© 2011 Universal Orlando Resort. All Rights Reserved.

I LOVE Halloween. More than Thanksgiving, Christmas, and The Fourth of July combined. It’s the one day of the year you can be anything or anyone you want to be. You can be funny, you can be silly, you can be sexy, but what about if you were a bride? Last year, on Oct. 15, 2010, April Richardson & Adam Cochran “tied the noose” at one of the haunted houses at Universal Orlando Resort’s Halloween Horror Nights XX. The couple won the “wedding of their nightmares” in Universal Orlando’s wedding giveaway contest. They were the first couple to kick off Halloween Horror Nights themed wedding packages offered at Universal Orlando. When I found that out, I said to myself, “Oh I can’t wait to get my hands on a Halloween Wedding.”

Venue: 
Universal Orlando’s Meetings and Events has over 25 locations throughout the resort for you to get hitched and throw a party. Last year, after hundreds of brides and grooms asking to get married during HHN, it became a reality. You can have your ceremony or special event outside of your favorite haunted house and enjoy Halloween Horror Nights before or afterwards. They’ve promised, “Whatever you can think up, we can help make happen—invite your favorite character to join in, drive up in a sinister hearse, and more.” Too much fun. 

© 2011 Universal Orlando Resort. All Rights Reserved.

The couple that won last year’s contest, had their reception, in the private room at Lombard’s Seafood Grill at Universal Studios. It had a very spooky, captain’s Library feel, so it worked really well.

Colors and Stationary:

Here’s a Bride Inspired first. A custom designed invitation just for this post. I will be putting it up on Etsy as a complete set with RSVP cards and envelopes. I’ll put out another post when it is available. As if I really needed to put up the color scheme, it’s blood red and black. 

Attire: 
When it comes to a Halloween Wedding, there are two ways to approach this—Inspired and Full-on. Part of me says, it’s still a wedding, but the other part of me says OMG IT’S A HALLOWEEN WEDDING!

This gorgeous gown by Maggie Sottero has Victorian and Gothic inspired details like Swarovski crystal detailing, corset back, and bustling. But this is the best part, it comes in the standard white and ivory, but it also comes in light gold, pearl rose, and black. Yes. Black.

But if you want something a bit more dramatic, a bit more goth, a bit more colorful, well, more “Halloween”—Wedding Dress Fantasy has more amazing, almost costumey (but that’s a good thing in this case) than anyone else around. Every one of their gowns is custom made and available in a ton of colors, but I loved this gown. The black lace and ruffle details just do it for me. Also, the offer a ton of birdcage veils and fascinators. This fascinator on Esty is absolutely gorgeous. It’s grand, it’s gothic, and perfect.

Grooms, don’t think I forgot about you. This velvet jacket  by Lawren’s Tuxedos has got a bit of the dramatic flair, but this Victorian Magician inspired getup by Gentleman’s Emporium is the way to go if you want to make a statement.

Floral and Decor:

One of the great things about Universal Orlando, they have AMAZING set designers and the venues are pretty ornately decorated to begin with. But that doesn’t mean you can’t add to it! When it came to floral, I just thought of red roses, black calla lilies, and feathers. The top photo was designed by Atmosphere’s Floral and shot by Tab McCausland for a special editorial shoot called “Red Riding Hood Gets Married. See the whole shoot here. The bouquet on the bottom left, also shot by Tab McCausland, was designed by Lee Forrest Designs, (one of my faves), and the one on the right is from The Knot.

The Cake:

Here are two options: Inspired with Victorian details in black and white or full-on Gothic with black and red bats, spiderwebs, all on black fondant. 

Photo Sources: Universal Orlando,  Tab McCausland Photography 

To contact Cathrina for wedding planning or wedding creative consultations, email cathrina@cathrinadionisio.com.