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The offbeat bride: Tina, Makeup artist for 7 Floors of Hell (haunted houses)
Her offbeat groom: Rob, Haunted house architect
Location & date of wedding: October 24th 2007 at The Cemetery of 7 Floors of Hell in Berea, Ohio
What made our wedding offbeat: It was love made in heaven, but a marriage made in Hell. What didn't make this happy day offbeat? The theme of the wedding was “Love Never Dies” It was full moon, which we did not plan. The location was one of the big things — we were married in front of the Cemetery of a haunted house. We chose that location not only because we both work there, but because we fell in love there and it has become a huge part of our lives.
The groom “Rob” arrived in a coffin, delivered by a hearse and carried by 6 pallbearers. The bridesmaids wore red hooded capes and placed a red rose on the casket. When all the bridal party was present, Rob emerged and took his place next the the Grim Reaper, who officiated the ceremony. I walked down the isle to “Ice Dance” from the Edward Scissorhands soundtrack, and was escorted by my dad dressed as Dracula. The guests came in costumes.
The reception hall started as a empty white building they use for the fair, and ended in black linens and red votive candelabras on each table. We decorated the place with props from the houses, including zombies, gravestones and a chandelier. Our cake topper was sweet. It was a skeleton couple dancing with a tombstone that said “love never dies.” We even cut the cake with a butchers knife to the theme song from the movie Halloween.
Our biggest challenge: Planning a wedding for a Wednesday night. Family and friends were upset, but the haunted house is open thurs-sun. So it would be next to impossible to hold a wedding with customers walking around, not to mention the entire crew from the houses attended or we in the bridal party. So to make sure everyone could make it, the ceremony started at 7pm after most get off work. We had a reception that lasted till midnight and most people we able to stay for at least most of it.
The other big problem we had was the weather — it was really cold! 52 degrees and windy. Not ideal for an outdoor ceremony. It didn't rain and the ceremony was short and sweet but it packed a dramatic punch!
My favorite moment: Well everyone loves Rob's entrance. Why does it have to be all about the bride? Its our day not my day. So we shared in the limelight. I love everything about my wedding, I can't choose a favorite moment.
My offbeat advice: On a budget ask for help. We wrote a letter to local vendors telling them about the wedding. And I got a bunch of freebies and discounts out of it, including our photographer. I did a little advertising for them and everyone is happy. March to the beat of your own drum. This is your wedding, not someone else's. I'm glad I didn't listen to everything my family and friends said.
Enough talk — show me the wedding porn: Blood, guts, and LOVE!
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I’m jealous! I would love to go to a wedding in costume! Beautiful cake also.
Thanks for sharing with us! I’m planning a wedding for Halloween 2009 and you just gave me some great ideas!
Thank you Ariel for featuring us! How awesome. Thanks Andrea and Rachel.
What a dramatic entrance for the groom! And a great way to include him in the limelight.
Tina, thanks so much for sharing this! Talk about an offbeat wedding. I just LOVE everything about your wedding. And how awesome that your wedding “videographer” was the local news, eh? So rad. I especially love your cake.
I love the comments about this wedding in this thread.
My favorite response is only one word:
Weird
…DAMN RIGHT! 🙂 Yay. Thanks again for sharing your wedding with me/us, Tina!
Fun! I agree with Emily about liking the groom’s entrance. I’ve actually been very resistent to the whole “it’s the bride’s day” thing, so I absolutely love how Tina and Rob figured out a way to make his entrance equally enthralling.
I went to middle and high school with Tina, so it was no surprise when i read about the wedding at the 7 Floors of Hell, b/c i knew she’d been working there for a LONNNNNNNNNG time….I guess, Tina, the only thing that really surprised me was all the attention about it- it just seemed like such a normal thing for you, I guess the rest of the world didn’t think the same! haha…congrats! beautiful pictures!
I heard about this wedding last october and loved the whole wedding story! In fact I sent the whole story to my fiance and told him I wanted a halloween wedding, at first he wasnt to keen to the idea but after I convinced him that alot of people we invite will have a good time, and still have a sacred wedding ceremony. He agreed to the idea and we are planning a hollween wedding!! anyways congrats to the couple from a fellow ohioian
I recently became engaged…I would love to have a halloween wedding…can share any ideas…
I love your wedding! Granted, I’d never have the courage to do it, but I think it was awesome! So many amazing ideas! Congrats on such a wonderful wedding! And I love the groom’s entrance!
wow your wedding looked absolutely wonderful and a whole lot of fun, I would love to do something like that for my wedding it was the perfect scene. congrats on your marriage and the fabulous wedding and the grooms entrance wow who thought of that really entertaining it must of have been! 🙂
i was so at the wedding and it was the best one i have ever been to!! i love you both!!
Your wedding made me emotional. It was so great and you were such a beautiful bride. I wish I could do something like this. It was phenomenal (sp?) Thank you for sharing it with us and congratulations. I really want to go to that haunted house now. I'm an indiana girl so maybe I should make the drive. lol
I love your whole wedding thanks for sharing. I am planning our wedding for this Halloween and we had the same idea about the groom down in a casket but love your idea of the hearst, never thought of that. We are having a hard time finding a good place to have our wedding with doing it on Halloween, do you have any suggestions?