Saturday, October 16, 2010

Welcome revellers…

 
…to my Halloween wedding party! Before you ask, no, I haven’t eloped in the past couple of days without telling you. This is all imaginary unfortunately. After having my original real-life blog party plans ripped up and thrown out the window last week I was at a loss for something interesting to contribute. But then this dawned on me!

I’ve actually been planning on starting a bridal blog for ages, though I’ve too many other things on the go at the minute to get round to it. I don’t know what it is about weddings; I’m not the most girly-girl but as soon as I got engaged last year I started pouring over wedding magazines, salivating over dresses and décor.  Maybe it’s because they’re just like Halloween- a great excuse to dress up and gorge on food and merriment.

Usually I think a themed wedding’s fine if it’s subtle and tactfully done, it can add that personal charm, though too often the theme can become overwhelming and take away from the significance of the day. With Halloween, however, more is definitely more! I might have been lamenting the increasingly forgotten quiet spookiness of Irish Samhains past in my recent posts, but what I don’t think I made clear is that I really do love the modern American-ised holiday too. It has such a fun carnival atmosphere, perfect for a completely over-the-top wedding day extravaganza.  Plus, I’m a huge Tim Burton fan and, well, that just goes without saying.

In reality himself and I will probably just grab a some family and friends and head off to Italy for a few days to do it on the cheap. The pennies aren’t too plentiful and the minute, I’m afraid. But for this evening at least I would to like you to join me on a little journey of imagination, where budgets are limitless, the sun always shines, and time stands still. Let us begin…
 
The Location 
 

*To begin with I'm going to have to ask you do a bit of mental picturing.*

While neither of us are religious, I at least have a spiritual side and the thought of a quickie in a registry office seems rather pointless to be honest. Our original plan when we got engaged was to have the ceremony in a four-thousand-year-old pre-Celtic ring fort up on a hill near where we live, but for the day that’s in it some hallowed ground seems more appropriate. As such, the wedding proper would be held in this overgrown churchyard exactly half way between where we both grew up.

Like any graveyard worth it’s salt, this place has countless stories to tell. And it’s definitely haunted too; the other day when I went to take these photos, my mum’s dog went completely uncharacteristically crazy at one of the tombstones. The poor wee thing was terrified. Anyway, I don’t have time to get into it’s history right now, but I’ll just tell you that it dates from the sixth century and is so much more beautiful in real life. You can check out loads more photos of it on my Flickr page, though they really don’t do it justice.

We’d have the service at around 5pm, just catching the fading evening light. In reality the weather would probably be atrocious but this is a fantasy, after all, and in this reverie it would be dry and smoky, with mist hanging over the fields the way it’s wont to at this time of year. Then when the sun sets the fog would lift to reveal a huge harvest moon and a blanket of stars hanging over the lough which the grand ballroom of the reception hotel looks onto.

 
This is said hotel. Not much to look at is it? Well bear with me. Built in the mid-nineteenth century, this place once oozed Victorian charm. Even as late as the 1980s it was described by one travel writer as being a worthy setting for an Ealing comedy. I had vintage photographs of it to show you, but I’ve forgotten them so you’ll have to take my word for it. It doesn’t really matter though, because this is what it looks like today. Partially gutted by a fire a couple of decades ago, it now lies abandoned overlooking the shore front of our town. 

I’ve never been inside myself but from what I hear I imagine dusty chandeliers, once grand but now creaky sprawling staircases, hallways like those in The Overlook, cobwebs and candelabras… Perfect really!

Again, it’s high up there on the haunted scale too.  My secondary school was right around the corner from it and I’ve heard many an urban legend about the entire area encompassing the hotel. Some were about rooms in the main building itself, others about a particularly cursed house next to it, and loads about students from the school holding séances in and around it. Every one had a tragic or otherworldly ending. I wish I’d time to tell you some of them, maybe I’ll do a post on it another day.

The Décor


I think the graveyard is pretty enough in itself not to need any embellishment, and the hotel is almost eerie enough not to need much work done to it either. There’d definitely be no need to tidy it up too much; we could keep all the spider’s webs and dust layers for effect. (Personally I think the rats could stay as well but I’d say some of the guests might not be too keen on that.) There’s also a heap of antique furniture lying around inside on account of a local manufacturer once using it as a storeroom. All we’d need to do is drape old white sheets over anything that didn’t have a tatty charm.

