Whether you’ve dreamed of a Halloween wedding, or the spookiest night of the year is just the only available spot at your chosen venue, getting married on Halloween opens the door for some serious creativity. Of course, you don’t have to spend your wedding day bobbing for apples or dressing in costumes. The best thing about a wedding on Halloween is that the celebration can be a creepy cool bash or a traditional ceremony. How much (or how little) you embrace the Halloween theme is up to you.
It’s no secret that October is one of the most popular months for weddings. Autumn itself offers a variety of wedding day themes, from rustic to harvest-inspired. If you’re planning an outdoor wedding, the month is even better. The vibrant colors of fall make for a naturally beautiful setting and the cooler weather makes outdoor weddings more comfortable than in the heat of summer.
If you’ve decided to have your wedding on Halloween, here are a few of our favorite ideas for a bewitching Autumn celebration that’s as festive as you’d like it to be.
Let Guests Know What to Expect
Your guests will be skipping trick-or-treating to party with you on Halloween, so it’s important to let them know what to expect. Your invitations are a fun, artful way of letting them know if they need to dress up in costume or wear typical wedding guest attire. Does your wedding just happen to be on Halloween, or is the holiday a major part of your celebration? The style of your invitations will set the tone for your ceremony.Vintage gothic invitations are especially popular for Halloween weddings. For traditional autumn weddings, beautiful leaves and florals are favored invite designs.
Think Outside the Halloween Box
Halloween offers theme inspiration beyond pumpkin buckets and bags of candy. Maybe you’d like a gothic wedding day theme, with deep purples, velvet blacks, and rich reds. Or, your day could be more focused on the themes of autumn with earthy tones and pops of fall color.
“‘Til death do us part” is the phrase of choice for Halloween themed weddings, inviting tasteful skull decor, candles, and gothic tablescapes. Other couples might enjoy a horror movie theme, enchanted forest ceremony, or a masquerade ball. While you can certainly have traditional Halloween themes on your wedding day, feel free to let the creativity flow. There are so many different ways to incorporate the holiday.
Choose the Right Venue
Old buildings with lots of history and charm make perfect locations for Halloween weddings. This is also true of grassy or wooded areas for a spooky wedding celebration that just feels like the holiday. For an extra bit of fun, look around for a haunted wedding venue!
Incorporate the Theme Into Your Wedding Day Look
Black or deep red wedding dresses are all the rage for Halloween weddings. Of course, you can still wear the traditional white dress on your big day. Consider pairing your dress with a themed brooch, gothic headpiece, or darker eye make-up. Your bridesmaids could wear masquerade masks or even carry lanterns down the aisle!
Have Fun with the Food
Halloween gives you so many options for dinner and dessert. Go all the way with an elegant black wedding cake or serve up a candy buffet without the need to trick-or-treat. For dinner, consider elegant, themed foods like butternut squash soup or squid ink pasta. Serve your guests spiced cider and elaborate, smoked cocktails.
Don’t Forget That It’s Halloween
This may seem obvious, but when you’re busy planning your wedding, it can be easy to forget that everyone else is going to be celebrating Halloween. Make sure that any locations you select will be enjoyable on Halloween night. You don’t want to choose a venue that is used to receiving trick-or-treaters or hosting other huge events on the same night as your wedding. You should also take into account how easy it will be for you and your guests to get to your location on Halloween. Will there be parking issues or heavy traffic because of the holiday? Making plans to handle the busyness of Halloween will make the actual wedding day go much smoother.
Looking for the perfect dress for your Halloween wedding? Take a look at our collection!