Some couples add a pumpkin to the cake table and call it a Halloween wedding. Helen and Colin got married on Halloween itself, 31 October 2025, and went all in. Black dress, black veil, snakes in the bouquet, bats on the place cards and a registrar in a velvet cloak. As a Le Petit Château wedding photographer, I've seen that ceremony room dressed many ways. I've never seen it look quite like this.
Everything happened in one room. The ceremony took place in front of Le Petit Château's carved stone fireplace, and that same room was turned around for the wedding breakfast and the dancing. If you're planning a Halloween themed wedding in Northumberland, here's how Helen and Colin did it, and who helped them.
Morning: a black dress and a veil with a message
Helen's dress and veil came from Legend Bridal Design. The dress has a structured corset bodice, sheer sleeves and a long black tulle skirt. Look closely and there's a beaded serpent winding across the boning.
The veil carried a red embroidered heart and the words "Til the end of the time" along its edge. It was the first sign of how much thought had gone into every detail.
The bride's bouquet and Colin's buttonhole were made by Maddison Rocks. Deep red roses, purple calla lilies, blue thistle and black feathers, with a black serpent coiled through the middle.
Helen's bridal jewellery came from Scarlet in Chains, including these silver bat-wing earrings. Her engagement ring is from W Hamond in Whitby, which felt fitting for a gothic wedding.
Shoes by Slay in Heels: black glitter with red soles that flashed every time she walked.
Runes & Rouge did hair and make-up for Helen and her bridesmaids. Helen's blue and red curls were pinned under a red and black crown, with a deep red lip to match the flowers. There was a lot of laughing in that room all morning.
A Halloween wedding ceremony in the Le Petit Château ceremony room
The ceremony room at Le Petit Château is made for a gothic wedding. Green walls, dark beams, iron chandeliers and that enormous carved fireplace with its stone lions. Moira J Florist filled the fireplace with dark red roses and trailing amaranthus, and banked it with dozens of candles. Room Spell scented the venue, so it smelled as good as it looked.
Then there was the registrar from Northumberland Registrars. She led the whole ceremony in a floor-length green velvet cloak, standing in front of the candlelit fireplace. Hats off to her for joining in.
Their wedding rings came from Jenny Jones Jewellery in Manchester.
They signed the register with large black spider keeping watch.
Guest book, neon and a little bit of mischief
Instead of a guest book, guests signed vinyl records with vinyls by mydarlingdeath. "Scribe us a line as our black hearts entwine" just about sums up the couple.
Golden hour portraits
I recreated the last of the autumn sun with a flash against a wall of orange autumn leaves in the grounds. Helen and Colin aren't ones for posing, so I let them be themselves.
The wedding breakfast in chapel room
While we were outside, the LPC team and Moira turned the ceremony room into a banquet hall. One long black table ran the length of the room towards the fireplace, with Moira's flowers, moss and candle lanterns down the middle. Moira worked incredibly hard to create this during the drinks hour.
Every guest had a bat place card holder with their name on a gothic card.
The menu was called "The Alchemist's Table", printed with bats on a gold charger plate.
Moonsea Divination gave tarot readings through the evening, with guests booking their slots on a gothic sign-up board.
The Cake Lady from North Shields made a black heart-shaped cake piped in red and cream. York Ghost Merchants made the two little ghost toppers, which sat under a neon sign reading "Til we are ghosts".
The speeches had Helen hugging Colin from behind one minute and hiding behind her hands the next.
After dark at Le Petit Château
The first dance was in the same room again, back in front of the fireplace, through a thick layer of low fog.
Guests lined the path outside with sparklers.
Night portraits are my favourite part of any wedding, and Le Petit Château's grounds are brilliant after dark. I used off-camera flash to light the couple against the little pink cottage, and on a clear Halloween night the stars came out for us.
Then later on when the cloud rolled in to finish, one last kiss under an umbrella, lit through a curtain of falling water.
Helen and Colin also booked my Hollywood Portraits package. Timeless black and white portraits of you and your guests that really marks the occasion.
Helen and Colin, thank you for letting me be part of the most fun Halloween wedding I've photographed. Til the end of the time.
Planning a wedding at Le Petit Château in Otterburn, Halloween themed or otherwise? I'd love to hear about it. Get in touch to check my availability.
Supplier credits
Venue
Photography
Dru Dodd
Fresh flowers
Bride's bouquet & groom's buttonhole
Dress & veil
Legend Bridal Design
Shoes
Slay in Heels
Hair & make-up
Runes & Rouge
Wedding rings
Jenny Jones Jewellery (Manchester)
Engagement ring
W Hamond (Whitby)
Bridal jewellery
Scarlet in Chains
Tarot readings
Moonsea Divination
Cake
The Cake Lady (North Shields)
Cake toppers
York Ghost Merchants
Guest book vinyls
mydarlingdeath
Chair dressing
Romantic Outlaw
Venue fragrance
Room Spell