 That being said, weddings are such a wonderful excuse to get crafty. Wherever and however I get  married, for example, I’m definitely having paper flowers. Let the real ones grow where they are, I want to make my own! And when it comes to DIY Halloween décor the mind literally boggles. Here are a just a few ideas for inspiration:


 


The Dress


Ah yes, the dress. Now this is where I become undone. It’s also a perfect example of the gulf between my real life plans and my fantasies. Whereas I actually plan to get a really simple and plain tea length number, my imaginary dress could be almost anything. Well, anything except one of your typical strapless, poofey get ups.  I’ve included here just a tiny example of ones I love, and these are only the those I think would suit Halloween. You know, I’ve so many inspirational gowns bookmarked I could start a whole blog for them alone!




Masks


One of the most enduring elements of the traditional Halloween is the custom of wearing masks. Back-in-the-day folks believed they’d prevent them from being recognised by any of the wandering souls returning for their annual visit. If there’s any truth in that then we’d definitely need to don a few for protection in our haunted reception site.


Food and Drink


One thing that’s wonderful about a Halloween party is that the food can double up as decoration. Just take that most wonderful Autumn delight, the toffee apple. They look and taste yummy, and we could attach little name tags to them and use them as place settings and favours.


We could also put the insides of all those turnips we’d have carved to good use in the hearty banquet of Irish seasonal treats we’d be laying on: vegetable broth dished out from a giant cauldron and served with wheaten bread; coddle and cabbage and bacon and champ for the main; baked pears, apple tarts, and berry crumbles for dessert. Later in the night we’d serve tea and barmbrack for supper.


All this would be washed down with as many beers and ale we could muster, as well as whiskey, red wine, cider, and even mead.  Oh, oh, and absinthe poured over sugar for that dry ice effect. 
 
As for the cake, instead of going all ‘Corpse Bride’ and ghoulish I think an old fashioned vintage style classic tiered creation would fit better with the old world atmosphere of the location. And, like in bygone days, we’d have little trinkets baked into it for luck.

Entertainment


After we’ve recovered from the feasting we’ll need something lively to get us back on our feet, like a decent ceili band. They’re always good for a laugh and suit all ages. We’d have to have a fair aul dose of rock thrown in there too though, for after when all the mammies and daddies have sneaked off to bed. And what better band for it than one of my all time favourites (and his too!) The Smashing Pumpkins. Don’t forget this is a fantasy people, so we’d have the actual guys themselves playing! We could get in The Pixies too for pure 90s heaven.

While we waited on those guys to set up we could take a stroll down to the beach for a huge bonfire. The path down would be lit with luminaries and before returning to the party guests would get paper lanterns to release into the sea air. Hell, we may as well throw in some fire works too. It is Halloween after all.


Just For Fun 
  Finally *phew* I’ve just a couple of ideas for other little quirky finishing touches. I can’t believe how long this post has taken me, and to think that this is the shortened version! I would never have gotten it published on time if I’d included everything I’d planned on. Maybe I really will have to start a wedding blog… Anyway, I love the idea behind these little cards from HandyKane that guests can fill out and leave for you to read in coming years. With our friends and family I dread to think what they’d predict for us. I’d say it’d make good reading though!


And  how about getting an arty friend to alter your zombify some of your wedding snaps as a gift, something like this wonderful art print from Corpse Key Co.


Well there you have it, folks, a little run down of my imaginary Halloween wedding. Thanks for reading and I hope I haven’t bored the arse off you all! I’d also say a special hello to any newcomers who have found their way via Vanessa and her wonderful party. I hope to be visiting all of your little corners of the web shortly!

I’ll leave you now with a little video from the aforementioned Smashing Pumpkins.  They actually have so many better songs than this, some really beautiful ones that would be perfect for a first dance, but I love this video. I generally love all their videos, though this is probably the freakiest and most Halloweeny. I’ve also had weird dreams based on it in the past, but we’ll not get into those now…Anyway, thanks again for stopping in. Hope you all have a fantastic Halloween!



