Halloween Wedding Ideas and Trends for a Hauntingly Perfect Celebration

Every couple is unique, and every wedding should be too. If you and your partner share a love of classic horror and the spooky season, a Halloween wedding could be a scary good start to your marriage and the perfect way to celebrate your devotion (and flair for the dramatic!). We’ve gathered some of the best Halloween wedding ideas to get your imagination working.

Set the mood from the start with enchanting invitations to your “Hallowedding.” Choose a design with spooky imagery like black lace or spiderwebs, trees with bare branches, skeleton hands making a heart shape, witches and cauldrons, bats and black cats, or a harvest moon. Use a vintage script font for gothic text such as We summon thee, ’til death do us part, (Names) have laid their single lives to rest, or (Names) invite you to witness their eternal vows.

Choose a gothic venue. The place where you get married has a significant role in the tone of the day. Find a location that will emphasize the spooky and mysterious theme you desire—a cathedral, mansion, castle, haunted hotel, cemetery, woodland area, a farm with a corn maze, or a venue with significant history.

Take advantage of the endless autumn and Halloween décor options. What a mood you can set with a reception filled with black candelabras, dried leaves, pumpkins, hay bales, corn stalks, cheerful orange mums, or striking black roses. You’ll have to decide if the charming smile of a jack-o-lantern or a more ghostly tableau is the style that best suits your wedding. Other ideas to consider are tarot card table numbers, skull centerpieces, taxidermy accents, Halloween candy favors, and plenty of black feathers and lace. And don’t forget to save a seat at the wedding for a skeleton guest.

Shock them all with your wedding gown. Part of the fun of a Halloween-themed wedding is surprising your guests when you glide down the aisle in a non-traditional gown. For an enchanting witch look, choose a flowing or lacy black or deep green gown with bell sleeves. For dark romance, go with deep burgundy or purple. For a more Victorian look, choose a corset bodice, full skirt, lace gloves, and an elegant choker. For something more playful, choose a short and sassy dress in dark colors or striking red, and accessorize with a flower crown, cape, or unique veil.

Invite guests to wear costumes rather than formalwear. It’s a sure way to infuse your day with fun and make it a wedding that no one will forget. You could also provide a selection of costumes and props as a photo opportunity. Or, for a less campy theme, set an all-black dress code that would make a white or colored bridal gown pop.

Incorporate seasonal food, especially on the dessert table. For the main meal, you may want to explore hearty comfort foods for autumn, such as roast pork, beef stew, potatoes, and root vegetables, as well as vegan pumpkin dishes. For drinks, serve pumpkin martinis, smoking margaritas, or a cauldron of witch’s brew. For your wedding cake, consider going all black with a fudge or black forest cake. Other flavor options for the season include bloody red velvet, pumpkin spice, or caramel apple cinnamon.

Narrow down your Halloween wedding ideas to one motif. Do you want ghostly white or vampire red? Goblins and ghouls or black cats and spiderwebs? Gothic drama or cozy fall cottagecore? Choose an aesthetic and stick to it.

Select the Halloween wedding ideas that align with your history as a couple. What do you and your partner usually do on Halloween? Are trips to haunted houses a part of your history? Was your first date a hayride? Does your home have the scariest decorations on the block? Making your wedding personal is what it’s all about.

As with all theme weddings, it’s a good idea to avoid “overdoing it” with too much kitsch and instead find the right combination of Halloween and autumn elements to result in the most magical celebration of your life.

To explore all your options and meet all the vendors who can make your wedding dreams come true, get your tickets now for the 57th Annual Wonderful World of Weddings show at the Wisconsin State Fair Park Expo Center, January 4-5. It’s Wisconsin’s longest-running and most prestigious bridal show and the best place to plan your perfect wedding!