Dracula Inspired Halloween Wedding

‘Till death do us apart is for quitters’ sums up this wedding perfectly. Frank and Marie wanted their Halloween wedding to exhibit romanticism, drama, and elegance, with gobs of entertainment for their guests. Photo Pink was the perfect fit to capture all of the details, of which there are so many — so let’s get started!

From the bride, Marie: Being a bit dark, dramatic and unique, we wanted to have a Halloween wedding that truly reflected our personalities. But we also were cognizant of the fact that it is very easy for a Halloween wedding to become cheesy, so we had to keep things tasteful. Inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula, we looked to recreate the rich opulence and Gothic romanticism of the Victorian period. Our focus was on romanticism, drama and elegance, with a little tongue-in-cheek thrown in. We had over 6,000 roses and 300 plus candles to help make this happen. We wanted to also make sure our guests had fun, so we included many old and new things you would typically associate with Halloween such as: old-fashioned candies in our candy bar, fun seasonal drinks, fortune tellers, cirque performers, Rocky Horror performers, dancing zombies, soup served in hollowed out pumpkins and fun finger foods, to name a few.

Our colors were red, gold and black. Again, the goal was to reproduce the Gothic romanticism of the Victorian period, while giving the rich and opulent feel of Dracula’s castle (lots of velvets, deep reds, candles and candelabras, gold and black flatware and stemware. A TON of DIY was involved. I cannot emphasize how much work Marie put in to sourcing and planning this wedding. EVERYTHING from designing the flower arrays, lighting, tablecloths, unique stemware and flatware, furniture rentals (including wrought iron gates for the ceremony), specialty bar rentals, specialty drinks, the music, the entertainers, finding nostalgic candies and the apothecary jars for the candy bar, etc. I had to hire a moving company to transport over 70 boxes of stuff for the wedding to and from the venue.

Frank made custom coffin-shaped card boards with table seating assignments, and also made gravestone-shaped specialty drink menus, located at each bar. Frank and I made small coffin-shaped candy boxes, containing specialty Hershey’s kisses, wrapped in red ribbon with a gold wax seal on top (all done by our hands). I designed a 16 foot candy bar for guests available after cake cutting (featuring unique apothecary jar and antique glass containers filled with nostalgic candies). Vials filled with candy corn, and candy apples served as some of the takeaways. We made about 6 portraits of ourselves that were displayed during cocktail hour, using images from our engagement shoot. We picked out 3 specialty drinks for the wedding, including an absinthe drink. We also spent an month rehearsing our first dance.

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Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? When planning, be yourself. Don’t be afraid to express yourself and go with what feels right for you. Remember it’s your day, not anyone else’s, so if you feel you are unreasonably compromising for others’ sake, don’t do it. (this is especially important when you are dealing with family). Also, don’t go in with the attitude that you need to top this person’s or that person’s wedding, you should be planning this for you. Don’t put unrealistic expectations on your family or your wedding party, otherwise you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Expect some things to not go as planned on your day (this is the reality, you can’t fight it). Don’t let these things ruin your day and just go with the flow. Your wedding day goes by very quickly, so remember to breathe, relax and have fun on your day!

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Ice Dance/The Grand Finale,” Danny Elfman (from the movie Edward Scissorhands) (great intro to walk to with a very dramatic-sounding moment in the song a little over a minute in to sync with the doors opening to reveal the bride)
Recessional: “Plainsong,” The Cure (queued up to start from the crescendo in the song)
First Dance: “As the World Falls Down,” David Bowie (from the movie Labyrinth)
We guarantee none of these songs have ever been played at any other wedding, but are incredibly beautiful and extremely fitting for the moments they were played. We also played a few Rocky Horror songs like the Time Warp (that was our electric slide), Sweet Transvestite (performed by a drag queen dressed as Dr. Frankenfurter), Michael Jackson’s thriller (performed by dancing zombies), some classic goth songs from Depeche Mode, the Cure, Concrete Blonde, Ministry, Sisters of Mercy, Wolfsheim, V&V Nation, but we also played a lot of top 40 and dance songs to keep the party going.

Wedding Location: New York City, NY / Photographer: Photo Pink / Flowers: Designs by Rose / Venue: Angel Orensanz Foundation / Wedding Dress: Ines de Santo / Wedding Shoes: Vivienne Westwood / Rings: Schaner Jewelry / Bride’s Accessories: Stephanie Browne Australia / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Bridal Reflections / Groom’s Suit: Calvin Klein via Bonaventure Tuxedo / Caterer: The Raging Skillet / Wedding Cake: Colette’s Cakes / Entertainer: Screaming Queens Entertainment / DJ: Then ‘Til Now / Furniture, Linens & Accessory Rentals: Ruth Fischl / Wedding Invitations, Programs, and Menus: Atelier Isabey / Transportation: Camelot Limousines