Oooh…pretty.

The Nefertem shawl is a lace-knitting pattern by Kristen Kapur of Through the Loops Designs. It’s currently only available as part of a pattern/yarn kit through The Loopy Ewe, but the pattern will be available by itself in October.

There’s a little more information about it in the Ravelry library, plus a photoset on Flickr where it’s also shown being worn as a scarf. Red Pepper Quilts has a review of the pattern and some more photos.

I love the delicate, spiderwebby look of this piece, and have to say that I think I like it better in the dark purply-grey yarn of the kit than I would in plain black. This would be a perfect light wrap for an evening out or, as Hinkenhook suggests, a bridesmaid’s gift to be worn in a Hallowedding.

io9 has a neat gallery of “geeky” wedding invitations, many of which are also gothy, such as these zombies and this whimsical skeleton.

Several commenters chimed in with their own material, including member glamzuki whose wedding was based on favorite movies. The save-the-date is just splendid:

I particularly like this because it’s altered text on actual movie artwork (although I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the movie this was from). Even if you don’t have the artistic ability–and can’t afford to pay someone who does have the artistic ability–to create completely original artwork, if you’ve got some rudimentary Photoshop skills you can turn existing art into something quite clever.

The Brooklyn Limestone blog is primarily devoted to recording the renovations being done to a Brooklyn limestone (duh), but they also have a healthy interest in Halloween.

A couple of their parties have included wonderfully elaborate invitations. Their 2009 party invitation was a box which included a “creature survival kit:” Wooden stake, silver bullet, holy water, and so forth. They followed up with a circus theme in 2010 with invitations featuring “preserved Siamese twins” in a little specimen jar. I don’t know if I’d have the energy to come up with any other party details after devising the invitations.

These really are a brilliantly effective means of immediately creating an atmosphere. They probably wouldn’t be practical for a very large gathering, but they’re just perfect for small-ish parties or weddings.

Be sure to search “Halloween” on the site to turn up lots of other posts, like this great Mad Scientist decorating scheme and these photos of the exterior covered with skeletons. Gorgeous stuff.

Steff Metal is the author of the “Gothic Wedding Planner” eBook, and she also used to write the now-defunct Wedding Skulls blog. She recently wrote to let me know that she’s back with a new, slick site, and she’s currently running a drawing to give away two lovely alternative wedding veils.

A book for goths, punks, metalheads, steampunks, pagans, and any other dark alternative in love, the Gothic Wedding Planner is packed with over 200 pages of tips and advice on venue, attire, budgeting, decor, invitations and writing the perfect wedding vows. As well as checking out the Gothic Wedding Planner book, you can have a look at the Gothic Wedding Blog for all kinds of dark and romantic inspiration.

Photos of the veils and information about the drawing are here. It doesn’t mention whether the drawing is open to overseas visitors or is restricted to New Zealand residents only; hopefully it’s the former.

If you’re planning a gothy wedding, the site is definitely worth checking out. You might even score a designer veil to plan your costume around.

Reddit member TheLocoYoko commissioned artist Manuel Morgado to create this utterly splendid wedding invitation. As one of the commenters over there put it:

A women let you make zombie apocalypse wedding invitations? Dude, if you EVER let her go you are beneath my contempt. BENEATH IT!!

Damn skippy.

I have no idea what the artist charges for something like this, but if you’re doing a themed wedding this would be a heck of an addition. I particularly like the graphic-novel sort of illustrative style. (Be sure to check out the other stuff in his gallery; I especially like his Sleepy Hollow.)

(via Blame It On The Voices)

Made with a foam wreath form, some satin ribbon, and a piece of lacy fabric. Project cost: $3. Whoa.

The blogger used some lace from a damaged jacket, but stretchy lace is easy to find at fabric stores (if you’re like me, you’ve probably got some scraps left over from other projects lurking in your sewing room).

She doesn’t provide a lot of detail about adding the lace covering, but her description, “I cut a circle out of the lace jacket a few inches larger than the wreath and snipped and stretched and maneuvered it to cover the front and sides,” sounds overly complicated. I think it would be easier to sew the lace into a tube, place the seam at the back, and hide the open ends under the ribbon tie at the top.

Her instructions for making the outer petals of the flower are pretty straightforward, and if you aren’t sure how to make a ribbon rose for the center, this video makes it easy.

This is a gorgeous decoration for a door, and a bunch of them laid flat would make interesting table centerpieces at a wedding reception.

(via Creepy Cupcakes)

The Friendly Atheist blog recently showcased the secular wedding of a couple of science geeks.

The script for the ceremony began with a poem which would also be perfect as a sweetly gothic touch on a wedding invitation or save-the-date card:

The Spider’s Web (A Natural History)

The spider, dropping down from twig,
Unfolds a plan of her devising,
A thin premeditated rig
To use in rising.

And all that journey down through space,
In cool descent and loyal hearted,
She spins a ladder to the place
From where she started.

Thus I, gone forth as spiders do
In spider’s web a truth discerning,
Attach one silken thread to you
For my returning.

— E.B. White

You’ve got to love poetry that manages to combine romance and spiders. I may wind up writing this in my anniversary card to Shadow Jack this year.

Joshua Hoffline, the photographer who specializes in horror vignettes, is also one half of a team of wedding photographers. Although the portfolio at the site is all fairly standard–although undeniably very well-done–wedding photography, the photo above is their splash page so I’m assuming he might be induced to bring his vignette skills to a wedding as well.

Their prices (which I would link to directly if their site were not all Evil Flash) don’t seem outrageous compared to other wedding photographers, and their talent would certainly be worth it.

If you’ve already got a gothy wedding in the works, you might consider commemorating it with some wonderfully spooky photos. These guys should certainly be able to deliver.

(via Ghoul Friday)

Artist Sonja Buehrke created this astonishing lasercut wedding invitation, which is completely inkless.

With the invitation telling the romantic fairy tale story of their wedding, from the proposal to the actual wedding party at a castle with alpine scenery, the folded leporello silhouette landscape card, does not only tell the story, but is unique and a keepsake to always remember the most gorgeous day of their lives. The intricate design and the folded pieces, combined especially with the two-colored paper make this invitation a little piece of art.

It started as a hand cut cutart wedding invitation, but I wanted it to be much more delicate and detailed. So the technique was to be laser cut with a touch of laser engraving. Producing an invitation without ink, it was a challenge to get the typography to be readable. Apart from that, it was also a challenge to not overdue the design, because the lasertime is expensive.

“Expensive” is rather an understatement in this case, as the invitations worked out to $25 each.

If you don’t have that kind of budget (if you do, can I come to your wedding?), the same general idea could be used as inspiration for a hand-cut–or even just printed–foldable stand-up card. If you happen to have access to a laser cutter (some colleges have them), this would be an amazing project.

There are several more detail photos at the FPO site. Go take a look!

(via Super Punch)

These are hilarious. Etsy seller swelser creates custom save-the-date/wedding invitations that look like the covers of vintage comic books. The illustrations are based on photos of the couple, and they can supply personalized cover blurbs as well. In addition to full-color digital files, the seller also provides the original black-and-white drawing for framing and display.

These would be great if you and your intended are comics fans, or as a tie-in to a themed wedding or reception. I can think of a few classic horror comics like Tomb of Dracula that would be fantastic for this.

(via Neatorama)