43 comments:

Unknown said...

What a delightful wedding party, thank you for inviting me!!

Your newest follower here from Vanessa's Halloween Party!~Lisa
Happy Halloween

Anthropomorphica said...

Oh Roisin, what a great idea, a halloween wedding in that perfect graveyard, you'd have to add a bonding spell or two ;) Toffee apple favours, now I'm hungry. Thanks for this lovely post, my creative juices (and digestive juices) are flowing and I may now go away and imagine the day I wed Mr Ichabod Crane ;)

JJ said...

While I generally regard weddings as one of the more distasteful of human practices, yours actually sounds like a rare example of one worth attending. Almost has me rueing the fact that I'm not a friend of yours.

Well done for all the work, Roisin. Oddly entertaining, for one who has a morbid fear of weddings. I thought about you in Sainsbury's the other day. The buggers have put loads of prices up!

Danni said...

What a beautiful wedding party. Wherever you land, there are so many marvelously mystical and magical locations near you that I'm sure it would be perfect. Also, the thought that absconding to Italy to be married would be cheaper than being wed near your home made me chuckle, it would have cost a lifetime's savings for me to do so! ;)

I could see an ethereal wedding party in the mists, dancing by the light of the moon while the smashing pumpkins gently play 'By Starlight'. Perfectly romantic.

Della said...

I've been looking all day for this and now I'm nearly blind from the blog hopping (or bog holpping) so you will be graced Roisin, with my very last comment of the day. A Halloween-inspired wedding is a gorgeous idea which from the sound of you :) is no doubt a plan rather than fantasy :)) (and I eventually want to see the photos to prove it). The location and gothic clothing look wonderful, it's too bad I'm already married and past budding youth. OK I'm tired and rambling, now. Will come back tomorrow for another peak. Sweet Halloween dreams.

Melissa said...

Thanks for having me to your Halloween Party! I enjoyed your envisioning your wedding. I would be delighted if it happened as written here. It would be quite the event and I would love to attend.

I wish you a magical wedding but more importantly a happy marriage with lots of fun and laughter!

Have a Spooktacular Halloween!

Cosmic Goddess said...

Roisin, go for it! - that sounds like the perfect wedding to me :-)

Designs by Blanche said...

What a delightful, well told tale! I also had a Wedding Party! Do stop by & visit!
-Blanche

SarahMarie said...

Your fantasy wedding sounds spooky and fabulous! I had a Halloween wedding - 6 years ago! Love the video too.

Theresa MacNaughton said...

This is definitely the best wedding ever! If you dream, dream big I say!

I'd love for you to come and visit with me: http://faeriemooncreations.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-faerie-tale.html

Enjoy the parties,
Theresa

mermaiden said...

I wanted to get married on Samhain, too, throwing a massive 3 day masquerade fete at a bed and breakfast in the country.
Well, it ended up being Beltaine around a maypole, and much lower key :D

Love your fantasy- except the rats. I will not come if there are rats.

Thank you for stopping by my blog party today, I appreciate the visit!

AlphaBetsy said...

Seth and I really considered doing a Samhain/ Halloween wedding as well, but in the end decided against it. Your ideas are gorgeous though and I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

Susan said...

wonderful post! and all those gowns are just gorgeous!

I hope you get the wedding that is meant for you and your partner and wish you many years of love and laughter.

peace,
Susan

come visit:
http://piecesoffatesusan.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

Hello. Thanks for the imaginary Halloween Wedding and reception. What fun that would be if you had it just as you said. I love your photos. Really beautiful!
Glad I stopped in. I'll be visiting again. Thanks for stopping by my party. It led me here.

The Gossamer Tearoom said...

How fun is the idea of a Halloween wedding? I completely agree with you about not being the typical bride! I got married about 3 years ago and we just did everything in the ways we wanted to! Bridal magazines made me ill and I was working for a company that sold paper for people to make their own invitations and so we did! We also made everything else ourselves (menus, placecards, programs, I even tied the ribbon around my flowers and made the corsages and boutonnieres). We had just the wedding we wanted and spent so much less! If you ever want any other hints, just let me know.

