Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love

Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding

For couples who want to add a bit of edge to their wedding, an offbeat skull themed wedding may be the perfect choice. While it may not be for everyone, a skull themed wedding can be a fun and unique way to celebrate your love. From the invitations to the decorations, there are endless ways to incorporate skulls into your big day. And for those who really want to commit, a skull themed wedding cake is sure to be a showstopper. Of course, no matter how you choose to incorporate skulls into your wedding, the most important thing is that you have fun and enjoy celebrating your special day with your friends and family.

Melissa & Sean’s wedding was truly a blast. These two love birds are high school sweethearts who were together for nine years before getting engaged! They love to Netflix and chill, but also enjoy hiking together during their annual vacations in Vermont.  

Melissa loves skulls and wanted to incorporate that into the wedding day, so there were lots of skulls in the decor and in some of her bridal details. While Melissa did ultimately choose a white dress to wear officially for the wedding day, she put together a black wedding dress look for some portraits because that’s more her style. And yes, it had skulls on it! 

Because Melissa is Jewish, they wanted to incorporate certain rituals into their ceremony that would reflect that. Sean custom built their chuppah that they were married beneath, and they incorporated the ketubah signing as well as the breaking of the glass. During the reception, members of the wedding party danced the horah with Melissa. 

Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love
Offbeat Skull Themed Wedding | So This Is Love

How did you meet?

We first met when we were Freshmen in high school. We started to hang out more right after high school due to mutual friends. Melissa wrote in Sean’s yearbook “I’m sad I couldn’t get to know you better before leaving high school. I hope you can come to my grad party.” Well…he did come to the grad party. After that we really connected at our town’s annual Apple Harvest Festival and started dating a couple months later.   

What is your proposal story?

We went on a cruise with Melissa’s parents for their 30th wedding anniversary. When we got to Bermuda, we went into a jewelry shop and Sean suggested that we choose a ring for when he proposes in the future. As we departed Bermuda, the same day we picked up the ring, we were lounging on our balcony and Sean proposed.  

Tell us a little a bit about your wedding

We wanted an elegant wedding plus a bit of our personality. Our theme was “’til death do us part” so skulls were incorporated everywhere possible (without being too overwhelming). The color theme of burgundy and black matched the skull theme and are Melissa’s favorite colors. 

We originally were thinking of going with a more rustic venue, but we chose Aria because it was so beautiful and also because of the food. They offered so much food including a fried dough station, Belgian waffles, and a bacon bar – Sean was sold! We had already decided on a Sunday brunch wedding so the customizable menu was perfect plus they offered a winter discount! 

Tell us about your attire choices.

Sean is always wearing cargo shorts and a T-shirt so a tux just seemed too fancy for him. He went with a black custom suit inscribed with his gamertag (he loves video games). He and his groomsmen all wore super hero themed socks (Sean was the hulk because he’s gone through radiation treatment). 

Melissa is very indecisive and had a tough time choosing a dress. She knew she liked lace but that’s about it. She bought a dress but ended up exchanging it and getting one of the first dresses she had tried on. She also tried on a cathedral veil just for fun and ended up buying it because it looked so awesome. Her garter had a sewn on skull button and her shoes were black with white skulls. She wore a necklace that Sean gave her for Valentine’s day the previous year, earrings that Melissa’s dad gave her mom when Melissa was born, and an anklet made from pearls that belonged to her grandmother. The “something old” was a tiny piece of her baby blanket sewn into her dress. She started the wedding day wearing her dream black dress for some photos. 

What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?

The most important things were sticking close to our budget and also having good food. We didn’t want to spend too much but we did end up going with a more expensive venue than we originally planned. We also splurged a bit to get a photo booth. We skipped sending save the dates and car rental services like limos. 

What were your favorite parts of the day?

Sean’s favorite part was of course the food! His goal was to try a little of everything and he succeeded. Melissa’s favorite part was being lifted up in a chair after dancing the Horah. 

Tell us about your wedding flowers.

The wedding flowers were arranged by Melissa’s friend Justine (Floral Designs by Justine). The bouquets and mini table centerpieces were so beautiful! Included around the stem of the bridal bouquet was a sparkly skull ring as a finishing touch. 

Tell us about your wedding cake.

The wedding cake was lemon flavored (so delicious!). It was alternating black and white layers with a banner that read “Til Death Do Us Part” and topped with our skeleton bride and groom topper (which ended up falling off and smooshing the back of the cake). 

What did you do for favors?

We got mini maple leaf shaped bottles of maple syrup from Green Mountain Sugar house in Ludlow, VT. We go to VT often for vacation and every trip we stop at the sugar house for maple creemee (soft serve ice cream). 

Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.

Sean and our family friend handmade our chuppah (wedding arch). We are now using it as an entryway for our garden. 

We had little touches of skulls as decoration throughout the wedding. 

Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?

We used Melissa’s grandmother’s ring as the wedding band. 

We included some Jewish traditions including a Ketubah (marriage contract), breaking of the glass, chuppah (arch), and being lifted up in a chair. 

Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?

Make a detailed schedule of what you need to do and when – map it out in a planner and take it one step at a time. There are so many little details that it helps to write them all down and plan them out. If you have a friend who already went through wedding planning, talk to them! 

Don’t stress too much if something goes wrong. It will all be okay in the end! 

Take some time on the wedding day to relax and think about your surroundings, it goes by so quickly! 

Event Credits

Ceremony VenueAria Banquets
Reception VenueAria Banquets
Wedding DressDavid’s Bridal
Groom’s AttireMen’s Wearhouse
Bride’s ShoesT.U.K. Footwear
Bridesmaid DressesDavid’s Bridal
Engagement RingCrown of Light
Wedding RingEMBR