When Lauren, a self-described couponer and DIY enthusiast, married Michael, she knew they’d be doing a lot of the planning themselves. They stuck to their strict $4,000 budget by buying decor items from craft stores and not wearing traditional wedding outfits. Their venue was a restaurant which worked out a lot cheaper than going for a wedding venue.

The bride also knew that she wanted to wear a black dress, and when bridal shops had nothing she liked, she found one she loved online at Holy Clothing. “I kept coming back to this specific dress I couldn’t get out of my head,” she shared. Paired with a petticoat and a headpiece sourced from Etsy, her look embodied their witchy, ‘Til Death Do Us Part’ theme. Michael’s attire featured Michel Myers shoes and a skeleton tie both found on Amazon.

The couple, who were married on October 27th, embraced the spooky season. Lauren loved going to thrift stores and finding treasures like the antique frames they used on the shelf dedicated to deceased loved ones. “I know people often include a single picture of a loved one they’ve lost in their bouquet, but I wanted something bigger”, she explained, “a way to honour all the couples in our families who came before us.”

Michael and Lauren were equally intentional about the flow of their day. This was a small wedding with only 42 guests, and the celebration only lasted four-hours. After the short handfasting ceremony, came a three-course meal. There were also games on every table for people to play, rather than any musical entertainment or dancing.

“Almost everything was DIY”, Lauren explained. “The welcome sign, the centrepieces, the seating chart, the place cards, the handfasting cord… I even found pretty doilies at an antique store and dyed them black, putting them as runners on each table.”

The best part of the day for them both was the ceremony. “It was this out-of-body experience,” Lauren said. “Neither of us thought we’d find someone to marry, let alone be standing there in that moment. It felt like we were on top of the world. We loved that many of our older relatives got to witness it, as there were also many who sadly passed between our engagement and wedding planning, relatives who we always thought would be there to see our special day. This was also the reason we wanted a deceased relative shelf. In our minds, they were still there with us.”

Looking back, the couple are so proud that they stayed true to their vision, despite some outside skepticism. “People told us no one would want to attend a wedding with ‘pictures of dead people’ or gothic decor,” Lauren said. “But it’s your day. If they think it’s strange, that’s on them. It’s YOUR day, screw what everyone else thinks!”