Thank you so much for visiting with me at my blog!

Wishing you A Most Happy Blog Party Weekend,

Betty

Lori said...

such a great post about your fantasy wedding day! I love all your ideas! Wow! I love the first wedding dress shown and the graveyard is fantastic! I do hope your fantasy becomes reality for you. What great fun! Thanks for sharing. And thanks for stopping by A Scrapmoms Musings as well.

Unknown said...

Beautiful Halloween Wedding Party. How clever. I love all the photos. You did a wonderful job and I had a fun time.
Hope you can stop by my blog too.
Have a great day,
Hugs
Janet
Janets Creative Pillows

Mademoiselle G said...

Oh how I love this! What an enchanting wedding Halloween party...
Have a very sweet sunday!

Sarah said...

What a great post! I am not that into weddings I have to admit-but found all of your ideas so inspiring and fun! I hope at least some of these come true for your own wedding-and yes-you should definitely start a wedding blog! Love your profile picture too!

Sarah said...

Oh-I just spotted your seeing fairies spell! I can see from the picture that it worked-I must actually try it!

Evelyn's Wonderland said...

Wow! I love the Fahan Churchyard, that would be the perfect setting for a haunting wedding. I love all of your ideas and photos. I really enjoyed this post. Wishing you a magical day!
~Evelyn

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful idea to hold your own halloween wedding party! i had a hauntingly wicked good time, thanks for all the offerings.
have a magical halloween

brandi said...

~only you would come up with a clever twist to such party...where money doesn't matter...aaahhh how sweet life would be...hehehe...i l♥ve the magical oasis the luminaries give from their soft glow...beautiful...it is not so much how you marry as it is why you are marrying...to a lifetime of l♥ve...much l♥ve and light upon you and yours always~

Susan Says (Stupid Stuff) said...

What a fabulous fantasy wedding, but you'll have a weonderful day wherever you hol the ceremony. Thanks for sharing your wishes with all of us party-goers, and Happy Halloween!

Jeanne said...

How fun!! So many wonderful ideas...

Bloomin'Chick Jo said...

what a great idea for the party! I so enjoyed your post! Hope you'll drop by! Happy Halloween & Pumpkin Blessings!

Lisa Lectura Creations said...

Hi Roisin! It was such a treat to visit your party post! Love the whole ambience of the magical wedding! Your choices for wedding dresses are all so beautiful! Thanks so much for your sweet visit!

Blessings,
Lisa :)

Annabelle said...

Whatever your dream may be ....do it!

A very, very long time ago I wanted a vintage gothic cream dress, pictures amongst stone ruins and to say our vows in an old gothic church. The latter happened but unfortunately the other two never materialized.

Now I want a gothic church for a house to retire in....hahaha! Guess you and I both need a little magic spell.......

And here is a bit of golden virtue from my hubby who just last week had mentioned to me how he had heard an old gent on the radio expressing his recent loss of his wife of many years and what he had say about it:" We were the lucky ones for Old Love is a rare thing these days and we got to experience it."
So , in saying this, I Wishing you both a very enchanted wedding day and a long happy marriage filled with a lot of old love.


A Halloween Wedding
would definitely be magical•*´¨*.•* * !


p.s.
Grab your broom and fly on over to THE WOOD BEYOND THE WORLD
( thewoodbeyondtheworld.blogspot.com) for your chance to win three of my original art prints…only comment required.

•*´¨*.•*´¨*~^..^~*Annabelle.•*´¨*.•* *

LYNDY WARD said...

Came by early yesterday & I think your party link wasn't ready yet, glad I came back...

This is sooooo much fun!!!
Love your blog & your Halloween Wedding Party.
Please fly by for my giveaways too...
Hauntingly Yours, Lyndy

My Haunted Halloween Party Link:
http://bit.ly/dho880
TODAYSGOLD
http://todaysgold.blogspot.com/

Renee said...

What a wonderful wedding party.

Michelle Frae Cummings said...

what a wonderful party!


Hope you'll come visit mine and my post(s) for all of October!
http://faeriedustdreams-michelle.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth said...

