Ghouls and goblins and weddings! Oh my! Is Halloween one of your favorite holidays? Are you thinking it might be an incredibly fun date for a wedding? You aren’t alone! Other Halloween fans have followed their hearts and chosen this date for sentimental reasons or for the sheer entertainment factor. Check out Halloweddings, where site author, Jenna, explains how and why she chose a Halloween wedding!

You could go for the traditional Halloween and decorate with seasonal ghoulies complete with cobwebs and skeletons, etc. (Pick up more ideas from Wedthemes.com). But, you could also go the more elegant route and still retain the flavor of the holiday.

Consider some of the following:

• Don’t limit yourself to orange and black! Your color palette can include white, grey, red, and any of the shades of autumn.
• How classy can you make red, black and white – in evening wear? Tails for the guys, long sleek gowns for the ladies. Think Morticia Addams or our old favorite vampiric count. Talk about Halloween haute!
• What about white and grey? Make your accents count with this scheme. Use white pumpkins, grey and silvery moons, and votive candles!
• Incorporate pumpkin flavors into the menu along with some of the great theme based “spooky beers” mentioned by Halloweddings! With names like Witch’s Brew and Snowball’s Chance you’re sure to have a lot of icebreakers at least!
• If you’ve a Hispanic background, consider giving a nod to the Dia de los Muertos in this theme and use tiny sugar skulls or pan de muertos, along with marigolds, and traditional incense aromas. Incorporating this idea might include the rich bright colors of autumn like gold, russet, red or orange.
• For music selections – choose hauntingly beautiful classical pieces. Yes, I know some of you are immediately thinking – ok, but I get to add at least one Monster Mash dance!

Still not convinced? Read Tara and Mark’s story about their Halloween wedding at Insideweddings.com.

On a historical note, it is generally thought that this “holiday” originated as far back as the Celtic Samhain (pronounced Sow-en), the traditional Druidic harvest end/winter beginning. This later became All Hallow’s Eve in the Christian tradition. In either tradition, it was thought to be a day where the bounds between the physical and spiritual worlds met and opened. Hence the modern development of skeletons, zombies and other costumed frightfuls trick or treating!

Whatever route you choose, you’re sure to leave a lasting impression on your ghosts… er, guests!

“TIPS” – my father always told me “TIPS” were “to insure prompt service” and were an expression of gratitude for a job well done. Most of us are accustomed to tipping service personnel, wait staff, etc. (or not tipping, I guess, if the service was perfectly awful.) But when it comes to vendors, the majority will already include a 15 to 20 % gratuity in their bill or contract. That’s right, folks, already included on many agreements, so check the fine print when you sign on the dotted line.

For those vendors that do not include tips in their quote, you’ll want to consult them on their individual policies and procedures. Do you need to have individual envelopes waiting for staff? How many? Is it acceptable to pay staff directly? If so, when?

The following sites have some great information and guidelines on tipping!

• OurMarriage.com - Wedding Tipping
  
• WeddingChannel.com - Are You Expected To Tip All Of Your Vendors?
  
• Ehow.com - How to tip Wedding Vendors
  

If your vendor has already included gratuity in their bill, but you’d like to express your appreciation of a job well done, thank you notes are always welcome.

No, I don’t mean Barry Manilow’s song! It’s just another fun idea in my search for unique wedding ideas. Our Wedding Song.org offers original songs about the couple’s own story. What a fun idea! Not only could you play it at the reception, but I can see how to work that into your videography “scrapbook” or your wedding website! Another site offering this service is A Song of Your Own.

So if you’re interested in telling your story in an unusual and memorable way, give this a try. Of course, if you have a good friend with talent, that might work too!