Although they live in Columbus, Ohio, Casey and Johnathan chose to travel to Salem, Massachusetts for their wedding festivities. As Halloween enthusiasts and lovers of the paranormal, their really was no other option! Johnathan had even proposed there, right in front of the famous Witch House.

They went for a dark, romantic theme and there were black accents everywhere – the bride and groom both wore black, and the the cake and the florals had black elements to. There were plenty of spooky accents throughout the day. They drank from glasses with skeletons hands on, and had glass skulls, spiderweb covered florals, black candles, and skeletons on the tables.

“Our wedding theme was a mixture of moody, eerie, spooky, and dark romance with an alternative music twist”, Casey said. “Being in Salem with The House of the Seven Gables as the ceremony backdrop really helped us lean into our theme. We chose to have our reception at Colonial Hall. It was a costume party because we wanted an element of silliness and lightness that our day to balance everything out. We never take ourselves too seriously and we didn’t want our big day to feel ‘serious’ in that sense either.”

The ceremony opened with the bridal party walking in to a piano version of Welcome to the Black Parade. Casey followed to The Only Exception. They chose not to include religion in the ceremony. Both families are religious, but they are not. They wrote their own vows and Johnathan’s incorporated 25 of their favourite song lyrics which made Casey literally laugh out loud!

After the ceremony, guests had time before the reception to explore Salem and return to the second venue in their costumes. The wedding party arrived dressed as figures from The Lord of the Rings, complete with cut-outs of their cats in matching costumes. Emo music played all night and their their first dance was a stripped-back version of Still Into You. “We incorporated many of our favourite songs throughout the day. We made sure that the mosh pit was in full swing, like it would be at any good emo night!”

“At the end of the day, it is your wedding and you should do whatever the hell you want”, Casey advises. “The wedding should represent you, as a couple, and does not need to cater to your family, guests, or other people’s thoughts and opinions. You also don’t have to play the same reception music as everyone else. Your guests will still dance and enjoy themselves if you play what you like, as long as you bring the energy to back it up. Our favourite part of the wedding day was dancing and singing alongside all of our friends and family, whom we love so deeply. The pressure was off following the first dance and speeches, so we could really let loose and soak it all in.”