This by far was the best, brightest, "ba", cleverest, post I love to read what you hae to say, adore your ideas and you totally inspired me to boot!

When you have the opportunity please come over for a visit!
http://wood-wings.blogspot.com/2010/10/midnight-ride.html

Heathen said...

I adore the idea of a Halloween wedding! Your ideas/inspirations are perfect for the Halloween themed wedding. Lovely dream!

Natalie said...

Such fun! The Maria Lluisa Rabell dresses are absolutely stunning!

Like you, I'm not the most girly-girl but the second I got engaged last year I was the same - pouring through all of the wedding magazines :) I've never tried so many dresses on in such a short space of time in my life lol!

My wedding has already been and gone (just over a month ago) and even though it gets very stressful leading up to the big day, it's all worth it when you can glide around in your dress with the man you love :)

I enjoyed your party post a lot, sorry I'm late arriving - I've been visiting everyone who took part and it's been a long trek lol!

This was my first ever blog party and I've had such a good time!

http://modernwomans.blogspot.com/2010/10/something-witchy-this-way-comes.html

queen-of-nostalgia said...

So cool! What a delightful post :) I think a Halloween wedding would be fabulous!
Cheers!
Kristen
queen of nostalgia

Scrap Vamp said...

I've never been to a more fabulous wedding! Your decor, the masks, the cake, everything was gorgeous! Thank you for inviting me and I hope you'll pay me a visit really soon!

~Celina
forevervampress@aol.com
http://scrapvamp.blogspot.com

TheAmazingFoxworthBlog said...

Another awesome post Róisín!!

Hope you got something great planned for this Halloween - cos i wanan do whatever you'll be doing!!!

Marina Capano said...

Great party post! That was great fun!
Happy Halloween!!

booooooooooooo from so far away!

visit me anytime...

Romeo said...

You know you are so right - weddings are all dress-ups and merry making too! I had never thought of comparing the two! And with regard to your imaginary wedding - how fun!!!!!

Thank you for inviting us! We had fun!

Purrs!

Romeo and "her"

Mickie Mueller Art said...

What a wonderful party, thanks for inviting me! Everything as so wonderful, you have exquisite taste!

In 5 years I picture the bride and groom staying in an old slightly haunted castle in the Irish countryside.

It so happens, I just shared a love story on my Monday Night Magical Movie post over at The Old Wooden Art Table, drop in for a visit and some more love!
http://mickiemuellerart.blogspot.com

It's A Jaime Thing said...

I LOVE your blog, your writing style is lovely and your posts are so fun to read! I think I just found a new favorite blog. ;) Thanks for the link love, by the way - happy you were able to find ideas from my blog! I posted about this on Twitter @itsajaimething to share with all the other planning peeps out there...are you on Twitter? Anyhow, just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading this...and of course congratulations on your engagement & happy planning!

Sincerely,
Jaime :)

Róisín said...

Hello there folks!

I think it's about time I thanked you all for your lovely wonderful comments. They really are much appreciated! What a great blog party it was. I'd never taken part in one Vanessa's shindigs before but I'll definitely be partying again! I came across so many lovely blogs that I might never have otherwise.

Anyway, there's too many comments here to reply to individually the way I like, so I'm trying to get round all your blogs for another wee visit. It's taking me longer than anticipated, and it's getting late here, so I'll resume my journey tomorrow. And if there's any of your blogs that I missed on Saturday, don't worry I'll get to them. Treasures yet to discover!

Thanks again people. Hope you all have a fantastic Halloween!

Roisin x

Unknown said...

Splendid Ideas. I am a biggest fan of Halloween inspired Parties. You know, last year i coould not do the costume myself ( as i used to do ) but i made helloween style snacks for my guests.
http://pics.livejournal.com/donkey_schon/pic/000fewk5/s320x240
and, please, do not be scared: i made Marshmallow eyes:
http://pics.livejournal.com/donkey_schon/pic/000fatgz/s320x240

This year, i hope i will make gowns for me and my family. *)))
Yesterday i ran into halloween vintage ideas . I myself planned to be yurey (japanese ghost) but... maybe under the impression of your post i will change my plans.

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