Jamie & Nick’s self-catered Halloween theater wedding

Aw yeah, it's Halloween week! Get ready for a big helping of tricks and treats with your romance. Today we've got costumes, homemade food, and a rogue fog machine causing trouble.

The offbeat bride: Jamie, personal assistant to Nick, Tyler, and Sidney

Her offbeat partner: Nick, ship fitter

Date and location of wedding: The Pantages Theater, Tacoma, WA — October 31, 2010

What made our wedding offbeat: Nick and I decided to have our wedding on Halloween because it is our favorite holiday (and Nick is really bad with remembering dates). Our parents didn't want to dress in costume (which was fine), so they wore clothes in our colors plus Mardi Gras masks. We didn't have bridesmaids or groomsmen. We had our three children stand up with us. Instead of having the wedding catered, we purchased and made all of the food. It was fun having everyone in the kitchen together for three days before the wedding while we got everything together.

We made cookies and cakes, spider web cookies, severed bloody witch fingers, bone-shaped croissants, etc. We purchased “make your own sandwich” fixings from Costco, along with pasta salad and some chips and salsa. Instead of a cake, we bought cheesecakes, and my mom pieced them together and piped frosting on them. There was no dancing, no first dance, no toast, and no speeches.

My mom, stepmom, and I started setting up and our wonderful photographer, Stephanie Haller, actually helped set up, too. Our friend, Dave, played our downloaded music throughout the ceremony and then just set it on random and walked away for the rest. While we were setting up, the fog machine set off the fire alarm, and we lost some setting up time while the firemen cleared the building!

The centerpieces were handmade black iron Halloween trees with Halloween ornaments, papier-mâché pumpkins, balloons, glitter, and confetti. Instead of giving out favors, we had a candy bar. Most of the decor, my jewelry, and hair flowers were made by friends and family.

Tell us about the ceremony:
We played Halloween music for the guests while they waited for us to go down the aisle. A Halloween violin track was played for Nick and his family and then I walked down to “Essence” by Lucinda Williams, a five-minute song. It was definitely too long, but it has special meaning to Nick and I. After our ceremony, the first song played was “Halloween” by the Misfits.

Our secular ceremony was performed by a close friend of ours, and we wrote it ourselves. We also had a burning ceremony where Nick and I burned paper to symbolize the release of the past.

Warren, our officiant, greeted everyone by saying:

Friends and family, we are assembled here to celebrate the joining of Nick and Jamie in the unity of marriage. Marriage is a bond built on a foundation of honesty, integrity, and forgiveness. It symbolizes the ultimate intimacy between man and woman. Therefore, it is not to be entered into lightly, but with certainty, with mutual respect, and with a sense of reverence that does not preclude beauty, humor, and joy. Our celebration is the external sign of a sacred and internal commitment. Such a union can only be created by loving purpose, maintained by abiding will and renewed by human feelings and intentions. Love can be one of the highest human experiences. At its best it reduces our selfishness, deepens our personalities, and makes life far more meaningful. Its very nature is to want to give to one another and to engender joy in one another. Such love can call forth the best qualities in each of you.

For our burning ritual, we used a witch's cauldron with a single red candle. My seven-year-old old son held it for us. Warren said:

This candle is a representation of Nick and Jamie's future. Together they will release the past to step forward into their future. (We light the papers.)

Nick and I had written down things that we felt were haunting us and that were affecting our ability to move forward. He wrote his and I wrote mine and we didn't read the other person's.

Our biggest challenge: My biggest challenge was my wedding dress. Although I had ordered it seven months in advance, it didn't arrive until two days before the wedding. And then it didn't fit and there was no time to do the alterations. So, I just sucked it up and put stick-on boobs in the top of my dress to fill it out and tightened it as much as possible. It still kept falling down.

The only other minor problem was getting everything set up before our guests arrived. It didn't happen. But they all understood and it was really not that big of deal in the end.

My favorite moment: There were several moments that meant a lot to me. Seeing Nick for the first time and how he was trying to hold back tears, which of course made me tear up. My dad giving Nick a huge hug while welcoming him into the family.

The most intimate moments Nick and I shared happened after the ceremony while Stephanie was taking our pictures. The ceremony was meaningful, but I was sick to my stomach simply because we were on display. I am a pretty shy person when it comes to that kind of stuff.

My funniest moment: The evacuation during the setup due to the fog machine setting off the fire alarm was pretty funny. Other funny moments were when my dress got stuck in the elevator and when I fell down the stairs. I am a klutz and we are goofballs.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? I learned that I have an amazing family, wonderful in-laws, and the most creative and giving friends. The most important lesson I learned was to hire a day-of coordinator. I think it would have really cut down on that setup stress.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Hair: Christopher Gould Salon
• Shoes: Iron Fist Zombie Stompers
• Photography: the amazing Stephanie Haller

Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!

About the Author: Offbeat Weditors

@offbeatbride @offbeatwed

Working tirelessly to bring you stimulating content day after day, the Offbeat Wed editors will not sleep until you've gotten your offbeat fix.