Former jail building draws couples for Halloween weddings in Ohio

DELAWARE, Ohio– Nine couples were married Friday at a former county jail in central Ohio decorated for Halloween.

The vows were exchanged in the 18-cell Delaware County jail, about 25 miles north of Columbus.

Today, the 1878 structure is owned by the Delaware County Historical Society, but until 1988 it served as the county jail.

Andrea Bates and Jessica Scales decided to get married about a month ago. Bates had already decided that if she ever got married, she would do it on Halloween.

“I feel like I have a weird connection to Halloween. My daughter’s name is Salem, so it’s just my favorite. The spookiness, the atmosphere of the time, I love it,” she said.

Halloween is also the favorite holiday of Nicole Bond and Jacob Beatty, who got married after being together for a decade.

“I think we were both looking for an excuse to get married and this opportunity presented itself and we jumped at it,” Beatty said. “So it was such a cool and unique experience and a perfect fit for us.”

Bond said they have great plans for after the ceremony.

“Eat breakfast, take a nap, then go trick-or-treating,” she said.

Delaware County court officials hold weddings every other Friday, and when they realized Halloween fell on a Friday this year, they began planning the prison weddings.

Court workers wore costumes and decorated the space with pumpkins and a spider web. Couples had the opportunity to take mugshot photos.

Organizers limited the number of weddings to 10 and nine couples showed up. We don’t know if the bride and groom who didn’t show up were scared.

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Associated Press writer Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pa., contributed.