Alice & Tom - Emo hearts, Doughnut vows & defiant joy

Real Wedding

13 Feb

There are weddings that follow a script, and then there are weddings that tear the script into confetti and throw it all at once, like this real wedding submitted by Khya Watts Photography

Alice and Tom’s December celebration at Shack Revolution was gloriously, unapologetically theirs; rooted in old-school emo nostalgia, stitched with heirlooms, and fuelled by pizza, doughnuts and My Chemical Romance.

The day began getting ready at Green Dragon Hotel, Hereford. Alice wore purple and black, Tom wore a purple velvet Tux and the bridal party all wore black, and the tone was set: bold, romantic, and just a little bit mischievous.

By 1pm, the ceremony unfolded at Shack Revolution - a venue that thrives on individuality and doesn’t blink at a little rebellion. Instead of neat lines of confetti, everyone launched it together in a chaotic burst of colour and noise. Instead of polite poses, the group portraits leaned darker, moodier, deliciously more sinister. The kind of imagery that says: we are not traditional, and we never intended to be.

Heirlooms & Handcraft

Among the styling details were quiet, powerful threads of family. Records tied with ribbon during the ceremony had been handed down from a great-grandmother and a piece of stained glass, crafted by a sibling. These weren’t decorative afterthoughts; they were anchors.

When Things Go Wrong (And Go Right Anyway)

The DJ unfortunately logged the wrong date and didn’t arrive. For some couples, that might have unravelled the night.

Instead? Alice’s sister stepped up. A playlist packed with My Chemical Romance and beloved emo anthems roared through Shack Revolution’s sound system. It felt less like a setback and more like it was meant to be.

What about tradition?

There was no cake cutting. No carefully tiered centrepiece waiting for a polite slice.

Instead, they exchanged doughnuts from Golden Glaze Doughnuts - playful, irreverent, and entirely on brand.

Dinner arrived in waves: vibrant Greek dishes from Eat Greek, then evening pizza by Pizza Heaven. Speeches, cotton candy, table tennis, first dances - the kind of day that refuses to sit still.

And through it all, Khya Watts Photography documented the chaos and the tenderness in equal measure - leaning into shadow, movement, and the beautifully unplanned moments.

A Note to Future Couples

If there’s one thread running through this celebration, it’s this:

Tradition is optional. Personality is not.

You can swap cake for doughnuts.
You can blast emo anthems instead of party classics.
You can turn confetti into a storm instead of a procession.
You can keep the heirlooms and ditch the expectations.

The alternative wedding space often demands more - more creativity, more intention, more authenticity. But the reward is a day that feels entirely your own.

Alice and Tom didn’t follow the blueprint.
They built something louder, sweeter, and far more fun.

And that’s exactly the point.