Karina & Jeff’s Summerween Love Story

Real Wedding

18 Jan

Some love stories feel inevitable, as if they were always meant to unfold under flickering candlelight and a full moon. Karina and Jeff’s began in October 2023 on Hinge and very quickly found its natural habitat in haunted attractions, shared laughter, and a mutual love of the darkly playful side of life. A sushi date turned into a Halloween adventure at Fear at Avon Valley, hands held through scare mazes and rides, humour perfectly matched.

A year later, after spontaneous trips, shared creativity, and buying a house together, Jeff proposed outside the Witch House in Salem during a road trip around America. Karina said yes without hesitation. Where else would a love like this be sealed?

The Vision: Summerween, Slasher Romance & Til Death Energy

Karina and Jeff’s wedding took place on 28th June 2025, proving that spooky doesn’t belong to one season alone. Their vision was Summerween: a heady mix of gothic romance, slasher-film nostalgia, skulls, greenery, and unapologetic personality. The palette was black and forest green, with daytime elegance giving way to full horror energy as the evening fell.

Every choice was intentional. Not to shock for the sake of it, but to honour who they are - lovers of horror, music, memory, and meaning.

A Cemetery Ceremony with Deep Roots

The ceremony took place outdoors at Arnos Vale Cemetery. While some raised eyebrows at the idea of a cemetery wedding, the location carried profound personal significance for Karina. During a difficult period in 2020, Arnos Vale had been a place of solace and quiet reading. Later she discovered her great-grandparents were buried there, creating an unexpected ancestral thread that made the setting feel sacred rather than sombre.

Arriving in a hearse limo, Karina channelled full Morticia Addams energy.

She walked down the aisle with her dad to The Girl by City & Colour, focusing only on Jeff’s face - joyful, tearful, completely present. Karina wore one of her Nan’s rings and included a memory table and a mention in her vows, ensuring her Nan’s presence was felt throughout the day.

Their vows were self-written, poetic, spooky, and eerily similar - full of shared memories and promises of forever. The ceremony closed with the couple walking back up the aisle to Kiss Me by New Found Glory, a nod to teenage years and enduring love.

Gothic Details & Meaningful Choices

Nothing about this day was accidental. From Karina’s second-hand dress styled with vintage silver heels, DIY crosses, and haunted-bookshop jewellery, to Jeff’s classic suit grounded in comfort and confidence, their outfits reflected intention over tradition.

From Chapel to Chaos: The Reception

The reception unfolded in the Anglican chapel on the Arnos Vale grounds, transformed by Foxglove and Black into a horror-inflected dreamscape. Table plans were themed around spooky and horror film locations, with the top table named Salem and featuring a miniature Witch House brought back from America.

Speeches brought tears and laughter in equal measure. As evening fell, the energy shifted.

A magic mirror photo booth with spooky props captured the chaos and joy, while Karina and Jeff surprised everyone with a fully choreographed first dance to Love You to Death by Type O’ Negative - learned together over six weeks of classes. Romance, dedication, and goth devotion in motion.

The playlist travelled through 90s and 00s nostalgia, classic rock, grunge, and finally descended into full metal, emo, pop punk, goth and nu-metal. There was even a mosh pit. Of course there was.

Breaking Traditions, Keeping Truth

Masks from Halloween and Scream appeared for photos. A hearse, fire pits and stone-baked pizzas fuelled the night. This was not a wedding designed to please everyone - it was designed to honour love, creativity, and authenticity.

As Jeff put it, their day reflected “a morbid curiosity for pushing the boundaries of anything conventional.” And it worked.

Words of Wisdom for Alternative Couples

Karina and Jeff are clear on what matters:

• Be true to yourselves, not quirky for approval.
• The alternative wedding world is bigger and more supportive than you think.
• You don’t have to do everything alone - there are vendors who get it.
• Black lace, skull centrepieces, and summer horror are valid.

A wedding doesn’t have to be soft, white, or traditional to be beautiful. It just has to be honest.