Chloe & Rudy’s chic goth historic mansion wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Chloe, alternative model, office employee (and Tribesmaid)

Her offbeat partner: Rudy, electrician

Date and location of wedding: The Haymount House, Briarcliff Manor, NY — October 13, 2012

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We were married in a historic mansion on the Hudson River. After our original venue canceled on us with seven months to go, we found this old mansion that had just been restored. The man we spoke with told me he wouldn’t go up on the third floor because he was sure it was haunted, so of course I ran right up there and was hooked. This was the perfect place for us: antique and haunted.

I wore Doc Martens and bat leggings under my white dress, and a veil lined with black lace. After the ceremony, I switched into a pair of spiked Jeffrey Campbells, a black dress, and a leather harness.

Rudy went for all-over black brocade and a Shrine tail coat. He wore a belt and tie that my mother made him. Since our wedding was in October, it was extra easy to have pumpkins, ravens, spiders, and skulls all over the place.

After our first dance, we did a choreographed dance with our bridal party to “The Monster Mash.” We also did sleep together the night before, woke up together in the morning, and did a first look before the ceremony. After being together for six years, being apart just didn’t make sense to us.

Tell us about the ceremony: We walked down the aisle to two different Rammstein songs and our first dance was by Stone Sour. We hired for our wedding, and she was really quite amazing. Our ceremony was completely tailored to us. We are both essentially non-religious, and the few beliefs I do have just required that we just avoid talking about love ending at death. We asked her to talk about our first meeting, and the day that Rudy kicked me in the head while he was in a mosh pit.

Our biggest challenge: Losing our venue in January for our October wedding was pretty scary. The laws changed and we were no longer able to get permits for our first wedding venue. Moving venues meant we had to cut down our guest list a little bit and we were unable to invite as many people as we would have liked. Luckily, things actually worked out better with the second venue in every other way.

My favorite moment: We wrote our own vows, and just as any other day, mine were perfectly typed and recited, and his went completely forgotten. Which ended up being one of my favorite moments, because it was such a moment of showing exactly who we are. I ended up loving his impromptu and very emotional vows. It didn’t hurt that Rudy had a very brief hospital stay the day before and got out just in time for the wedding, adding such a feeling of gratefulness to it.

I also loved our first look. It was a lot more emotional than I thought it was going to be, and I was really happy we did it.

My advice for Offbeat Brides: My DIY projects were the most rewarding part for me, so I recommend trying some out. It did take more time to get things done, but at the end of the day I felt so much like the wedding was ours. I had my hands in everything except the food, and felt a real sense of accomplishment.

Think ahead of time about how comfortable your outfit is and consider an outfit change for the reception. Mine was a huge life-saver, as my wedding dress would have been difficult to dance in. The leggings and comfortable boots under my dress kept me warm outside and removed any worry of pain or sinking heels.

Do something unexpected if you can, too. We really enjoyed the response to our burlesque performer, Go-Go Amy.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? I learned a lot about myself and my capabilities. It makes throwing smaller events now so much easier and allows me to trust in myself. On the flip side, it showed me that there are people who I can depend on to take the reins and trust that it will get done.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Di Bezi
• Dress: #1612 by Mori Lee, purchased at RK Bridal
• Boots: Doc Marten
• Black lace-lined veil: Victoria’s Veils
• Hair combs: my friend Dawn at Ghost Love Jewelry
• Spiked Shoes: “Foxy Spike” by Jeffrey Campbell
• Black Dress: Lolita Girl Clothing
• Groom’s coat: Shrine of Hollywood, purchased at Gentleman’s Emporium
• Traditional German children’s clothes: Ernstlicht
• Venue: The Haymount House
• Makeup: NY/NJ Makeup Artist Alyne Halvajian
• Amazing goth officiant:
• Cake: A Little Cake
• Photo booth: We Love Photobooths
• DJ: Carol Moore of A Starry Night

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!