It’s the spookiest time of year, so the Halloween fans among you will be going all out in order to celebrate. You might be planning a costume party, entertaining trick-or-treaters, or even watching a classic horror movie marathon on Netflix, but the important thing is that you have fun.

If you and your partner ae big Halloween fans, then you could really up the ante by incorporating the holiday into your wedding. The best thing about Halloween is that its theming can run the gambit from vintage elegance to in-your-face craziness, so you can often weave elements of it into your wedding without going OTT.

This article will give you some ghoulish suggestions to transform an autumnal tying of the knot into a memorably spooky Halloween wedding…

Preparation

Get Married on Halloween

What better way to incorporate Halloween into your big day than to get married on October 31st? It might be a bit late to plan for this year, but this could be a great suggestion for next year, when Halloween falls on a Friday.

Have an evening wedding

While most officiates are unlikely to work during the witching hour, you can always choose to get married after dark.

Find a spine-chilling venue

Every town/city has a building that claims to be the most haunted in the country or sometimes even the world, so ask if they can host your wedding (or even just the reception). If not, choose an old church/hotel/etc with a rich history. Your guests might be the first to spot a ghost or ghoul.

Choose themed invites

It’s important that guests know if they’ll be attending a themed wedding, so make it clear when you invite them. If you don’t want to give away too much too soon, you can easily get invitations that express Halloween spirit, without revealing a lot. Think gothic text on firm cardstock, featuring a spider web or wand sketch.

Ceremony

Pick an officiate who will get into the theme

Some religions see Halloween as sacrilegious, so you might need to opt for a civil ceremony rather than a religious one in order to find your master of scare-e-monies. They might even be willing to dress in costume.

Choose readings from horror writers

While these legends may be best known for ghost stories and tales of terror, many horror writers actually have some beautiful work about love, i.e. Bram Stoker’s “You are the light of all lights”, which is included in Dracula.

Emphasize the “’til death do us part” section of your vows

It’s both romantic and a little bit macabre.

Hire an organist to play

Whether it’s the wedding march, a hymn, or even the Beach Boys, everything sounds a little bit spookier when played on an organ. Then again, maybe an eerie theremin is more your thing.

Halloween Wedding Outfits

Get married in the ultimate couple’s costume

Anyone could get married in a white dress or a three-piece suit, so why not tie the knot dressed as one of history’s great romances, like Anthony and Cleopatra or Romeo and Juliet? You could even get the wedding party and guests to do the same. Although… you might have to ruin the surprise to prevent any guests turning up in the same outfit.

Or choose to go vintage

If you’d rather not dress up like a monster or a witch, then embrace the old-fashioned theme of Halloween and choose something vintage or vintage-looking to wear. Medieval and renaissance long white dresses have the feel of Hammer Horror damsels lost in the woods…

Compromise on guest costumes

Not everyone will share your love of the occult, so make costumes optional for your guests. If you don’t want to do that, you can always provide a list of costumes that include suits and smart dresses (i.e. JFK and Jackie O).

Reception

Hire some spooky entertainment

Whether you want a magician to entertain guests before dinner or a fortune teller set up in the corner, it’ll an extra dash of the supernatural to your big day.

Make your food and drink scary, but still appetising

It’s fairly easy to incorporate the Halloween spirit into your catering without conjuring up reminders of touching eyeballs (peeled grapes) through a box at the neighbourhood Halloween party. You can incorporate the fall flavors, i.e. pumpkin, into the menu, serve your signature drink with dry ice so that it smokes like a witch’s cauldron, or even just use food with scary sounding names. Here are some of our favorites:

•         Devil’s Food Cake
•         Blood Orange
•         Ghost Pepper
•         Head Cheese
•         Lady Fingers

Use Halloween OR seasonal decorations

Some Halloween decorations don’t exactly scream “eternal love”, so if you’d like to keep a seasonal focus without putting up fake spider webs and hanging skeletons, stick to traditional fall colors and décor. This could mean using a red, gold, and chocolate color scheme or bringing in pumpkins and barley as centerpieces.

Make a spooky playlist

If you’re concerned that Halloween songs won’t fit with your wedding, it’s probably because you don’t realize how many are dance floor classics. The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s “Time Warp” and Frank Sinatra’s “Witchcraft” are played at most weddings, regardless of their theme, and you can make it more subtle by adding in tracks from your favorite artists as well. Why not try Bette Middler’s cover of “I Put a Spell on You” for your First Dance? It’s the perfect blend of romantic and slightly eerie.

Set up a Halloween ready photo booth

All you need are some masks and some fake spider webs to get the guests in the spirit.

Plan something special for the witching hour

If your reception is going to be wrapping up just after midnight, you could plan a surprise goodbye for your guests. Perhaps, even a Thriller flash mob led by the happy couple.

Use candy in Trick or Treat Bags as favours

What’s Halloween without some Trick or Treating? Send your guests home with a bag full of their favourite treats, which will inevitably get eaten before bed.