April + John

Until death do they part, indeed.

With Sundance Resort as a backdrop, April and John had the wedding of their gothic dreams on October 13. Freaky cool, right?

“As a wedding designer, when a bride contacts you and says, ‘I am pretty non-traditional,’ I get excited,” says Tressa Roberts of Cultivated Events Co. “Although, truthfully, I was expecting non-traditional to be a non-blush wedding — not a skull-centric gothic wedding! But I was here for it!”

A gothic wedding in October is fitting, but April would have done this same wedding any time of year. Her last name is Slaughter. She is the owner of Slaughter Skulls where she makes art with human skull replicas. She is a paranormal researcher and author, and she holds charity ghost hunts. Groom John is also a fan of all things gothic and skull. This wedding perfectly showcased their personal taste and personalities.

The bride wore her grandmother’s 70-year-old ivory silk wedding gown, with a stunning black lace overlay custom made by Rachel Elizabeth Bridal. While the groom’s custom suit was made by the renowned Manuel Couture, a Nashville-based custom suit be-jeweler to the country stars.

They both love Sundance Resort, and it’s where John proposed, so naturally they chose it as their venue. It was the perfect backdrop for their dark and moody ceremony and reception.

“In the Rehearsal Hall, we kept the lighting low, but added some chandeliers for some low ambient light and lots of candles for a candlelit dinner atmosphere,” Tressa says. “Every detail was well thought out, from the lace skull laser cut on the invitations (which the talented Made by Jen then drew on the welcome sign) to the skull ice cubes. And it was all perfectly captured by Coverstone Creative.”

Florists Alli and Aubree from Intertwined Floral designed the most beautiful bouquets and arrangements. April and John didn’t want a lot of flowers, so the guest tables were kept fairly simple with red roses — with thorns ON, of course — and black twigs. With the black lace overlay over an ivory tablecloth, it was the perfect balance of spooky and beautiful.

The cake is a masterpiece by Bake Me a Kake . There are skulls intermixed in the fondant flowers, black “lace” draped on the tiers, and hand-sculpted “bride and groom skulls” on the top of the cake. It’s truly a work of art.

Happy halloween week, everyone! Get yourself in the mood by scrolling through this stunningly spooky soiree — starting with their bridal session in a graveyard.

SOURCES

Planning + Design Cultivated Events Co. (a #UVBvendor!)

Photography Coverstone Creative

Floral Design Intertwined Floral

Venue + Catering Sundance Resort

Lighting + Draping Lights Up Event Lighting

Band RED

Invitation Suite Shimmering Ceremony

Cake Bake Me a Kake

Ceremony Gown Rachel Elizabeth Bridal

Reception Gown Pinup Girl Clothing

Custom Suit Manuel Couture