Let’s be real, spooky season is definitely one of the best times of the year and if you are a fan of everything Halloween and horror, why not have a Halloween-themed wedding?
As a wedding photographer, I have been to my fair share of themed and cosplay weddings, but being a part of James and Mary’s Friday the 13th Halloween wedding is one of my favorites.
There are so many different things you can do to bring in that haunted vibe and make your day truly one of a kind. If that is exactly what you are looking for, here are some of my top tips for planning a Halloween-themed wedding!
Tips for a Halloween-themed Wedding
Picking Your Date
Picking your date is one of the most important decisions you have to make about your wedding. If you are thinking about a Halloween theme for your wedding, there are a couple of things you can think about when it comes to the date.
First, you can think about having your wedding sometime in October. This is the expected time to have a themed wedding like this and your guests are sure to love this festive twist to your wedding.
You can also think about doing it on a haunted day. We all know that Friday the 13th has those spooky vibes associated with it so even if you can’t do your wedding in October, maybe you can plan it for a Friday the 13th throughout the year.
Now, if you’re lucky enough, like James and Mary, you may find yourself getting married in a year where there is a Friday the 13th in October. If that is the case, you have found the perfect wedding date to tie in all of the best parts of Halloween!
Choose a Haunted Color Palette
Your color palette is also going to have a lot to do with the overall vibe of your Halloween-themed wedding. While weddings traditionally have very light and airy colors associated with them, this is a time for a dark and moody vibe.
When you’re thinking about your colors, you may want to lean more into blacks, reds, and oranges. These not only will look great together, but they are also going to match that Halloween aesthetic and make the day feel cohesive.
Have Your Guests Dress Up
One of the best parts about a Halloween wedding is that you can have your guests dress up for the day. You can ask them to dress up in a specific theme – maybe you want to really lean into the horror side and have them come as their favorite horror character. Or, you can give them free rein and have them come as whoever they would like.
Not only is this going to make sure that your entire wedding feels on the theme and make some of your wedding photos even better, but it is going to create a really fun experience and night for your guests.
Most of the time weddings mean getting dressed up in stiff or stuffy clothes that you don’t love. But how much fun would it be if you could show up as your favorite superhero character or Ghostface from Scream?
You can even have fun with this and plan a costume contest during the reception to really get your guests excited about dressing up and going all out for your wedding.
The great thing about themed weddings like this is that it’s not just showing off what you love and your personality. Sure, you may be a total nerd and are so excited that you can cosplay for your wedding, but odds are, the people around you and the people you love are just as big of nerds as you are.
So, not only do you get to share this special moment with them, but you also get to share that entire side of your life with them and let them show off what they love as well. It really is a great way to make all of your guests feel included and seen in your wedding while also creating the day that you want to remember.
Think About All of the Small Details
All of the small details are going to play such a big role in your wedding. These are going to be the things that really tie each part of your day together and the things that you and your guests will look back on for years to come and remember.
When it comes to these details, you can think about breaking the day down into four different parts: getting ready, ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception.
For the getting ready portion of the day, having small details throughout your getting ready suite can start the day off with that Halloween vibe and make it so that your getting ready photos match the rest of the gallery.
Mary and James added things like fake spiders, pumpkins, and other Halloween decorations around their suites to get the day started off right.
When it comes to your ceremony, you want to make sure all of your florals and decorations bring in that spooky vibe. From orange, red, and black accents, to cosplaying right on the altar, you can really have a lot of fun with this.
James and his side of the wedding party broke out the lightsabers to have a bit of fun as they stood up together during the ceremony. Meanwhile, the other side of the wedding party had small bouquets that matched the wedding colors perfectly.
There was even a small coffin up there with them that read “Til death do us part.”
For the cocktail hour, the perfect way to keep the Halloween vibes front and center is with themed drinks. Whether this is by coloring them in specific ways, naming them as some of your favorite Halloween characters, or even adding small details to the glasses, these details are ones that people will be talking about.
Finally, for your reception, this is where you can really have a lot of fun. All of the little trinkets, the small signs, table numbers, centerpieces, and everything in between can be Halloween-themed.
Mary and James had things like centerpieces that were lanterns with small decorations surrounding them, spider webs and tealight candles throughout, table assignments on small cards with pumpkins, skulls, and spiders on them, and they even had The Nightmare Before Christmas-themed plates!
There are so many different ways you can bring this theme throughout your wedding that not only show off everything that you love but also create a unique vibe for your wedding.
Find a Venue that Matches the Vibe
Finally, you want to make sure that the venue that you choose really adds to that spooky vibe you are looking for. This means finding a venue that has one of two things:
- It already has that Halloween-esque, haunted look to it
- It is a blank slate that you can transform into whatever you want.
Picking a venue that matches one of these two things will make it so much easier for you to really lean into the Halloween vibe and create a really unique wedding. Finding a venue that already has that spooky look can save you a lot of time and effort.
Mary and James opted to have their wedding at Cloisters Castle which has a bit of that medieval edge to it. This meant that they didn’t really have to go too over the top with the decorations to give off that Halloween aesthetic.
For the most part, they were able to add simple touches and small details to really make their dream vision come true.
However, if you can find a venue that is an empty canvas that you can transform into whatever you want, you may have to put a bit more time and thought into decorations, but you can turn it into anything and everything you’ve dreamed.
Final Thoughts on a Halloween Wedding
Hopefully, these tips help you as you plan out your own Halloween wedding. This really is a great way to show off your nerdy side, have fun with your wedding, and create a day that you and your guests will never forget. Now all you need is the perfect photographer to capture this day for you. If you are still looking for that person (and maybe one that totally gets your nerd side), I’d love to chat! You can click here to learn more about my wedding photography services, or you can head over here to get in touch with me today!
