Four spooktacular tricks to planning a gothic, Hallowe'en wedding
- Katie McCall
- Oct 10
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 13
Summoning all gothic to-be-weds! Come forth from the shadows if you're planning a spooky, Hallowe'en wedding.
As a non-traditional wedding celebrant and writer of spooky, gothic fiction, I've conjured up some haunting ideas, to help you plan a wedding day...to die for.
1) Pick a haunted venue
A suitably spooky venue will set the ghostly energy swirling about on your wedding day. When you picture your wedding photos...what do you see in the background?
Perhaps you envisage:
An eerie, misty moorland in the Peak District.
The sweeping arches of a gothic building like The Monastery.
Historic Eyam Hall, in the doomed Plague village.
An enchanted, candelabra-lit woodland wedding at Chesire Woodland Weddings.
Medieval Chetham's Library, where the Devil himself is said to have made an appearance.
Your celebrant ceremony can take place wherever you choose.
Hopefully the Horned One won't make an actual appearance on your big day (unless he is on your guestlist!)
2) 'Til death do us part...with a ceremony that rocks
No need to face the horror of a boring, generic wedding ceremony that drains the life from your wedding guests.
To bind your two souls together for eternity, we can incorporate symbolic rituals such as hand-fasting or jumping the broomstick. Your wedding guests can get involved this part of your ceremony, too.
Or we could include a candle ritual as part of your wedding, using an ornate candelabra. Gothic AF.
Music has the power to cast a powerful spell over all the souls present at your ceremony.
We could plan:
A group singalong with all your wedding guests to your favourite metal anthem.
Metallica lyrics woven through your vows.
Stomping up the aisle to Slipknot.
A ceremony mosh pit.
Lyrics to your favourite music as a reading that actually means something to you.
3) Pick alternative wedding suppliers
Search for alternative wedding professionals who specialise in this kind of spooky stuff. You do not have to make do with traditional, beige wedding suppliers.
There are so many epic alt photographers, venue stylists, wedding dress designers, make up artists and hair stylists, videographers and, of course, wedding celebrants (like me).
How do you find quirky, creative wedding suppliers? Take a peek at Quirky Weddings and the Book of Love. They collate a list of inclusive, non-traditional wedding creatives to bring your spooky wedding vision to life.
4) Deliciously dark décor
Wouldst thou like to live deliciously? Of course you would, especially on your wedding day. Your venue styling will create a gothic ambiance...think dark florals (roses and lilies), skulls...basically, anything that would suit Dracula's interior design mood board.
If the cost of buying all the decorations is sending you to an early grave, then consider Vinted, Facebook marketplace, charity shops, or even better...hiring a venue stylist to sort it for you. Much more sustainable.
DIY wedding decorations often end up costing way more than you'd think (take it from someone with experience as a DIY bride) and it takes up a huge amount of time.
Planning your spooky ceremony
Want to chat about planning your own gothic wedding ceremony? Whether it's in Manchester, the North, or further afield, my broomstick travels near and far for weddings all across the land.
Katie McCall | Alternative Wedding Celebrant | Spellbound Ceremonies | Non-traditional celebrant ceremonies in Manchester, Yorkshire, Merseyside, Derbyshire, Cumbria and beyond.
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