leora & joe’s halloween wedding! | bourne mansion

Leora and Joe are the coolest couple ever. Hands down. Super into the spooky, offbeat, weird and even crazy things life has to offer. It was only natural they had a Hallowedding.

Leora and Joe’s engagement session at Coindre Hall was awesome – furfriends, pin up / vintage attire, sugar skulls and classic Coca-Cola. From this alone I know every little detail would be perfect for a Halloween wedding.

The wedding was held at the gorgeous Bourne Mansion in Oakdale. A haunted mansion on Halloween? Yes please! The mansion was decorated perfectly for the occasion, pumpkins, dramatic red floral arrangements, feathers, masquerade masks for the guests, side show entertainment during cocktail hour, oh and a surprise bat that flew into the ballroom just before the reception (I couldn’t make this up!) Their invitations were custom made from the UK and had to be shipped parcel post for each individual one – but they were SO worth it!!! I have never seen something so original!

Leora wore a beautiful skin tight Gahlia Lahav gown with vintage beading and a cathedral veil. Her makeup was dark and dramatic – fitting of the halloween theme. She had said to me she wanted to wear a black dress but wanted to stay somewhat traditional (I was completely surprised she was not in black!). Did you happen to check out those Louboutins she wore?! Stunning!

Joe wore a white jacket, black pants, and the most awesome black and white floral shoes. Both the bride and groom had skull details (the brides earrings and bracelet and the grooms cufflinks) which were made personally for them. After the first look we walked around the grounds capturing beautiful afternoon light with the couple and bridal party (it happened to be extremely chilly for an October afternoon) we head on inside to wrap up family formals and sign the ketubah before the wedding ceremony.

The sun was setting (quickly) as the outdoor ceremony started under the clear tent in the back of the Bourne Mansion. We had the most gorgeous sunset as the two said their vows. We then danced our way into their main ballroom which was set up just as described earlier – a hallowedding dream. As a lover of all things horror I was loving every single spooky detail. One of my favorite parts of the day was our nighttime set with the couple. Having it being halloween and all we wanted to grab some dark and mysterious outside portraits on the dark moonlit property. Craig from That’s a Wrap provided us with some smoke bombs which gave us some creepy fog around the couple. While I absolutely cannot get enough daylight and golden hour portraits, this set was exactly what this wedding needed.

Congratulations Leora & Joe, I am so happy to have been part of your day! Cheers!