30 Ideas to Put Together a Spooky Halloween Wedding

Hosting a Halloween wedding isn’t for everybody, but if it’s for you, it’s really for you. You can go ghoulishly glam or simply play with a festive color palette. But for some, the spookier the better. In any case, we’ve outlined the steps to help you succeed at spookify-ing your celebration. Plus, tons of Halloween wedding inspiration. Scroll on… if you dare.

Tips for a Spooky Halloween Wedding

Set the Date

If you want your wedding to be Halloween-themed, your wedding day should fall in late October. If you know from the start that you want to have a Halloween-themed wedding, only consider venues that have availability on Halloween or during the weeks leading up to it.

Set the Tone

Halloween is notoriously dark and moody, so your wedding colors should fall in line. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go with orange and black. Consider tasteful deep red, burgundy, or purple hues that are equally as moody. You can also play with an all-black theme or stick to white and gray for a celebration that’s as ethereal as it is scary.

Whichever direction you choose, select a color palette early on to help set the overall tone and make other aspects of wedding planning (wedding party attire, wedding bouquets, decor, etc.) easier.

Start With Stationery

Having your wedding on (or around) October 31st doesn’t mean your guests will know it’s going to be a spooky celebration. Make sure your invitations and wedding website make it clear. Moody florals, gold foil calligraphy, and celestial patterns are just a few designs that suit a spooky theme.

Hire a Photo Booth

A photo booth is a fun addition to any wedding—especially on Halloween. A photo booth provides an opportunity for guests to dress up with fun props and wardrobe pieces. It’s the perfect on-theme activity. Plus, you can use the photo strips for your guest book.

Go, Go, Gourd

Pumpkins and other gourds come in all shapes in sizes and go smashingly well with fall wedding decor. Plus, they come in a variety of colors, or can be painted to suit your palette. Decorate tables with tiny ones and stack larger ones at the entrance to the ceremony or by the bar. Don’t be afraid to mix and match colors or shapes. Bonus points if you get to carving jack-o’-lanterns.

Halloween Wedding Decor Ideas

1. Spooky Wedding Venue

Incorporate your theme from the ground up by booking a venue with a spooky feel to it. Think historic hotels, large estates, saloons, and stately ballrooms.

2. Themed Ring Box

Even the smallest wedding ceremony details can be made on-theme. Choose a ring box shaped like a small coffin or skull, or go with something in a gothic style.

3. Spooky Ceremony Music

Book a string duo, trio, or quartet and request that they play eerie instrumentals before and throughout your ceremony. You can even request that they continue throughout cocktail hour.

4. Add Texture

When we think of Halloween, we think of rich, slightly tattered fabrics. Consider dark tablecloth linens made of rich velvet fabric topped with frayed-edge napkins or gauzy chiffon table runners on top of long sophisticated banquet tables. Tulle can also provide an on-theme, upscale look.

5. Glam Glassware

Crystal coupes, black goblets, or gold-rimmed glasses are all great options for stemware that will add a chillingly beautiful touch to your tables. To create an eclectic, yet glamorous visual display, mix and match water glasses, wine goblets, and Champagne flutes of various styles.

6. Candles, Candles, and More Candles

Whether you opt for tall tapered candles or candelabras overhead, candlelight will bring a gothic feel to the night. Think beyond the tabletop, and create a dramatic, yet safe, look by surrounding the dance floor with the electric kind.

7. Terrifyingly Beautiful Tablescapes

Take the theme to each guest’s table with decked out wedding centerpieces and table settings. Compose centerpieces with deep florals, spider webs, skulls, and/or pumpkins, and use vintage or thrifted tableware.

8. A Festive Menu

Embrace seasonal plates, or switch it up with dark-colored courses. Serve up soups or bubbling stews to warm up your guests before spooking them with a frighteningly delicious main course like squid ink pasta or Mexican molé.

9. Colorful Cocktails

You can also infuse cocktails with a spooky essence by using cherry, raspberry, or blackberry liqueurs. Add dry ice for a smokey finish and dub them “Love Potion” or “Witches Brew” to keep guests on their toes.

