The following post is mere conjecture, and should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s a response to today’s Daily Post prompt to plan the perfect party for your closest friend. In my case, for myself and about 100 of my closest friends.

I’m going to tell you a secret that I’ve never uttered aloud. It’s a little embarrassing, so please be kind.

I’ve been mulling over the ingredients of the perfect wedding for years now.

It’s not completely planned out, for several obvious reasons, including the fact that I’m not planning on getting married anytime soon, and even if I were to get married, I doubt I’d have the bank account necessary to bring my ultimate party to life. But still, I know the bones of it all, and am relatively sure that I can make a lot of it happen.

First off, it’s night time. The party is easy to get to, but still a bit secluded, like in a barn or at a private estate with expansive grounds – somewhere with lots of room to get rowdy without getting the cops involved. I want to see the stars.

It’s late October or early November, the air crisp and cool, leaves still clinging to the trees, but also plenty on the ground. I’d like to be able to wear a dress with sleeves, and not worry about sweating. Also, the sky is prettier at night during the Fall. Even better if the ceremony can happen on Halloween or All Saints’ Day, so that the spirits of our families can attend if they’d like. Also, because it’s my favorite holiday.

It’s a costume event. There’s a dress code of some sort (maybe a theme, or a mash up of themes), so people will still look dressy and nice, but it’s a time for masks, creativity, and laughter. Weddings are a chore, but costume parties are a time to be a little wild and let your hair down. It’s exactly the kind of party I’m aiming for.

The ceremony itself will be either non-denominational or Pagan in nature. I’d prefer to include magick, but if my groom isn’t receptive, I’ll understand. I would like to be handfasted, no matter what, as that’s a tradition that was practiced by Pagans and Christians, and is something I find quite beautiful and very concrete.

In a perfect world, I could hire a small carnival, maybe four or five of my favorite amusement park rides – a ferris wheel (of course), the scrambler, the chainsaw, the tilt-a-whirl, and a little roller coaster, maybe. Since I’d have to be pretty rich to make that happen, I doubt it will.

But what I can have is music, dancing, and drinking. We’ll have a whiskey bar, snacks to last the evening, a band (in my tamer dream it’s a now-defunct local band called The Zydepunks, but I guess I could get really wild and dream of Gogol Bordello), some karaoke, and a few performers / mystics – a magician, fire breather, fortune teller. We’ll have a bonfire, and party into the wee hours.