A Gothic Punk Ebook Wedding.

The big day they say every girl dreams about, that last instant when the bride gazes into the mirror, is the black gown flowing as it should be? Are the ghouls in place?

The Wedding Skulls team specializes in a separate kind of wedding, customers with their own set of wants, needs, and atheistic that would stump the typical planner.


1. Has it been difficult to market e-products?

Not really. Because my products fall into such a niche (alternative weddings), and I KNOW where that niche hangs out on the internet, its simply a matter of making sure they know about my ebooks.

The great thing about ebooks is they don't require any supply costs, apart from an internet connection. They don't require shipping, or printing costs. They're VERY good for the environment, which I feel is important. They take awhile to write but once you've written one, you can resell it again and again. I really do believe that ebooks are a way of the future, although I won't be giving up on the printed word any time soon.



2. What advice would you have for vendors just beginning to market electronic and internet ware?

Research before you begin. Decide on a target market. Research similiar products availiable for that target market. What gaps are there? What information is your target market not recieving? Come up with a list of five or so ebook ideas. Then choose one to begin writing.


Write a business plan, and stick to it. It really helps focus your efforts.

Write a plan before you start your ebook. I find I write twice as fast when I've written a detailed plan.

If you're not a writer but you still want to market ebooks, hire a copywriter to turn your ideas into a sell-able book. Poorly-written ebooks WILL NOT SELL. Ditto with websites riddled with spelling and grammar errors, or poorly written marketing copy. If you can't do it, hire someone (like me :)) who can.

Pick ONE or TWO marketing projects and focus on doing them really well. I market on my blog and through discussion forums. I don't twitter, facebook, myspace, digg, or anything or that sort. If I did all that I wouldn't have time to write.

3. If you could have a steam punk style romantic getaway, how would it be, where would you go, how would you get there, and why?

Ooh, what an excellent question. I'd take a steam train journey - either across the Australian desert or along the orient express, stopped everywhere to look at museums and take pictures in the epic scenery.

4. I'd love to read about another dream Gothic or punk wedding...

My husband and I had our wedding at Spookers, a haunted insane asylum just north of Auckland, New Zealand. The nurses quarters of the old asylum have been turned into a haunted attraction. They regularly host functions but we were the first wedding.

We wanted the theme to be 'heavy metal' and everything we loved. We're both ex-archaeologists so we love swords and warriors and historical stuff, so we chose outfits that reflected that. Once my husband's mother declared he would NOT turn up in his ripped jeans and cannibal corpse shirt (our original plan), he designed his own outfit and chose his own sword (which we used to cut the cake). I sourced my dress from an online seller for a fraction of the cost of the same dress from a bridal shop. I didn't want flowers so I carried a lantern instead. Not one of our attendants matched.

What else? We exited our ceremony venue - a 150yr old circus tent - to Manowar's 'the gods made heavy metal'. We had our photos in the asylum grounds, making use of their awesome props like their old fashioned hearse. After the banquet all our guests got to go through the haunted attractions. Everyone picked on me! It was great fun. So many people said it was the best wedding they'd ever been to.


5. When can we begin to see more items in the other categories? (Of doom)

More products will be added over the next month, before we Officially launch, including more ebooks. The clothing / jewelery is made by my business partner Amy, and she's currently working with a photographer to capture her masterpieces. Trust me, these clothes are worth the wait... :)

When I get back from my Europe holiday in October I will be creating a line of alternative bath and beauty products, which will be a real treat.

6. Tell the story of one wedding fantasy, or real life nightmare,...

Well, we did have one horrible nightmare with our wedding rings. CDH (my husband - stands for Cantankerous Drummer Husband) designed our rings himself, based on an Anglo-Saxon design, a simple band with a rope border and a stone set inside the ring. Each was to be carved with 'twegan gastus in annes' - two souls as one'. His mother gave him some of HER grandmother's jewellery to melt down to make the rings.

So he takes the gold and his design to a jeweler and says 'can you make this?' The jeweler says 'no worries. I'll call you in two weeks when I've cut the molds.'

Six weeks goes by. CDH rings the jeweler several times, leaves messages, but gets no response. Finally, we go to the shop. It's disappeared, leaving no sign or forwarding address or phone number. hey have our gold.

We're ready to go to the police, but CDH's mother is determined to get her gold back on her own. She talks to all the nearby shop owners and tracks down several phone numbers. Eventually, finally she contacts the guy, who apologizes profusely, and turns up at their house with a nearly-completed ring. Boy did he get a blowing-up from my in-laws (love them!). But we got our beautiful rings (albeit three months late) so it all turned out o.k. in the end.


The gorgeous red dress featured in the top photos is called Nevermore. It is worth noting that this store also stocks books on writing, and fantastic bridal and gothic items.