Halloween-Themed Wedding Not Allowed

I found this article about the famous church in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Apparently the church refused to allow a Halloween-themed wedding to take place on October 31.

Jim Nieves and Lisa Panensky signed a contract 13 months ago to use the Sleepy Hollow church for their Halloween wedding. The church says they were unaware of the couple's plans for a themed wedding.

The couple planned to use traditional music along with themes from "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters." The church said no to the "fun gothic" tunes.
The couple had planned to wear non-traditional outfits also. Lisa would wear a black cocktai dress with a black veil and carry a bouquet adorned with miniature skulls. Jim would wear dark slacks, a pirate shirt and top hat. The church said no to that as well, saying that no costumes were permitted.

Guests were to be in casual dress, with children in costume. They planned to let the kids trick-or-treat after the ceremony.

It was the weekend before the ceremony was to take place that the church backed out. They said they didn't know of the couple's plans until Lisa emailed a song list to them that included the theme songs from "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters."

The church offered to refund the deposit and to marry the couple outside in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, but they declined.

The reason the church gave for not accomidating the couple's theme wedding? The church is a holy place, a "grand historic place" that should not be used for a costume party.


I have never understood people who want to have these Halloween-themed weddings. The history of Halloween is not something I would want to associate with the day I commit myself before God to one person for the rest of my life. It's just not my thing.

But that doesn't diminish the love that this couple shares. It also doesn't mean that they shouldn't have the wedding that they want. Especially when they arranged to use the church more than a year in advance and paid a deposit.

The way I see it, it should have been the church's responsibility to tell the couple what was and wasn't acceptible for an event taking place in the building.

They wanted to book the place for a Halloween wedding. That should have raised some common sense quesions, right? I mean, if it were me, I'd certainly ask just what they planned to do at this wedding. The church should have made it clear from the beginning that theme weddings are not permitted.

I do understand the point of view of the church. However, it's a little too late for that now. This should have been discussed a year ago to allow the couple ample time to find a new venue. I think the church is at fault here and should have allowed the wedding to take place. The couple signed a contract and the church should have honored that instead of backing out at the last minute.