Sarah and James planned their wedding around Halloween, leaning into gothic colours, pumpkins and eerie details that made their day feel like a festival of the strange and the beautiful. They worked with Foxglove and Black who helped them bring their vision to life in the most perfect way.

The story of Sarah’s dress began years earlier. She wanted to take her mum out for a day of trying on white dresses. “She always knew, when the day came, my wedding dress was never going to be white. She hated it when I wore a black dress to my prom and so I wanted her to have a special day too.” On that trip, Sarah found a gown she loved, but it was white. Later she learned the designer would be re-releasing it in black! “I couldn’t believe it. I knew that was my dress; that was the one. It took me a little while to find a store that was willing to get the black one in for me, but I did and I knew I had found my dress.” She accessorised it with a long bright red veil.

The venue was also chosen to fit the gothic theme, and the couple requested that guests come dressed in darker shades. Bridesmaids carried broomsticks instead of bouquets and a ‘flower witch’ in a pointed hat carried a cauldron of flowers down the aisle. Pumpkins in black, red, grey, silver and white filled the spaces, while handmade chicken-wire ghost statues and glowing silhouettes created a haunted atmosphere.

Sarah walked down the aisle to the piano duet from Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. Their son, who was meant to be the ring bearer, became distracted waving a fake candle like a wand. A groomsman had to collect him, and the rings. Sarah’s dress was also so big that she started collecting up all the aisle pumpkins behind her as she walked in!

They skipped most traditions. “We didn’t really think about traditions”, Sarah continued. “The closest thing that we stuck to was saying our vows.” Instead, they created details that mattered to them. A memory table displayed photos of family members who had passed away, including both their fathers. Sarah saved the flowers from her dad’s funeral and dried them into confetti.

The reception kept up the Halloween energy. The ballroom hosted a disco while the main house offered a quieter set-up with hired board games. “I am not good with big groups of people or loud music or flashing disco lights, so the board games were a safe, quiet place for me to retreat to for the evening,” she explained. Cocktails were also on theme, with a menu the wedding party created together that included blueberry-stuffed lychee ‘eyeballs’.

The couple stress how important their suppliers were, especially in a scene that doesn’t always cater to non-traditional couples. “It was very hard to find anything useful when I first got started. I couldn’t find anything that suited us and our styles or ideas, when looking at the usual wedding stuff online. Eventually I found Rock n Roll Bride, Unconventional Wedding and The Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza, Pretty much all our vendors came from them, there are some truly magnificent people listed on these directories.”