Two loved-up goths tied the knot in 'the most heavy-metal wedding ever' - and exchanged electric guitars instead of rings. Madi Danger and Jay Aspen wanted to avoid tradition on their big day and planned the wedding of their dreams.
The duo, both 26, married on December 16 and said their wedding was 'less stressful and more personal', even if it did raise a few eyebrows. They wore gothic attire, gave each other Gibson Explorer electric guitars, and arrived in a black hearse.
Madi, who looked stunning in her white dress with power 80s hair, said the pair got some funny looks on their big day but both she and Jay were over the moon with their unique wedding.
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Madi, who has an 80s rock hairstyle, explained the pair were 'almost more excited' to receive the guitars than to get married as they'd been delivered in August and hidden until the day.
The pair were driven to the Gothic-style Trinity United Methodist Church in Madi's own black hearse and they walked down the isle together to rock hit Mr Crowley by Ozzy Ozbourne.
They ended the service by playing Lovesong by The Cure and travelled to their reception with 'just married' written on the coffin-filled hearse's back window in white.
Madi even jokes she 'turned her guests into goths' when frosting on their black cake - which she cut with a dagger - turned their lips and teeth black.
Their unique wedding clearly struck a chord with Instagram users who have liked the bride's post more than 30,000 times, with many hailing it 'cute' and 'the most metal wedding ever'.
Madi, from Idaho Falls, Idaho, US, said: "We were almost more excited about getting each other's guitars than the wedding. It made the day so much more personal.
"One day we were talking about what guitars we wanted and we were looking on Gibson's website at the Explorers. I joked about us exchanging those at our wedding then we decided to do that instead.
"I really like Victorian-style rings but they're hard to find and the ones we saw looked really cheap and awful. Jay didn't want to buy me a crappy ring and he doesn't like wearing rings anyway.
"It was really fun because the guitars had been hidden for so long. Like when the groom can't see the bride.
"Only a few people knew about it so some people were shocked and then they were excited about it.
"We both love the 80s in general so we had a lot of metal and goth influence in it. A lot of it came naturally because we couldn't figure out what we wanted to do.
"One of our main goals was we wanted it to be fun and not stressful. We wanted it to be very us and something we'd enjoy.
"We had it in a very cool gothic revival church with amazing stonework and stain glass. It's gorgeous. We waited three months for the reverand to get back in the country to get married there.
"We weren't going to have a cake but my grandma got a black one with red roses. I cut it with a fancy ornate dagger because I didn't want to cut it with a knife.
"The frosting was so pigmented with black that everyone who ate it got black lips and teeth and tongue. I joked that I turned everyone at my wedding into a goth.
"A lot of people thought the wedding was actually filmed in the 80s. I zoomed in a lot on the video so the quality will have made them think it was shot back then too.
"There's always a few people who think it's cringy and us just trying to be different but we just wanted to do it. Whether it was on social media or not, that's how our wedding would have been done.
"It went really well because it wasn't stressful. People have said it's the most metal wedding ever and that they love the goth influence."
Madi, who can play guitar, piano and clarinet, first adopted her 80s rock hairstyle four years ago yet the pair are naturally blonde so dye their hair black.
The high school sweethearts have been together nine years and bonded over thrash metal music but since then they've grown to love goth music too, which is softer.
She says her hair and makeup is inspired by Patricia Morrison who was the bassist in the rock band The Sisters of Mercy.
Madi originally wanted to wear a black Victorian mourning dress but Jay told her they looked like 'something she'd normally wear' so she found a vintage white one on eBay for $120.
The heavy metal lover ditched her 2015 Subaru to buy an $8,500 hearse from a funeral director two years ago and her grandma even helped her make a coffin to fit inside.
She insists her family are used to her style and were pleased it was so personal to the pair.
Madi's Instagram post captioned 'we loved having so much fun with planning our wedding' has attracted almost 400 comments.
One said: "This is the most metal thing EVER!"
Another agreed and said: "This is the cutest and the most metal thing to do at a wedding. Congratulations to you both."
A third joked: "It's a lot harder to lose a guitar than a ring lol. Congrats, I love your dress."
A fourth gushed: "You guys are just being 200% yourselves and in love. Absolutely amazing"
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