We’re so excited to feature our gorgeous Strut bride, Chancey, and her wife, Denae! The two got married in November 2024, at The Venue at Chilleens, with a celebration filled with thoughtful details and a theme that felt completely true to them. With their black and red color palette, heartfelt personal touches, and perfect mix of elegance and edge, their wedding day was truly unique! Check out their gothic Arizona wedding!
Chancey chose a fitted black lace wedding gown with a dramatic train and floral appliqué from top to bottom. The sheer detailing at the neckline and back added a modern, romantic touch to her black wedding dress. She found her dream gown at our Chandler, AZ, bridal store and absolutely loved working with a stylist who understood her vision! She wrote, “My dress shopping experience prior to coming to Strut Bridal was a complete nightmare accompanied with a couple mental breakdowns. I knew I wanted a wedding dress that was nontraditional and of course my favorite color black.
Trying to find a black wedding dress is extremely difficult unless you have full confidence in shopping online, which I do not. With my petite body figure and wanting a black dress I called over a dozen wedding venues that either offered a couple options or none. I then found myself at the mall of all places 40 minutes away from my home where again I left empty handed. Sitting in the parking lot with my mom I was almost in tears desperately looking online for another place to try where I saw Strut bridal nearby and I saw images of black dresses! I instantly made an appointment and knew this was my last-ditch effort before I either got something online or just buy a white wedding dress.
When we arrived at strut bridal we were greeted by Brooke and she was amazing at making me feel welcome and comfortable and listened to my vision and what I was looking for. When she brought over a handful of dresses my heart instantly filled with joy and my dress shopping experience went from a nightmare into a dream I never wanted to wake up from. Every dress I tried on was exquisite. Brooke helped answer all my questions and she never made me feel rushed or pressure me into getting a dress I was unsure about.
Finally, I tried on a black floral printed dress that showed off my body in the best way possible. When I turned to look in the mirror I instantly knew in my heart that this was the dress. When I turned to show my mom, she instantly was in tears, and I knew it was time to say Yes to the dress. I highly recommend strut bridal based on the large variety of dresses especially in black, and because of Brooke.”
On the big day, Chancey’s bridesmaids stood out in rich red velvet and chiffon bridesmaid dresses that popped out beautifully against her black lace wedding dress! The contrast between her black wedding gown and their vibrant dresses created a dramatic and cohesive look for photos. Denae and her groomsmen matched the vibe in sleek black suits with red and white boutonnieres, keeping the focus on the bold color story that ran through every detail of the day.
One of Chancey’s most unforgettable moments from their special day came when they stood together under their floral arch, surrounded by close family and friends. The arrangement of ivory, crimson, and black flowers framed the ceremony beautifully, but what stood out most were the emotions they shared that day! “It felt like the world faded away for a few minutes,” Chancey described, as they exchanged their vows. The energy from their loved ones, the stunning venue, and the joy of committing their lives to each other made it a moment she’ll cherish forever. Between bursts of laughter, happy tears, and applause, their ceremony was the perfect start to a night they’ll always remember!
Chancey told us what she loved about her wedding: “By far the funniest part of our wedding was our grand entrances. We let our bridal crew know that we were going to have a competition between each pair to see how much they could hype the crowd for our grand entrance and there of course would be a secret prize for the winners. Let’s just say our bridal party understood the assignment! We had everything from acting performances of elderly people dancing to club songs with money being thrown at them, to light saber battles, to inflatable shark costumes busting their best moves, to driving in on miniature cars and motorcycles. It was by far the best and most entertaining wedding reception ever according to the guests. Little did our bridal crew know though that in the end they were all winners who won by getting “Iced” which basically means they all had to drink a bottle of Smirnoff Ice.”
“Every single moment of our wedding day was everything that I wanted it to be, if not more” our bride continued. “The moment I arrived at the venue and saw our vision of our wedding become a reality it brought me to tears. This was the first moment where my emotions hit me, and I realized in that moment that in less than a few hours I would be getting married. It was one of the most powerful moments of the day, but not my favorite moment. My favorite moment was sitting in this beautiful chapel taking as many deep breaths as I could to calm my nerves, then I heard my music playing and the chapel door open where my father stood waiting to take my arm. I took one look into his eyes and instantly felt comfort in knowing that everything was going to be okay and all my anxiety just faded away.
We walked down the chapel stairs and made our way to the start of the aisle and with the biggest smile on my face I revealed to all my family, friends, and the love of my life my beautiful black dress. Only a select few knew that I was going to be wearing a black dress and keeping it a secret for over a year was exhausting, but totally worth it. The amount of love and support that I felt walking down that aisle was overwhelming, but in the best way possible. Then seeing my beautiful bride with the cheesiest smile on her face is a moment that I replay in my mind daily. Then at the end of our ceremony when we did our dip kiss, which we practiced a enormous amount of times, it came out perfectly and my wife did not drop me which is always a plus!”
We’re absolutely obsessed with her wedding vibe and wanted to know more! “The theme of our wedding was extremely important to us. We really wanted it to be something that showcased both our personalities and make it as unique to “us” as possible. We had high hopes of getting married on Halloween, because on Halloween night in 2020 is where our love story began. Halloween unfortunately was on a Thursday, and we needed a Saturday. Everything worked out prefect though, because the following Saturday fell on the day of the dead, which matched the vibes we were going for perfectly. Our theme was Till Death, and we wanted the feel of dark and moody with gothic inspired elements.”
Chancey’s added: “One piece of advice I would give to another bride is hire a wedding planner or get a venue that is all inclusive. It made planning so much easier and brought the stress levels lower and it also helped to make sure that I was not missing anything. Also joining wedding/bride Facebook groups. I was able to learn about several small detail type things and even found some beautiful décor for our wedding.”
Such smart advice because their gothic Arizona wedding was clearly flawless and we wish them the happiest ever after! If you’re looking for a unique, nontraditional or gothic black wedding dress, our Long Beach, California and Chandler, Arizona bridal stores have the area’s largest selection of black wedding dresses. And in October, you can save 10% on a custom order black wedding dress or save 15% on an off the rack black wedding dress. Book your wedding dress shopping appointment today!
