking about it really. 

      There is no one gothic design that all brides who choose to go a little (or a lot) gothic in their ceremony choose over every other design and idea out there. What gothic wedding dress the bride chooses is really up to her idea of what she wants to look like on her wedding day. Many brides choose to wear darker colored gowns like deep reds, purples, blues and greens. It really helps if they gowns have intricate design features, like decorative beading, and a corset top looks especially nice. Of course there are brides who want a more gothic feel to their ceremony but do not want to stray from white and like colors. There are plenty of gothic wedding dresses that are white; they are just of a specific style. For instance Celtic and medieval gowns are most certainly gothic in nature. They tend to be stark white or ivory, but the style screams gothic beauty. They use design elements like tie corsets, long billowing sleeves and floor length gowns. Many brides who choose to think outside the box for their gown also do so for the rest of their ceremony and reception. If you choose a gothic wedding dress you might want to carry that theme throughout the rest of the day. 

     Many brides who choose a gothic theme also integrate the Celtic or medieval aspects into their ceremony and reception. One way to do this is to get married in a castle like setting (or to decorate it so it appears to be one). Be imaginative in how you want to do this, but a castle screams medieval wedding along with a fairytale wedding.