10. Witch’s Brew Punch

Serve a favored punk (alcoholic or not) from a cauldron, complete with “smoke” from dry ice.

11. Scary Sweet Confections

With a talented baker on deck, your wedding cake can be the spooky concoction you’ve always dreamed of: black fondant, webbed icing, stylish cake topper, you name it. But don’t stop there. Create a dipping station, complete with all the fixings for caramel apples, short of poison.

12. Wear Two Gowns

A lace wedding dress with long sleeves or a high neck can give you the gothic wedding look you’re going for, while still appearing classically timeless. Then, take your look from day to Halloween night by swapping the frilly frock for an edgy black wedding dress later on.

13. Styled Wedding Shoes

If you’d prefer to stay in a traditional gown, add a touch of the eerie or supernatural with a fun shoe choice. Black lace, lace-up, printed, you name it.

14. A Bold Beauty Look

If smoky eyes and dark lipstick ever have their place in a bridal beauty look, it’s at a Halloween wedding. The time to embrace these bold makeup looks is now. You can go dark and moody with shades of gray and purple, or lean into the magical side and choose sparkling shades of silver and pink.

15. Don a Headpiece

Swap your standard veil or headband for a more stylized headpiece or crown, fit for a ghostly figure.

16. Wear a Black Veil

If a ghostly gala is your thing, stick with a long white veil. But if a darker, moodier feeling is the goal, consider wearing a black one instead.

17. Gothic Bridal Bouquet

Wedding flowers contribute much to your ambiance. Request that your florist include deep, moody flowers in your bridal bouquet—think thistles, twigs, and dark foliage.

18. Black on Black

For the groom, an all-black getup is both in step with the Halloween theme and seriously sharp. Keep it simple, or add a printed tie or bow tie to incorporate the rest of your fall wedding colors.

19. Bridesmaids Accessories

While your bridesmaids and bridal party will already likely be dressed in your wedding’s colors, drive home your theme with a few fun accessories. Consider themed earrings, pendant necklaces, lacey chokers, and long gloves.

20. Groomsmen Accessories

Likewise, get the groomsmen into the (spooky) spirit with boutonnieres covered in fake cobwebs, spider cufflinks, and matching ties and/or bowties.

21. Eerie Escort Cards

Purchase skeleton keys from websites like Etsy and attach each name card to one with a black ribbon. Place at each guest’s seat for an immersive escort card and fun take-home gift.

22. Festive Wedding Photos

Who doesn’t love a photo booth? Offer one that takes portraits that look old-timey and haunted.

23. Neon Signage

Lean into the flashing lights that are oft seen throughout the season with neon signs. Spell out your last name or a short phrase, like, “‘til death” (do us part).

24. Graveyard Seat Signs

Make the couple’s chairs stand out by hanging tombstone-style signs on their backs, complete with their names.

25. Gothic Lounge Seating

Place gothic-style lounge chairs and couches around your Halloween wedding reception space to add to an elegantly eerie ambiance.

26. Unique Vendors

Look to the mysterious and unique for Halloween wedding entertainment. Consider a tarot card reader or face painter, for example.

27. Festive Activities

Provide your guests with all the fixings to paint their own small pumpkin , DIY tombstone, or similar spooky novelty.

28. Costume Dress Code

If full-on classic Halloween is your goal, invite guests to show up dressed in costume. You can make it a free-for-all, or provide a theme (ghosts, monsters, etc.).

29. DIY Wedding Favors

DIY an on-theme wedding favor, such as antique key bottle openers with handwritten notes attached by ribbon, fall seed packets, and mystery favor bags.

30. Smokey Exit

Coordinate so that colored smoke bombs go off as you and your partner make your grand exit, making the appearance of a spine-tingling cloud.

Halloween weddings are meant to be a bit outside the box, so don’t be afraid to let your wild side shine on your big day. Embrace the holiday in just one of these ways for a subtle nod to the season, or incorporate them all for a full-out affair. In either case, it’s til death do us part.

For more tips and wedding planning tools, create an account with Zola. We’re here to help plan your spine-tinglingly perfect wedding day.