Pagan Halloween wedding with DIY Viking flair

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Thomas and I met online with an app called Plenty of Fish, never thinking that both of us had found our best friend in that moment. We connected right off the bat with conversations about everything from tattoo dreams to fixing trucks to what the future holds. We met in person the day that he moved into the apartment we live in now, and the only stipulation was that I was to bring a box of Texas Roadhouse rolls from the girls date I was having with my best friend. Of course, I did. Since then Thomas and I have pretty much been inseparable. We’ve had many adventures and road trips over the past five years and keep looking forward to more.

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On our last road trip to Iowa to spend Christmas with my dad and family, my grandmother gave Thomas my great aunt’s wedding ring set to use as my engagement ring. He hid that box in his top drawer for almost an entire year! Once he finally told my mom that he was going to pop the question on Thanksgiving, she took him up to see my other grandmother and was given her mother’s engagement ring to give to me as well. So of course, being the D&D nerds that we are, he rolled a D20 to decide which one to actually propose with.

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The proposal

Thanksgiving in my family is a very special weekend, not only because of the holiday on Thursday, but because we all come back together on Friday for our 20+ year tradition of Cookie Day. Friday is the day to bake as many kinds of cookies as we can and we typically end up with 12–18 different kinds. After all is said and done, we split them into containers and have Christmas cookies for the next week or so. This year was different though. Instead of being home, we traveled up to North Carolina to visit Thomas’ brother. I was a little sad that I wouldn’t be home with my mama and grandma for Cookie Day, but was determined to still carry on the tradition even if I did all the work myself.

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Fast forward to Cookie Day 2022. I was up early, finishing my first batch, and Thomas came in to start helping. About six batches in, he let me know that he and his brother were taking the kids out into town. By the time they got back, I was on the porch watching football, all done with cookies. Turns out going into town killed his original proposal plan, but he thought up a backup. After dinner, his sister pulled out a giant plastic wrap ball, a pair of oven mitts, and dice. It took the eight of us almost an hour to unwrap it! I just happened to get to the end of the ball and when I was excited about my $15 Starbucks gift card, I looked over and saw Thomas on one knee with a ring box. Total shock. He asked me to be his wife and of course I said YES!

Later he took me inside to give me the second ring and I cried all over again. The center ring in my set is my great grandmother’s ring on my mom’s side. Thomas’ ring and the rest of my set are made from a combination of two rings from my great grandmother on my dad’s side, a ring from my mother, and a bracelet from my grandmother. The rubies inlaid in both rings are from one of those rings from my dad’s grandmother.

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The outfits and ceremony

The day after, I was already in wedding planning mode. I knew I wanted a Hallowedding since Halloween is Thomas and I’s favorite holiday. We chose October 28th for being the last Saturday in October and the Full Hunter’s Moon. Thomas and I are both pagan and had a handfasting ceremony instead of traditional vows. With the veil being almost at its thinnest and the full moon shining, the timing was perfect.

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The ceremony was in front of my grandmother’s well house in her front yard, and we stood in a mushroom fae circle with our officiant. Family members placed offerings to the four elements, and my father tied our handfasting ropes. We both dressed in Norse Viking attire, while our guests wore costumes of their choosing.

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Reception vibes

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After the ceremony, the reception was held under my grandmother’s large RV carport with a bonfire. We had so much fun creating all the DIY decor with family. We carved and lit pumpkins for the aisle, glittered bottles to hold flowers and candles, and designed decals for the selfie mirror and welcome sign. My mom arranged the bouquets in the carved pumpkins, and my Granny Vel made arrangements for the well and a bouquet in a pail. My bridal bouquet, which I dedicated to my mom, I made myself.

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Some personal touches included our remembrance table, tankards with sayings from Critical Role characters, and a pie topper featuring a dog and cat to represent our fur babies. For desserts we served pies, and one of our favorite traditions was exchanging pets during the ceremony. Since we were about to move, we gave each other stone statues symbolizing future pets. Thomas’ was a basset hound named Astrid.

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Favorite moments

Honestly, our favorite part was when we got the entire reception area to ourselves for our last dance right before the sparkler send-off. It felt like the world stood still just for us. Another funny memory: when his sister got married, 10-year-old Thomas smashed cake in her face and down her dress. At our reception, she finally got her revenge.