How to Plan a Halloween Wedding
There are lots of reasons to have a Halloween wedding. First, Fall is a great time for weddings with the leaves changing and cooler weather. Not to mention, for people who love Halloween the decor opportunities are to die for… pun intended. Maybe you’re just not a fan of the traditional wedding dresses, and a dark themed wedding is the perfect solution. Whatever your reason is, we fully support spooky weddings.
Here are four tips for your spooky wedding:
1. Plan Ahead
Coordinating all the parties leading up to the wedding will help keep everything tied together. You’ll start with your engagement party, so be sure to have your colors and overall theme picked out right away. That will be followed by the bridal shower and bachelor/bachelorette parties. Here are some examples of themes we love:
Lunar Love
Dark Masquerade
Til’ Death
Love Spell
2. Communicate All The Details
Make sure your guests know exactly what to expect. You don’t want to shock any relatives that were expecting a traditional wedding theme and make them feel like they must have missed something.
Be very clear if you want guests to come in costume. Giving guidelines for costumes or an option to not dress up will help everyone feel more comfortable when they choose an outfit. For example, if your theme is “Dark Masquerade” and your invitation only says to “come in costume”, guests could miss the theme or not know if they should dress in wedding formal clothing if they don’t want to wear a costume.
Detailed instructions, like the following, will make your expectations clear: “Please dress in formal attire for our masquerade reception. Our theme will include dark hues and masks of all shapes. Masquerade masks are encouraged but not required.”
3. Keep It Subtle
Using too many Halloween wedding decorations and colors can make your theme feel overwhelming. Here are some guidelines:
Color: While black is usually a first choice for Halloween wedding receptions and ceremonies, adding in a softer gray along with a deeper hue such as garnet or amethyst can round out the pallet.
Decor: Your decorations should vary while still representing your theme. If your theme is “Til’ Death”, placing black skulls all over would look repetitive, but mixing in crystals, goblets, candlesticks and unique bud vases filled with dried herbs and flowers can emphasize the skulls while adding interest.
Floral: Fresh flowers in darker shades of red and orange are plentiful in the fall. Some flowers and greenery can even be dyed or painted black if you want to add depth to arrangements with lighter colors. Wooden wedding flowers are another great way to get the exact shades you’re looking for without spending a fortune.
Cake or Dessert: Reach out to local bakeries in your area to see if they can put together a cake to match your dark theme. If you’re in the Cedar Rapids Iowa area, here are some local bakers that create stunning custom cakes:
Of course, you don’t have to stick to cake. You can easily have cupcakes made to match your theme or cookies with royal icing designs.
Dessert assortments are also a crowd pleaser! Everybody can appreciate a spread of truffles, cookies, cute little pies and pastries with fillings and frostings dyed to fit the setting.
4. Use Fun Halloween Sayings
Whether you want it to be fun or serious, spooky phrases are one of the best parts of a Halloween wedding! Here are some we love (and where to use them):
“Boos Before the I Do’s”
Where: Bachelor & bachelorette parties.
“Death of a Bachelorette”
Where: Bachelorette party.
“My Boo Said Yes”
Where: Engagement party.
“This Witch is Getting Hitched”
Where: Bridal shower.
“Till’ Death Do Us Part”
Where: Signs at the ceremony and reception.
“Love Potions”
Where: Reception bar.
“Eat, Drink & Be Scary”
Where: Reception.
“I Love You To The Moon And Back”
Where: Reception (lunar theme).
If you have more Halloween themed wedding ideas or photos to share, we’d love to feature them in a blog! Reach out to us at https://rosedaleparkevents.com/contact/ or by messaging us on Facebook or Instagram.