Bartlett couple weds in ghoulish Halloween night ceremony
The bride arrived at her wedding in a body bag and was rolled down the aisle in a wheelbarrow by her “bridesdude.”
The groom, dressed as a vampire, emerged from a coffin as gory organ music played.
Then, the Halloween-loving Bartlett couple stood before their family and friends on their heavily decorated front yard, which resembles a creepy cemetery, and vowed to an ordained minister that they'd stay together till death do they part.
It was a legitimate wedding ceremony for Shelly Martine, 49, and Don Pelka, 52, who met at the US99 singles line 13 years ago and have been together ever since. Besides a shared love of music, dancing and animals, they both are obsessed with Halloween. So to them, Monday was the perfect night to tie the knot.
“We don't want people to think it's a satanic kind of thing. It's not. We just decided, this is our time of the year. It's our day,” Pelka said.
Neighbor Kathy Welton agrees, joking that “they celebrate Halloween like normal people celebrate Christmas.”
Martine's grandmother disapproved of their Halloween night nuptials for religious reasons, but the couple's other friends and family members seem to be having fun with the zombie-themed ceremony. Pelka's 75-year-old mother came in from Oklahoma for the wedding and dressed as a witch, wearing a shirt that said, “The groom is a real son-of-a-witch.”
Martine's 4- and 6-year-old granddaughters also wore witch costumes and threw popcorn at the newlyweds. Martine said the girls learned long ago that her ghoulish costumes and decorations are “grandma's toys,” and aren't real.
“As long as they can keep thinking of them as toys, they're OK,” she said.
Martine works as a mortgage loan closer for PNC and the groom is a driver for Airgas. It's her third marriage, his second. Both said they've already had traditional wedding ceremonies and have no interest in doing it again.
“I don't do anything like other people do. I don't want to be the norm,” Martine said. “I want costumes. I don't want suits and tuxes and all that ... I like creepy.”
The wedding was attended by about 30 to 40 guests, including many of their neighbors, who are among their best friends. The wedding reception was held over the weekend, during a costume party they hosted.
Martine and Pelka's yard is a Halloween spectacle that takes weeks to assemble, but Pelka said they reserve the scary pop-up decorations for the trick-or-treating teenagers and adults. He said some people are afraid to come to their door, but they still draw more than 250 trick-or-treaters.
A few years ago, Pelka said the village of Bartlett sent them a letter politely asking them to tone down their decorating because a resident had complained that it was excessive. Pelka said they framed the letter and hung it in their garage.
“I took it as a congratulatory letter,” he said. “It means we're doing our job.”
When asked about the proper way to congratulate the couple, Martine paused for a minute.
“How about ‘Wishing you many years of horror together,'” she said, laughing.