The Brides of March started as an annual Cacophony Society event that takes place in San Francisco around March 15th. Intended as a pun on the term Ides of March and a parody of weddings in western culture. The event, which began in 1999, is part pub crawl and part street theater, while wearing a thrift store wedding dress. Brides may be of either gender, but the wearing of traditional white wedding dresses, or something resembling them, is the point of the event. In recent years there have been a greater number of gothic brides who wear black, alien brides and other variations on the theme. Like its Cacophony Society counterpart "Santarchy", the tradition has spread worldwide and now includes gatherings in Austin, Reno, Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, London, and Japan, among others.