Located in Gothic Avenue Passage, you arrive at a large chamber with several dripstone columns, in one area of the chamber there are three very large dripstone columns known as the “Bridal Altar”. 

In the 1800’s and 1900’s several couples got married at the dripstone formation known as “The Bridal Altar”. According to an 1800’s story, a bride who swore to her mother “never to marry any man on the face of the earth” kept her promise by marrying her love in Mammoth Cave, under the earth.   Weddings are no longer held in the cave, but subterranean proposals are still known to happen.  Gothic Avenue is host to some of the earliest 19th century tourism. Early visitors left behind signatures, monuments and artifacts in this area of the cave. 

NPS Mobile App Users: Click here to watch a video of a ranger at the Bridal Altar.