How to Have a Classy Halloween Wedding

My bestie is a wedding coordinator, and I played the role of her assistant at an elegant Halloween-theme wedding earlier this month. I learned a few things that day:

• I am capable of peeing more often, eating more, and getting tired faster than my 7-month pregnant friend. In my defense, she’s used to chasing an adorable 2 year-old around all day.
• I don’t have the positive attitude it takes to be great in a customer service role.
• It’s possible to incorporate Halloween into a fall wedding without making the reception room look like a haunted house or the bride look like the bride of, well, Frankenstein.

The groom really wanted a Halloween wedding, but the bride didn’t want to carry the theme too far. She did a really nice job mixing in Halloween traditions, like pumpkins and trick-or-treating, into an elegant wedding.

Spooky location

This wedding was in Salem, Massachusetts, which – next to New Orleans – may be the spookiest town in the country. Every year, thousands flock to Salem during October to tour the Witch Museum and the House of Seven Gables, and participate in all of the Halloween revelry. The ceremony for this wedding was at a church where the first witch burned at the stake is buried. Creepy! Not creepy: the elegant hotel ballroom where the reception was held.

Gorgeous gown

I adore lace gowns, which is why I chose one for myself. The bride wore this lovely Casablanca gown (#1900), which was so much prettier in person than in this photo. She was petite and plus-size, and looked stunning, proving that this gown – with a slight empire waist – will look good on any body type.

fashionbride.wordpress.com

Bold autumnal color palette

The girls wore separates (same long skirt, different tops) in a pretty shade of wine, which is a classic fall color.  For me, cocktail dresses are the way to go. This selection from J. Crew, all in “spiced wine” and silk chiffon, is dressy but wearable. I think most bridesmaids would rather pony up $200 for a dress they’re likely to wear again than $120 on a taffeta number that will be worn once before being stashed away for next year’s Halloween costume.

Silk chiffon twist-tank dress - jcrew.com

Silk chiffon beaujolais dress - jcrew.com

Silk chiffon Juliet dress - jcrew.com

The boys had brilliant orange calla lilies in their boutonnieres, like this one:

voilalafete.wordpress.com

The couple’s centerpieces were simple, but sparkled when set on gold chargers. Here’s a photo before they were brought to the reception (without the chargers):

I’m more of a flower girl myself, and would have loved to see the wine color of the bridesmaid dresses brought into the reception via centerpieces like these:

theknot.com

Perfect use of pumpkins

Jack-o-lanterns were used minimally, which kept the Halloween influence. They carved the table numbers into foam craft pumpkins, and lit them from within using battery-operated tea lights.

Place cards were propped on little gourds, like these:

lioncrestmanor.typepad.com

Trick-or-treating for favors

The main favors were hand-carved wooden trivets in the shape of maple leaves, but the best activity of the night was when guests went trick-or-treating for their candy favors. An hour before the reception ended, cellophane bags and big bowls full of candy were put on each table. Since each table had a different type of candy, guests who wanted a variety of sweets had to go from table to table. Meanwhile, the deejay played “Thriller” and “Monster Mash”. This was a cute idea, but I also love this candy display, which serves as a favor as well as decor:

theknot.com

All in all, it was a very classy Halloween wedding without being spooky, creepy, or dark.

P.S. If you’re looking for a day-of wedding coordinator, Jenn is amazing. I knew that already, of course, but after seeing her in action I can say it for sure. Both bride and groom were super pleased, and the mother of the bride gave her a big hug and said “I’m so glad they hired you!”